Many maintenance and engineering departments have deployed computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) with a variety of benefits in mind — improved technician productivity, more effective management of maintenance tasks, and lower operating costs, among them.

Unfortunately, too few departments have maximized the CMMS investment, leaving the software underused and less beneficial than hoped for, according to an article from Building Operating Management on the FacilitiesNet website.

A department can face many hurdles when selecting, implementing, and using a CMMS, but these hurdles are not unique to CMMS. Many or all are present in any new software or business process. A closer look at two of the most common challenges — along with potential solutions — can help managers and their departments overcome those challenges.

Choosing the wrong software is one of the easiest mistakes to make. To make matters worse, realizing the software is incorrect for the needs of the department might take months or years. The issue has less to do with choosing the wrong software vendor and more to do with choosing the wrong type of software.

Read the article.