**4.3 Discussion of findings**

In a typical maintenance unit, there may be separate or integrated personnel for the call centre and maintenance operations. The quality and quantity of information developed from the CMMS database depends on the human capacity of the operatives in both units. This influences the ability to use the CMMS tool effectively [10]. Although maintenance operations have progressed from manual to digital systems, many maintenance units are underutilising the potentials available in a typical CMMS. The maintenance units in these academic institutions used the CMMS for work request management, maintenance operations and periodic reporting. **Table 3** provides the limited use of the CMMS tool. These components, currently being

**65**

**Figure 2.**

**Table 3.**

*Summary of findings.*

*Summary of outstanding work requests.*

**Institution Limited use of the CMMS tool**

Institution 1 \*Recording of maintenance requests

requests

Institution 2 \*Same as above, except that

incurred

attended to

\*Management of work

\*Periodic reports on status of execution and cost incurred

there are no records of cost

\*Record of work requests not

*Harnessing the Multiple Benefits of a Computerised Maintenance Management System*

activated and used by these maintenance units, are insignificant fraction of the content of the maintenance management module and the inherent potentials of a typical CMMS software. The CMMS software has elastic capacity in different modules, which includes, but is not limited to asset management, work order management, preventive maintenance management, inventory control and report management [1]. Others include service management, contract management, materials management and procurement management [2]. Two major challenges were observed in the structure of the current periodic report. They are, firstly that the reports are not helpful in educating or communicating with the relevant stakeholders, because the customers cannot identify the component of the report that reflects the situation of the facilities in their portfolio or the status of execution of the work request emanating from their units. The second challenge is that the report is silent on the status of the work not completed at the time of reporting. Therefore, the units are not able to develop and monitor the forward planning, deferred maintenance, effective renovation, or rehabilitation scheme, provide suitable information for decisions on change of use or disposal of facilities. Consequently, they are not able to effectively

of use

**Remark: Latent potential not harnessed**

\*Effective maintenance budget and management of

\*Detailed analysis of operational history, identifying the functional state of facilities, planning rehabilitation or disposal; educating customers on requests for change

\*Producing customer friendly periodic report, accompanied by appropriate visuals

\*Developing planned maintenance

deferred or backlog maintenance

communicate the performance of the maintenance units to their customers.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93732*

*Harnessing the Multiple Benefits of a Computerised Maintenance Management System DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93732*

#### **Figure 2.**

*Operations Management - Emerging Trend in the Digital Era*

**2995 March April**

Day ending 7 14 21 28 4 11 18 25 30

% completed 0.30 2.84 9.55 15.46 27.15 37.20 54.12 63.91 67.21

9 85 286 463 813 1114 1621 1914 2013

*Summary of performance on logged requests for the year 2013 ([35], p. 14).*

CMMS tool, within the module being used by these institutions.

tions without specifics or costs incurred.

**4.3 Discussion of findings**

addressing them. These reports provide generic information on maintenance opera-

In a typical maintenance unit, there may be separate or integrated personnel for the call centre and maintenance operations. The quality and quantity of information developed from the CMMS database depends on the human capacity of the operatives in both units. This influences the ability to use the CMMS tool effectively [10]. Although maintenance operations have progressed from manual to digital systems, many maintenance units are underutilising the potentials available in a typical CMMS. The maintenance units in these academic institutions used the CMMS for work request management, maintenance operations and periodic reporting. **Table 3** provides the limited use of the CMMS tool. These components, currently being

The module of the CMMS tool activated by the maintenance units in these academic institutions is capable of managing maintenance planning (preventive, schedule and breakdown maintenance), work order, contract and procurement management, asset management, documentation of maintenance operations and analysis of historical records, report management and many more. However, **Table 3** provides a summary of the limited use and the latent potential of the

**64**

**Figure 1.**

Quantity completed

*Typical monthly report ([34], p. 117).*

**Table 2.**

*Summary of outstanding work requests.*


#### **Table 3.**

*Summary of findings.*

activated and used by these maintenance units, are insignificant fraction of the content of the maintenance management module and the inherent potentials of a typical CMMS software. The CMMS software has elastic capacity in different modules, which includes, but is not limited to asset management, work order management, preventive maintenance management, inventory control and report management [1]. Others include service management, contract management, materials management and procurement management [2]. Two major challenges were observed in the structure of the current periodic report. They are, firstly that the reports are not helpful in educating or communicating with the relevant stakeholders, because the customers cannot identify the component of the report that reflects the situation of the facilities in their portfolio or the status of execution of the work request emanating from their units. The second challenge is that the report is silent on the status of the work not completed at the time of reporting. Therefore, the units are not able to develop and monitor the forward planning, deferred maintenance, effective renovation, or rehabilitation scheme, provide suitable information for decisions on change of use or disposal of facilities. Consequently, they are not able to effectively communicate the performance of the maintenance units to their customers.

It is important to note that the maintenance and call centre operatives of these institutions should improve the quality of their periodic reports. Generally, a periodic report is the first step. Subjecting the set of reports to further analysis will enable maintenance operatives to manage the effectiveness of the loss of time before they respond to the work request of customers, the time taken to address the work request and to determine if they approximate the requirements of JIT [3]. Furthermore, detailed analysis of the CMMS database enables the maintenance unit to produce reports suitable for effective communication with their customers on the status of execution on their work requests and the functional state of the facilities in the customers' portfolio. To demonstrate this, the manager of the call centre of Institution 1, was requested to provide the comprehensive information on the requests lodged with the call centre from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering for the period January to March 2010; arranging them in table format and providing a visual representation of the status of work and financial expenditure [34]. The eight-page report was reduced to a table as shown in **Table 4**. In a nutshell, **Table 4** provides the essential information contained in the eight-page report in a user-friendly format. **Figure 3** presents the status of the work requests for each month.

The visual presentation of the financial commitment, presented in **Figure 4**, shows that plumbing cost the most, while items under quotation cost the least.

The additional information, which is necessary, but was not available during the time of this research, includes explanatory notes on outstanding work requests, alternative suggestions on how to execute the outstanding work, the cost implications and the effect of the deferred maintenance on the functional state of the facilities of the customer. Despite these shortcomings, the Head, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering commented as follows: 'The layout is easy to determine the state of maintenance and it is easy to read. It also indicates that the maintenance unit is concerned about maintenance of the facilities in our School'. Furthermore, the Dean of the Faculty added: 'It is a good start. I would also like to see an age analyses (10 days, 30 days, 60 days, etc.) of addressing complaints or requests'.

Consequently, the vast potential inherent in a typical CMMS tool can be harnessed if the maintenance operatives could ask the right questions and the operatives in the call centre had the capacity, patience and commitment to answer the questions. This underlines the fact that the quality of the human capacity influences how much of the latent potential of a typical CMMS tool can be harnessed.
