Can you play the piano? I don’t know I’ve never tried.
When considering a Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) there is a plethora of things to consider. As the late Charlie Munger would say “invert always invert”. Where do you want your organisation to finish up after full implementation of the CMMS?
To fully appreciate that question you’ll need to assess your current maintenance processes, define clear objectives, and evaluate your team's needs and capabilities. Then of course research different CMMS options, considering their features, cost, and most importantly who will operate the system. But that comes much later.
“Humility, that low, sweet root, from which all heavenly virtues shoot.” Sir Thomas Moore, 1532 When an organisation becomes aware of the need for a CMMS it’s frequently following an extended period of unaccountability and leaking funds from their asset management/maintenance division. These circumstances are the efficacy of the organisation’s values and processes that are often set up with care and administration in mind, not asset management which has a wholly different set of skills, values and processes. If the organisation is to survive, employees must prioritise those things that help the assets to thrive in a way that it is structured to maximise return on investment. One reason that organisations that have focused resources perform so well is that their processes are always aligned to the tasks. An organisation’s processes and values ensure that it can only implement more of what it’s already got.
At MDFM, we help aged care and retirement living organisations ask (and answer) these crucial questions. Here’s how to begin thinking about CMMS the right way.
Appropriate values, resources and processes are often overlooked for the specialist application of asset management. When considering implementing a CMMS, asset management processes combined with qualified and experienced personnel are required to define what those resources can do. Without a whole new set of values and processes those existing values often represent constraints – they define what the organisation cannot do. Additionally, an organisation’s processes and values can limit it to implement continuing technologies to the exclusion of innovative technologies.
If inappropriate strategies and processes remain within the mainstream organisation, the result will likely be failure—or at best, a pretend asset management system. Aged care and retirement management whose organisations are confronting opportunities to innovate and grow must first determine whether they have the people and other resources required to succeed – be that outsourced or in-house resources. They then need to ask two further questions:
Are the processes by which work habitually get done in the organisation appropriate for this new project/system?
And will the values of the organisation give this initiative the priority it needs?
Where MDFM Can Help
At MDFM, we support aged care providers through every step of the asset and facilities management journey—from asset audits and lifecycle planning to CMMS implementation and outsourced facilities management. We understand the unique pressures in aged care and retirement living, and we know how to build systems that work for your team, your residents, and your bottom line.
Ready to Explore a CMMS for Your Facility?
Whether you’re just starting to evaluate options or are deep into implementation planning, MDFM can help you get it right from day one.
Contact us today to discuss your facility’s needs, or learn more about our Facilities Management Services and Asset Management Consulting. Let’s build a system that helps your organisation thrive—inside and out.