CMMS Basics & Beyond

HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR

MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
A presentation by Hippo CMMS Software Experts

Table of Contents
An Introduction to Maintenance Management

Part 1 Research

NEEDS ASSESSMENT PROCESS

VENDOR SEARCH
KEY TAKEAWAYS

3
8
11

Part 2 Purchase and Integration

13

DETERMINING YOUR SETUP TYPE

SETUP TYPES
FACTORS AFFECTING SETUP TYPE
KEY TAKEAWAYS

14
15
16
18

Part 3 Rollout

19

9 TIPS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR ROLLOUT STRATEGY

KEY TAKEAWAYS

19
21

Part 4 Post Purchase and System Optimization

24

POST PURCHASE TIMELINE

6 SOFTWARE PITFALLS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
KEY TAKEAWAYS

24
25
30

Wrap Up

32

About Hippo CMMS

32

Appendices

33

An Introduction to Maintenance
Management Software
The benefits of maintenance management software are vast, from cutting maintenance costs

to increasing workplace efficiencies to adding transparency and organization to your entire

department. Although many businesses understand the benefits of such software, acquiring the
right software can be tricky. They must ensure that the correct mix of features, functionality,
user friendliness and support services are available. An extensive search for the right product,
pilot testing, and a steady roll out strategy all play an important role in ensuring smooth
implementation and software adoption. But what are the next steps? Even trickier than
acquiring software is the task of fully understanding its ins and outs and making sure youre
getting the most out of your solution.
In this 1-hour interactive session, Hippo CMMS software experts will cover tips and tricks on
how to find the right software and how to optimize your existing system. Well relay insider info
and best practices that weve learned after years of helping our clients harness the true
potential of maintenance software! This session is perfect for those who already have a
maintenance management system or those in the process of acquiring the right software for
their organization.
This comprehensive manual will be your systematic guide to improve your software practices
and aid in your hunt for the right CMMS. Use this document as a reference for yourself or
others on your team. Follow along with our software experts as they guide you through the
manual. You can complete exercises from each section and refer to the key takeaways at the
end of each chapter for a quick summary.

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Part 1 Research
Although most CMMS products contain similar modules and features, some vendors boast a

variety of unique services, special functionality, different pricing schemes, and so on. Some
vendors cater to niche markets such as the education sector or healthcare, while other vendors
provide robust solutions containing all available maintenance management features at a price
point well beyond most yearly budgets. With a long list of feature and cost differences, the
process of finding the right software to meet your budget and needs is a real balancing act. This
section helps to reduce your research headaches by outlining a simple framework to first
discover what your maintenance software needs are, and then to pinpoint the right questions to
ask vendors you are evaluating.

Take It Offline First

Lets face it, for most of us research (at least in the preliminary phases) is conducted online.
Although the internet is full of useful info, it can also be a place of clutter and sellingpropaganda, which can hinder your research process. Dont get caught up in the selling hype,
conduct an offline needs assessment first. A needs assessment covers the benefits and
drawbacks of software for your business before you even speak with a software vendor. It
provides a more focused approach to shopping for what you need instead of aimlessly browsing
for what you dont.

Get Everyone Onboard

Throughout this assessment, it is critical that you have the perspective of your entire team at all
organizational levels that will be involved. From the maintenance tech to the C-Level manager to
the IT department, all users must be on board with the same system but have different needs. By
better understanding these differences, you will ensure that the software provides a thoughtful
solution for all stakeholders. We often find that organizations who leave users out of this initial
process have a harder time getting them to buy-in later; either the software may not meet their
particular need or it may be too difficult for some to use. By understanding the unique needs of
your entire team, you can ensure that you find a suitable product that will stand the test of time.

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Needs Assessment Process

A thoughtful needs assessment can be broken down into four main quadrants:
Figure 1.0 Needs Assessment

Quadrant 1- Objective
What is the primary objective of maintenance software for your organization? What do you
ultimately want it to do for you and for other roles in your company? Determining what you
want to get out of your software is a very important step in ensuring that you get the right
solution. The right solution implies a perfect match between product features that you need
and your maintenance software budget. Discovering your software objectives can come from a
series of questions. Which particular maintenance process are you looking to track or measure?

Do you want to report on key maintenance activities? Are you simply looking to reduce the
amount of paper used in your maintenance department? Because there are so many reasons an
organization may want to implement software, it is important to determine which benefits are
the most important. Rank these benefits in order of importance. Once these objectives are
determined, you can move onto Quadrant 2- match these objectives with the software features
that will get you there!

