CMMS, IoT (Internet of Things) and Predictive Maintenance: Why It Matters for Maintenance Strategies

Any organisation that maintains a facility or looks after assets and equipment is looking for ways to ensure the smooth functioning of the assets and equipment they are responsible for. Traditional maintenance strategies focusing on reactive maintenance, where you only step in to fix issues as they appear, have shown that they can lead to unexpected downtimes, costly repairs, and inefficiencies. Overcoming these problems is one of the main aims of anyone involved in maintenance, and new methodologies and technologies are paving the way to proactive and efficient maintenance methodologies.

One of the most radical shifts starts with CMMS software, a specialist type of software designed to streamline maintenance operations by centralising data related to assets, work orders, maintenance schedules, and inventory management. By centralising all these areas in a single piece of software, you can make significant gains in your ability to plan, execute, and track your maintenance activity.

While CMMS is a valuable tool on its own, further advancements allow you to improve your maintenance approach even further. For CMMS, the improvements are driven by the advancement of cloud-based technologies, connecting CMMS systems to the Internet of Things.

How does IoT (Internet of Things) impact CMMS and Maintenance?

The Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a notable change in the maintenance landscape, allowing CMMS software and assets to be integrated in ways previously only dreamed of. Real-time data collection, remote monitoring, and condition-based maintenance approaches are now a reality for many organisations. With the power of IoT, you can gain unprecedented levels of insight into your asset performance, letting you make informed decisions to optimise your maintenance schedule to improve the efficiency of your approach.

How IoT is Transforming Maintenance

1. Remote Monitoring & Real-Time Data Collection

Imagine this scenario: You're responsible for a generator that powers an off-grid facility. If the generator breaks, the facility must shut down until power returns. Maintenance of that generator is a top priority, but you can't afford to spend every day checking it because other jobs need to be done.

By connecting the generator to sensors that connect to the Internet of Things, you can collect data on the generator's performance and feed that into a dashboard in your CMMS. You can now monitor the generator's performance and store historical data. With access to this data, you can assess the generator's performance and make informed decisions about when maintenance work is needed, freeing up your time to get other jobs done and improving the broader performance of your assets and the facility you work in.

2. Condition Monitoring

With sensors attached to your assets, connected to the Internet of Things, and transmitting data in real-time, you can begin to monitor their condition over time. This means you can schedule maintenance tasks at the exact time you need to step in to ensure performance is maintained. Without your CMMS being connected to the IoT, you would never be able to handle an approach like this efficiently, as it relies on constant data streams.

How connecting your CMMS to the IoT should change your approach to maintenance

Once your CMMS is connected to the Internet of Things, it can be easy to rest on your laurels, but the truth is that connecting to the IoT is just the first step in improving your maintenance approach. Once you're fully online, you'll be able to move to one of the most effective forms of maintenance around: Predictive maintenance:

What is Predictive Maintenance?

Predictive maintenance is the pinnacle of proactive maintenance strategies. By using data analytics and machine learning algorithms, you can forecast equipment failures before they happen.

Unlike traditional preventive maintenance, which relies on scheduled interventions, predictive maintenance uses real-time data from IoT sensors to find early signs of asset degradation or malfunction. Predicting your maintenance needs with precision can minimise downtime, reduce maintenance costs, and maximise asset uptime.

How CMMS Facilitates IoT and Predictive Maintenance

When discussing things like IoT and predictive maintenance, it's easy to get lost in the weeds and forget that to enable all these innovative approaches to maintenance; you still need a cornerstone CMMS system that makes everything work together.

You can only capture the real-time data you need to switch to predictive maintenance strategies by connecting your sensors to your CMMS system. The CMMS produces the reports and presents the data in ways you can understand and interpret to make informed decisions about when maintenance work needs to be completed. It's also the CMMS system that allows you to generate automated workflows that will alert your team that irregular asset performance irregularities are occurring or alert your field team that a new maintenance job has been assigned to them.

It's essential that you have the right CMMS system in place so that you're able to prove your maintenance operations in the future. Many organisations run on-premises CMMS systems that do not allow you to connect to the Internet of Things. If you're one of them or are just looking to switch to a new cloud-based CMMS software provider, then get in touch with our team of experts, who will be happy to advise you on how to make the switch.