How to successfully implement a CMMS maintenance management system

How to implement a successful CMMS maintenance management system is a very tough task. That's why, in this article, we bring you the most common pitfalls when implementing a CMMS successfully.

Implementing any major change, such as Lean, Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) or a new Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS), can be difficult at best, given the dismal record of success in the industry. Any number of studies show success rates of 35% to 50% for major change projects, with the highest probability of failure observed for Information Technology (IT) projects, as well as the highest failure rate for IT projects. implementing a computer-aided maintenance management system. 

The list of reasons cited by managers for failure to implement a CMMS usually contains one or more of the following:

• Lack of support from top management.
• Lack of commitment from those expected to change their behaviour (typically from the line of maintenance technicians and operators).
• Poor project planning.
• Inability to manage key project stakeholders through the change process.
• Inadequate allocation of project resources (personnel, material, equipment, funds)
• Poor communications.
• Weak project leadership.
• Insufficient training.
• Undefined goals and ambiguous objectives that do not reveal to each actor in the group what they are doing there.
• Lack of alignment and absence of management for external resources such as consultants and vendors.

These reasons for failure to implement a CMMS maintenance management system are all too common, across many industries, spanning many years of change implementation history, which begs the question of why mistakes have not been learned from. But, unfortunately, human behaviour is complex, which is why there is the same limited success in avoiding divorce, war and other relationship-based failures.

For example, a plant manager might be looking for a faster return on capital by investing in, upgrading or implementing a new CMMS maintenance management system. Operations management might be looking to reduce equipment downtime because every minute of operation means more product going out the door and therefore increased budget.

Maintenance management can be strict in reducing maintenance costs per unit of outgoing production. Of course, these objectives are not exclusive, but it is important to understand the main drivers of each agent's behaviour.

Incentives vs. disincentives when implementing a CMMS maintenance management system

To increase the likelihood of agreeing on shared goals and objectives, agents' behaviour must be reinforced using positive and negative incentives. These incentives and disincentives provide rewards and consequences respectively.

On the other hand, it is assumed that a few other project team members, from the maintenance department, are provided with disincentives or consequences so that if the implemented CMMS does not achieve the expected tasks for the reliability and performance of the team, then they will not get a bonus or salary increase that year.

Lessons learned from implementing a CMMS maintenance management system

What behaviour can be expected with these rewards and consequences? Predicting actions resulting from incentives is difficult, and from disincentives is even more complex. However, the example above provides some simple lessons.

• Exceeding expectations. First, reward people for exceeding expectations, not merely achieving them. Achieving expectations is what employees are paid to do. In the example above, the 25% bonus for project team members only applies when the objectives relevant to their roles were exceeded, not achieved. Incentives should direct behaviour to go beyond the call of duty.
• Fair distribution. Second; distribute incentives across groups of agents in a way that is perceived as fair by each stakeholder. Why should only project team members in the IT department be eligible for the 25 % bonus? This situation implies an inequality between project team members that is bound to generate resentment and potentially negative behaviours.
• Timing is everything. Third; timing incentives appropriately is also critical. Nothing annoys a user of a new CMMS or information system more than for the IT department to celebrate and be rewarded for installing software, and leave users struggling to learn how to use the system and trying to make it work over the course of several months, or even years, without a comparable reward. Moreover, many of the IT people will have long since left to work on another project and will not be available to users once the application has been installed. It is extremely frustrating for users, unfair, and certainly not conducive to the achievement of shared goals and objectives. 
• Avoid collective punishment. Fourth, disincentives could be perceived as individual or collective punishments, which could count for factors under the control of a single individual. Thus, if the maintenance department does not achieve equipment downtime and reliability targets because of factors such as the performance of a salesperson, an act of God, or poor planning by marketing and sales, it may be unfair to punish the maintenance department by cutting pay raises or bonuses.
• Avoid loss of confidence. Fifth, disincentives tend to carry a negative connotation that can result in exactly the behaviour you want to avoid. Leaving an ultimatum that essentially says: “either you achieve your goals or you will be punished”, sends a message of distrust in people to do their job. This lack of trust can lead to indifference, resentment, rebellion or even sabotage of the project. 

Incentive options when implementing a CMMS maintenance management system

Although many people believe that monetary incentives are the most effective, experience has shown that this is not always the case. Sometimes the simplest and most appropriate incentive is recognition for a job well done, either privately or perhaps in public, such as an awards night or a company party.

Other incentives include gifts (clothing, personalised workstation, gift certificates), celebrations (barbecues, company-paid pizzas, company-sponsored events) and competitions (prizes for exceeding targets by the highest percentage or for the longest duration).

External incentives when implementing a CMMS maintenance management system

Although most companies are reluctant to do so, it may be worth exploring the application of incentives to external resources, such as vendors or consultants of a CMMS maintenance management system. However, it has been found to be more effective to balance internal and external incentives, because both internal and external resources are required for a successful implementation.

Providing incentives only to one party and not the other usually results in better performance from one party. Projects are only as good as the weakest link, so the additional incentive does not necessarily translate into more successful implementation overall. In fact, the imbalance and lack of shared incentives may leave both parties frustrated, causing a failed implementation.

To find out more about how to implement a CMMS maintenance management system, or to learn more about industrial maintenance, we invite you to learn about how to achieve cost and energy savings with predictive maintenance audits.

In addition, discover how to demonstrate to senior management the benefits of industrial predictive maintenance y subscribe to our newsletterThe newsletter will provide you with the best practices to achieve positive results within your plant.