Quadrant 2- Feature Search

Find the software features that will ultimately produce your identified objective(s). If youre not
familiar with CMMS features or industry jargon, this is the step where you may want to do a little
research. There are many sites dedicated to CMMS information and content. These websites are
jam packed with feature overviews and CMMS benefit descriptions that will help you to be
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better acquainted with maintenance software terms and features. See Appendix 1 for a list of
great online resources to support you in your search!
If youre already aware of common CMMS features, then write out a list of those you would like
to investigate or eventually acquire. Mark features that are most important to have. Because
youve already determined your ultimate goal(s), this process will be easy as youre simply
matching the goal to the feature that will accomplish it. To make it even easier, weve developed
a simple table that matches common software objectives with the basic CMMS features thatll
get you there.
Figure 2.0 Feature and Objective Table

I want

so I should acquire

To track maintenance costs

o
o
o
o
o

Demand Work Order Management

Preventive Maintenance Management
Vendor and Resource Management
Reporting Tools
Mobile

To have better communication between

maintenance team

o
o
o
o
o

Demand Work Order Management

Preventive Maintenance Management
Vendor and Resource Management
Reporting Tools
Mobile

To rid organization of paper and disorganized

manual methods

o
o
o

Demand Work Order Management

Preventive Maintenance Management
Mobile

To be proactive in maintenance repair

o
o

Preventive Maintenance Management

Predictive Maintenance & Down time
tracking

To easily report activities to upper management

or the team

Reporting Tools

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To have simple work order forms that can be

tracked and easily managed

o
o

Demand Work Order Management

Preventive Maintenance Management

To be able to easily manage and track assets,

equipment, and/or inventory

o
o
o

Asset and Equipment Management

Inventory Management
Interactive Floor Plans

Quadrant 3- Functionality
Separate from the actual features that a maintenance software has to offer are its functionality
and architecture. When you buy a car the sound system, heated seats, and back up camera are
features, whereas the cars transmission and the way it drives is its function. Software function
describes its navigation and structure. This is the part where many buyers have trouble. Often
the barrier stems from resistance to automated processes or not feeling tech savvy enough to
make an accurate decision about software. Some buyers turn to the expertise of their IT
departments while others simply give up the search and go back to manual methods for the
time being. Become confident in your abilities by knowing the right things to look for. By
ranking the degree of importance for each of the four items below, you will have a better
understanding of the functionality that youre looking to get out of a system.
a) User friendliness- This is the degree of how simple, clean, and easy to use the software is.
Perhaps it shows through simple software navigation, big buttons, and few but simple software
features. You want it to be as simple as possible to add users, equipment, and assets to the
backend of your system. You also need to ensure that all users at different technical levels can
use the system. If the degree of software difficultly is too high, users will not take well to the
software implementation and high resistance is probable. This is a primary software pitfall so
take the time to evaluate the user friendliness of any software you are investigating.
b) Web based vs Installed- The primary difference
between these two systems is where they are
hosted. Web-based systems are hosted by your
software provider on servers that they manage. It is
deployed to users via internet connection, with
subscription-based service being a primary
payment method. In comparison, installed systems
are hosted on internal company servers and
managed or controlled by the company
themselves. There is a lot of literature on the
benefits and drawbacks of each type of system.

Pro Tip #1 Just because

some of your users have
high tech literacy doesnt
mean all of them will.
Always push for extremely
user-friendly software!

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You and your team must decide which system is best for your organization, but here are a
couple of aspects to keep in mind.
Figure 3.0 Web Based vs Installed Pros and Cons Grid

Web Based

Installed
More

Control

Less

Price

Lower

Higher

Ongoing Support

More
Vendor
Support

Less
Vendor
Support

Control- Installed systems are purchased outright giving you all the ownership and rights

as you would a brand new car. Web-based or SaaS models work on more of a rental or
lease basis. By paying monthly or annual fees, you gain access to the vendors system
and servers that house your data. Because of this lease system, web-based models are
traditionally viewed by some companies as lacking control over the security of their data.
As technology becomes more innovative and strict data safety measures become
commonplace for web-based software models, more and more companies are shifting
away from this former notion. Despite this
shift however, there are still organizations that
prefer complete control of both their data and
Pro Tip #2 Read the fine print.
their system.

