CMMS IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT
TM
acmSecure
CMMS IMPLEMENTATION SOFTWARE SELECTION GUIDE
Table of Contents
1 Purpose ........................................................................................................3
2 Scope............................................................................................................3
3 Definitions .....................................................................................................3
4 Recommendations ........................................................................................3
5 Procedure .....................................................................................................3
5.1 Needs Assessment – Outcome: Selection Criteria ...............................3
5.2 Work Management System – Outcome: Process Flowchart.................4
5.3 Determine Software Requirements – Outcome: Software
Specification .........................................................................................4
5.4 Evaluating the Impact – Outcome: Cost / Benefit Analysis ...................4
5.5 Screening the Vendors – Outcome: Vendor Short List .........................5
5.6 Testing the Candidates – Outcome: Recommendation for Purchase ...5
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1 Purpose
The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines for selecting a CMMS
software package in the course of implementing acmSecureTM.
2 Scope
This document applies to selecting CMMS software as part of the CMMS
Implementation stage of acmSecureTM.
3 Definitions
CMMS Computer Maintenance Management System
Work Management System A set of templates and procedures that define
the maintenance workflow
4 Recommendations
There are a number of 3rd party suppliers for this tool available in the market
and acmSecureTM does not rely specifically on any one particular supplier.
However from market investigations the products evaluated as a functional fit
and best value include DataStream MP2 and MEX. acm are experienced
users of both these products and are the Australian value-added partner for
DataStream products.
Implementation guidelines and templates are customisable to suit whatever
the CMMS purchase however included in acmSecureTM are templates for
above 2 products.
5 Procedure
5.1 Needs Assessment – Outcome: Selection Criteria
The purpose of this stage of the process is to determine the selection criteria
for the CMMS software to be evaluated. This is achieved by consulting the
Project Team and breaking down the organisations requirements into broad
categories that serve to maintain focus on the highest level of system
functionality. The following is a typical set of concerns that might be
addressed during this stage of the assessment:
¾ Enterprise issues – how does the CMMS integrate into the larger data
environment?
¾ Multi-User Access;
¾ Remote / mobile data collection;
¾ Inventory / Purchasing capability;
¾ Failure analysis functionality;
¾ Compatibility with business processes i.e. work management
procedures
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¾ Open Architecture;
¾ User Analysis;
¾ Hardware/Software Environment;
¾ Links to other systems e.g. financial, procurement.
5.2 Work Management System – Outcome: Process
Flowchart
Once the requirements for the organisation’s CMMS function have been
gathered, a process flowchart of the work management system can be
defined. Issues that are considered at this stage are:
¾ How are requests for work collected;
¾ How are equipment breakdowns recorded and who is responsible for
entering and reviewing them;
¾ Who plans and schedules maintenance work and what is the process
¾ How does CMMS data interface with existing corporate databases?
Will actual costs be imported from another system? Will billing /
maintenance costing information be exported from the CMMS
application?
¾ What metrics are used to measure the effectiveness of the work
management system.
The goal here is to obtain an accurate description of the work that must be
accomplished and the responsibilities at each stage of the process. This
document can also be used to determine the security requirements such as
user groups and authority levels.
5.3 Determine Software Requirements – Outcome:
Software Specification
Using the process flowchart/s as a template, it is now possible to create a
software specification that accurately reflects the needs of the organisation.
This document is used to evaluate the various products available and
provides the vendor with more flexibility to present innovative solutions to the
organisation’s requirements.
The software specification should also address the issues of software support,
training and maintenance of the package. Implementation and customisation
options should also be considered in the specification.
5.4 Evaluating the Impact – Outcome: Cost / Benefit
Analysis
In this stage of the evaluation process an impact statement is prepared
defining as accurately as possible the costs involved in implementing the
project management software.
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Included in the impact statement are the purchase price, implementation and
training costs, any costs for upgrading hardware (if required) and the ongoing
maintenance costs for the software.
5.5 Screening the Vendors – Outcome: Vendor Short List
This step in the evaluation process involves contacting the vendors and
collecting product information which is then compared to the software
specification list developed in step 5.3.
An effective screening process is set up to minimise the number of software
candidates that are to be evaluated. If the CMMS software does not meet the
mandatory criteria, it is eliminated without further consideration.
Only Products that meet the minimum guidelines undergo hands-on testing.
5.6 Testing the Candidates – Outcome: Recommendation
for Purchase
Once the list of potential vendors has been reduced to three or less, the next
step is to begin rigorous testing. This should include a vendor demonstration
of the software as well as hands-on testing.
An effective method for testing potential software is to compile some sample
information from your own organisation and use it to evaluate the software
against the process flowchart developed in step 5.2. The sample information
should include the following characteristics:
¾ Demonstrates the ability to collect and process maintenance requests,
equipment breakdowns and preventative maintenance tasks
¾ Demonstrates all the required features (eg. Codes, purchasing,
inventory, history collection, scheduling, cost gathering, multi-user
access, etc.)
¾ Reflects a limited subset of current company maintenance workload
Input the sample maintenance work data into each of the selected packages.
Run the processes, document and verify the results against the process
flowchart/s.
Also during this stage, the quality of the vendor is assessed with respect to
service and support provided.
Other issues that need to be considered during this stage of the process are:
¾ Consulting services and implementation methodology & support
¾ Technical support
¾ Training
¾ Ease of learning
¾ User friendliness
¾ Open architecture
¾ Ease of installation
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Once this process has been completed and the results compiled, one of the
short listed products should emerge as the best match for the organisation’s
CMMS needs and a recommendation for purchase can be made.
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