November/December 2017 | VehicleServicePros.com 39
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Th is assists in keeping vehicles in peak performance
shape, higher effi ciency and lowering costs.
But there are a number of signifi cant challenges
to achieving such intelligence. Among them:
Understanding the sources of the data.
Having good and complete data.
Being able to quickly fi nd the relevant data.
Making sure the data is accurate and timely.
Understanding who will be using the data and
how they will interpret the information.
Putting the data in the proper context.
CMMS
A great tool for helping to manage and mine
Big Data is CMMS (computerized maintenance
management systems). These systems are
designed to give users immediate insight into the
state of a maintenance organization’s operations
and needs with comprehensive work order schedules,
accurate inventory forecasts and instant
access to hundreds of invaluable reports.
A good CMMS makes maintenance management
easier by empowering maintenance managers
with complete and accurate information and
data so they can make more educated decisions.
Four ways
Th ere are four top ways CMMS can help with
managing Big Data, say offi cials with Eagle
Technology (www.eaglecmms.com), a leader in the
development and sale of CMMS and Enterprise
Asset Management (EAM) solutions.
1. Stop panic fixes
Computer maintenance management systems can
help analyze work orders and maintenance logs
to monitor vehicle performance from day to day
and week to week, say the offi cials. Th is helps spot
potential issues before they become problems and
avoids having to react to a vehicle breakdown.
Once maintenance managers have that capability,
they can control when and how they maintain
their vehicles, making maintenance proactive
instead of reactive, they note. When maintenance
and repairs are performed in time and when
scheduled, vehicles operate better and longer.
2. Improve resource management
A CMMS gathers, analyzes and synthesizes data
from a wide variety of diverse sources, including
vehicle maintenance soft ware, other maintenance
programs, order processing soft ware, etc., Eagle
Technology offi cials says. Th is provides maintenance
managers with a bigger picture.
With such information, better decisions can
be made on how to best allocate resources to the
right processes, they add. Moreover, the information
can be used to identify areas that require
changes. For example, changing vehicle routing
to improve effi ciency or replacing an asset that’s
been racking up small fi xes that add up to big
expenditures over time.
3. Ensure consistency
In today’s transportation environment, it is
important to have processes that result in consistent
vehicle reliability and uptime. For this to
happen, say Eagle Technology offi cials, every
employee involved with the maintenance operation
must make sure things get done the right
way every time.
A good CMMS can help build checklists that
workers can refer to as they work, helping to
ensure that they are following the right process
every time, they explain.
In addition, these checklists provide a way to
retain the intelligence that used to be lost when
a long-time employee retires, leaves or is unable
to perform his/her duties. New or replacement
workers can used the checklists and understand
the reasons behind the various procedures.
4. Build accountability
No organization wants to believe its workers
would deliberately cut corners or do slipshod
work, but it can happen, point out Eagle
Technology offi cials. CMMS can track all the
tasks assigned to employees and their performance
in each task.
By helping pinpoint who does what and when,
CMMS can be used to reward excellent employees
and get potential problem workers the help
they need to become valued members of the
organization.
Furthermore, CMMS can automate work
requests so the burden no longer falls on faulty
human memory, they add. Once the requests are
made, they become part of the system’s cache of
data. Maintenance histories print out at the click of
a button, documenting all the steps taken, protecting
maintenance managers and workers.
GIGO
To get the most value from a CMMS, it has to have
good data. Th ink GIGO: garbage in, garbage out.
Th e quality of the output is determined by the
quality of the input.
Eagle Technology offi cials off er this advice on
what data should be in a computerized maintenance
management system.
Continued Page 40
Having good data and
effective data analytics
can allow a maintenance
operation to move beyond
preventive maintenance and
into predictive maintenance.
» A good CMMS can track what vehicles
need maintenance at what times, plus help
to schedule maintenance at times that
will have the least impact on workflow.
Photo courtesy of Ryder
/VehicleServicePros.com
/www.eaglecmms.com