Make sure you own your data

and can take it with you if you
decide to cancel your web-based
subscription. Many vendors
allow you to do this, while some
may not.

o Price- Because SaaS solutions are quicker to

deploy to all clients and work on a
subscription-based service; they are usually
less expensive than installed solutions. Smaller
monthly or annual fees are paid over the
course of the subscription. On-going costs for
occasional upgrades are also less expensive or
free- again due to quick deployment via the
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web. Installed solutions are paid for outright with a higher one-time upfront cost. They
are also usually more expensive both in the initial setup phase and in ongoing upgrades
as new versions must be installed on site as they are released.
o

Ongoing Support- Apart from ongoing price differences between these two systems,

support services also vary. Handling of support requests in a SaaS model are done
through the software vendor with minimal to no support required from the buyers IT
department. Some SaaS systems provide technical support free of charge while others
charge hourly or annual fees. When software updates are released, vendors often
provide users with training webinars to go over new features. Because installed solutions
are purchased outright with whatever software version is available, any upgrades to the
system are viewed as additional costs to the buyer. This makes it more difficult and costly
to ensure companies have the latest software version, as more internal IT resources must
be used to support these upgrades. If companies opt not to update their software, they
risk being outdated, leaving them exposed to security threats and stuck with outdated or
obsolete software.
Note: Because our CMMS expertise is in the web-based world, the majority of this manual
focuses on SaaS systems although much of its contents may still be applied to both model
types.
c) Customizability- How much control do you need to have over the look of your software? Do
you want to create and customize each field on a page or use a more standard template? What
is the degree of customizability that you would like? Is it important for your unique brand
identity (colors, logo, and company images) to be incorporated into your account? Being able to
customize your work order forms, account look, reports, etc. may be very important for a
business, however be prepared for the work involved to set up a fully customized system. You
may want to allocate more money for setup services so you wont be tasked with doing all the
heavy lifting yourself. In addition to this, its easy to get lost in customization. Being able to
manipulate all aspects of your software can get overwhelming and may cause you to deviate
from your original software objectives.
d) Scalability- Scalability is the degree to which the software can grow with your business as
you add more facilities, buildings, assets and other departments to be tracked. Most software
can be extended to additional areas of your business but have higher fees as you track more
assets and equipment. Make sure you understand the cost and time it takes to grow your
software.
Quadrant 4- Budget
Now that youve determined your ultimate software goals and the basic features and
functionality that you require, its time to craft a preliminary budget. When creating a CMMS
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budget remember that youll need to include more than just the annual license fee in the
equation.

Total Budget = License Fee + Training + Setup

When creating a preliminary budget, make sure you consider allotting professional service fees
in year 1. After year 1 with your account setup properly and all users having undergone basic
training, you may not require a budget for additional services in subsequent years. Outlining a
preliminary budget before you even begin to look into vendor options will help you to keep
costs low and meet software expectations. Flashy software features and pushy sales people can
quickly cloud an otherwise clear goal, increasing prices quickly and giving you features that you
may not need.
Once your needs assessment is completed and you have ensured that multiple stakeholders in
your organization have voiced their opinions about software features and functionality, its time
to start shopping!

Vendor Search
Searching for the right software vendor may seem daunting as they promise a variety of
features, best prices, and service guarantees. But with your primary needs in hand, youll be able
to easily cut through the clutter to find the right product. Weve devised a list of common
questions that buyers often ask themselves when
searching. Just to be helpful weve added answers
too!

Pro Tip #3 Dont cheap out

on professional services or
training options. These fees are
often in addition to annual
license fees. Knowing how to
use your system and setting it
up correctly will reduce stress
and increase savings in the
long run!

How many vendors should I compare?

We recommend that you compare and contrast 3
to 4 vendors. If you look at too many youll risk
getting confused with the company names and
features. You may even experience buyers-burn
out, either turning you off maintenance software
completely or- in a moment of weakness- making
the wrong decision. If you compare too few
vendors, you run the risk of missing out on
options that may have fit your organization better
or that offer better value.

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What is the best approach to finding maintenance software vendors?

