Basic Knowledge & CMMS Case Study That Vietnamese Manufacturing Enterprises Need to Know:
1. When Do You Need to Implement CMMS Software?
Everyone knows that equipment is the largest investment of a manufacturing enterprise, but few realize that it is an asset only when it is running. When it is not running, it becomes a liability.
All types of equipment share a common, immutable pain point: they will break down at some point if we do not perform the proper and thorough maintenance to keep them operational. And they tend to break down most often when we need them the most, such as during peak production times.
Here, such maintenance activities will be referred to by the academic term “Preventive Maintenance,” which are activities that help prevent sudden machine failures.
To perform preventive maintenance, you need to manage the maintenance data of the equipment. When there are few pieces of equipment, you can use Excel. However, when the number of equipment becomes too many, Excel can no longer meet the demand as it becomes cumbersome and time-consuming. At that point, you need to implement management software, and this type of software is called a CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System).
So, when should you invest in software?
To answer this question, calculate the total number of maintenance tasks needed to be performed on all your current equipment. If this number exceeds 1,000, you should invest in software.
Data from the U.S. in 2020 shows that 52% of manufacturing enterprises use CMMS software, making it one of the most common software for manufacturing companies (see: The maintenance function, like manufacturing itself, is a rapidly changing environment | Plant Engineering).
2. Benefits of CMMS Software for Your Company
You will find that when you implement preventive maintenance, unexpected downtime is significantly reduced, along with maintenance costs. Reducing unexpected downtime is the greatest benefit that businesses gain when applying preventive maintenance through CMMS software.
Unexpected downtime is the biggest pain point for manufacturing enterprises, considering that the cost of one minute of downtime can range from tens to hundreds or even thousands of USD, depending on the type of equipment. The costs incurred from unexpected downtime include dozens of different types of costs, known as hidden costs or indirect maintenance costs.
Experience from implementing Vietsoft Ecomaint CMMS software for over 40 enterprises shows that production downtime decreases by 50% in the first year and by another 40-50% in the second year. Most enterprises have reduced thousands to tens of thousands of minutes of unexpected downtime, saving tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of USD. You can also find many successful CMMS case study make benefit for enterprises around the world in google search.
More importantly, it lays the foundation for the sustainable development of manufacturing enterprises.
3. Calculating the ROI of CMMS Software
This is a typical CMMS case study from a Vietnamese manufacturing SMEs with more than 200 devices. After investing in EcoMaint CMMS software, the investment was returned after only 8 months of implementation!
After one year of implementing the solution, maintenance costs at the enterprise were reduced by more than 100 million VND, downtime was reduced by 2,575 minutes and the amount of money saved was nearly 300 million VND. Data management labor costs decreased by more than 50 million VND. The total amount of savings after one year of implementation is more than 450 million VND.
4. Preparing for Successful CMMS Software Implementation
There are many levels of success in implementing CMMS software.
The lowest level is when everyone involved in the process of using and maintaining equipment uses the software in their production activities. At this level, because preventive maintenance activities are performed regularly, the equipment is less likely to fail, and unexpected downtime is reduced (usually reduced by 50% after one year of implementation).
However, it is more ideal if the enterprise can use the collected data to improve processes and equipment, making the equipment increasingly stable, reducing unexpected downtime, and improving product quality.
To achieve success in implementing CMMS software, enterprises need to perform the following tasks (from basic to advanced levels):
- Before implementing the software, the enterprise needs to establish a project team, including key members from the maintenance and production departments, officially appointing members responsible for specific areas and tasks.
- Enterprise leadership needs to be decisive in allocating personnel for data setup, maintaining discipline in software usage, and supporting the project team with timely rewards and disciplinary actions.
- Fully collect equipment data, particularly proposing preventive maintenance tasks based on the operational characteristics of each machine component.
- Maintain the project team’s regular work schedule to improve maintenance processes and equipment after the software is operational in the enterprise.
- Finally, continuously train staff, especially in management and specialized areas, to ensure employees have the proper awareness and skills to perform their tasks effectively.
Wish you success!