The selection and implementation of new maintenance software can be relatively slow.
This is because, depending on the size of your organisation, many stakeholders need to be
involved. Since all these stakeholders usually have different, if not conflicting, requirements for the software, your first priority should be to identify these decision-makers and find out what their requirements and concerns are regarding the implementation of a new maintenance software.
Every company is different, but there are some commonalities that we have seen when it comes to selecting maintenance software. To make it easier to follow, we have broken down the process of selecting maintenance software into 7 steps and provide you with a specification sheet for your evaluation.
The 7 steps process of
choosing a CMMS
We need software!
Someone sees the need for maintenance software. This may be for a variety of reasons: an audit that requires maintenance data such as IATF or just an increasingly complex maintenance organization.
Who is responsible?
In an optimal scenario, there is a formal project with a project manager assigned to 1) identify the need for maintenance software and 2) select the right maintenance software.
Who will be involved in the selection process?
The Project manager/team identifies who will use the software and what other stakeholders that are needed to see the project through.
What are the goals?
The Project manager/team identifies the short- and long-term goals of the maintenance department and the obstacles to these goals; If maintenance software is able to help achieve the goals of the maintenance department, continue—otherwise, no need to look further.
What are the requirements?
What are the specific requirements on the software that are needed to fulfil these goals?
What kind of software is out there?
Research market for vendors and analyze differences and send RFI to the most promising ones.
Invite for demo and select the most promising one.
Invite fitting software vendors for a live demo.
Make sure that the most critical stakeholders will participate in the demo event. If possible, gather all stakeholders after the last event and make sure that you get a joint decision.
Sample request for quotation and specification sheet
When evaluating different maintenance software providers, it is essential that you know what features are important to your business. It is important that you purchase a system that is complex enough to cover all the processes in your maintenance department, but simple enough to be adopted and used as the preferred maintenance software in your organisation. In our sample specification sheet, we have summarised the features and requirements that we have come across to help you evaluate what features to look for in maintenance software. Download your specification sheet today
Stakeholders of the selection and implementation process:
Selecting and implementing usually requires getting a go from a variety of stakeholders. Stakeholders are the ones that will be affected by or work with the new software. Makes sure to involve them early into the decision-making process so that they won’t have objections later on:
Want to learn more about MaintMaster CMMS? Or do you want to learn more about the CMMS basics?