(Cato & Keith Mobley, 2001)

Effective resource management and reliable equipment are essential for optimum plant
performance. Both depend upon accurate, timely management of massive amounts of data
and on the effective use of maintenance resources. Computer-managed maintenance systems
(CMMS), also called computerized maintenance management systems or computerized asset
management systems (CAMS), are designed to fulfil these needs. These systems can provide
a cost-effective means of managing the massive amounts of data that are generated by
maintenance, inventory control, and purchasing. In addition, these systems can provide the
means to manage effectively both the human and capital resources in your plant or facility.
Unfortunately, too many attempted CMMS implementations fail to achieve their full potential
or are abandoned after a few years.
Why CMMS Fails
But very seldom is the CMMS itself, rather than human error, the culprit.
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Perhaps there was very little preparation and research done before selecting a CMMS
Limited involvement by management and the work force in the selection process
The system may have been simply installed rather than fully implemented
Training may have been minimal
Incorrect or insufficient data may have been entered.

Any one of these mistakes can result in a less than successful experience and a great deal of
frustration on the part of those who are expected to use the system.
Controlling the maintenance activities in any facility requires an effective organization. Also
required is an accurate, comprehensive, easily accessible database of relevant information.
Some maintenance organizations still manage their operations with a manual system or with
no system at all. In all but the smallest of maintenance operations, manual systems break
down under the burden of the vast amount of information generated and required by
maintenance. For this reason, the computer is now being recognized as a powerful tool for
maintenance. Only a computer has the ability to store, retrieve, calculate, organize, and
present vast amounts of data efficiently and accurately.
A CMMS can be purchased for as little as a thousand dollars or as much as several hundred
thousand. But the purchase price is only a portion of the total implementation cost. Other
costs include hardware, networking, training, data collection, data entry, and procedure

development. Many of these costs, such as data collection and data entry, may be internal
labour costs and can be very high.