One of the most convenient ways to find a software vendor is to visit software comparison
websites that specialize in matching buyer needs with software providers. Sites such as Software
Advice and Capterra are excellent resources for buyers to shop for free. Simply search the kind
of software youre looking for and indicate your key requirements. The service will then match
you up with vendors who meet that description. You only need to fill out one simple form and
hit submit the vendors will do the rest. From there, vendor reps will contact you with company
info and to setup a demo at a time of your choosing! Those sites also list vendor ratings, client
reviews, vendor profiles, and maintenance management content. Its a one-stop shop for
convenient software shopping online. See Appendix 1 for a list of software comparison
websites.

What should I expect when Im going into my software demos?

Software demos (or live virtual walkthroughs of the software) are the best way to become
acquainted with the look and feel of a particular product. Intro demos are usually around 30 min
to 1 hour, taking you through a broad overview of the product. Make sure you go into every
demo with key objectives or goals that you want to get out of the software. Do you remember
that needs assessment you did? This is where you can put it into action! Have your needs ready
and come prepared with a critical lens on the product youre viewing. Dont compromise on key
software features that are a must for your company. Knowing what you want before you go into
a demo will help to weed out pushy sales people and lack luster software. Keep in mind that
simplicity is best. Opt for a system that feels the most simple to use and easy to navigate. If
youre confused in the demo chances are your other team members will be too. Ask as many
questions as possible and dont feel foolish if you need to schedule another demo to go over
additional features or more in-depth items.
At the same time, take advantage of this shopping experience. While many vendors have similar
features, some stand out with unique modules and a fresh take on functionality. Evaluate if these
features such as interactive floor plans, bar coding abilities, or space management modules
would benefit your organization.

Do you have any advice on pricing expectations?

Software systems have a wide range in price point with many different factors to consider. In
web based models, weve seen single user licenses run as low as $25/mo to as high as $200/mo.
Often you are required to pay annual subscription fees upfront with the list price usually stated
as a monthly fee to make it seem lower. The license fee renews annually. The license fee includes
the cost of using the system and whatever features are included in that package level. The
pricing structure can vary between vendors. Primary factors that affect the software license cost
are:
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Number of users- Many solutions price per user, per month. Know how many people in your
organization will need to use the system (all vendors will ask you this in order to give you a
proper quote anyways). Know how many users AND how many requesters you will require.
Pricing usually allows more requesters to access a system on one license than users. Some
companies offer unlimited
user licenses, which are
much more cost efficient if
you have 3+ users that
Pro Tip #4 Keep in mind that users and
need access to the
requesters play two different roles in the system.
software.

A requester is one who does not require much

functionality. A simple WO request form to submit
through a standard ticketing system will do. They
are usually office staff who dont have direct ties
to the maintenance department. A user is one
who needs more software functionality. Their
roles often stem from the maintenance
department but can also consist of corporate
managers to IT workers to office administrators.

Number of facilities- The

number of buildings and
facilities in your
maintenance operations is
very important in most
price quotes. This is
because more buildings
will increase the number of
assets that the software
tracks, the amount of data
to input, and the number
of people to train. Some
vendors may also ask the general size of your facility to help them understand the amount of
assets that will be tracked. As a general rule of thumb, a 20,000 sq/ft building contains
between $900K- $1.2M worth of assets. Some pricing schemes are based on the number of
facilities in your organization and will increase by nominal amounts as you add buildings.

Size of your maintenance department- This factor is similar to the amount of users in your
system. Vendors may ask how many people are in your department in order to get a better
gauge on how many people require access to mobile or other features that primarily apply to
your maintenance department. This also gives vendors a better sense of how many people will
need to be trained on specific topics.
In addition to your license fee, setup and training fees should also be factored into your budget
as these costs are often above and beyond. For better budgetary planning, speak with your
team to determine setup timelines and the roles and responsibilities of setup. You will learn
more about implementation in Part two, however understanding the advantages and
disadvantages of full and partial setup is a crucial step towards meeting timeline expectations.
At this phase, we recommend that you begin to think about your setup strategy and get ready
to budget a significant amount in year 1 towards setup fees and training in addition to the
license fee.
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How long can I expect this process to take?

The entire process usually takes between 3 to 6 weeks. Often vendors want you to see their
product as soon as possible because they know youre viewing several other competitors. Youll
want to have vendors fresh in your mind when you are deciding on which ones to follow up
with. Take a week or two to run through the initial three to four vendors that youre searching.
After the first demo with each vendor, narrow the choice down to two options. Request one or
two more demos with each to get into more detailed analysis of the software. Most vendors
have free trials that you can use to get more familiar with the software on your own. Take this
time get feedback from your team and make sure that all technical skill levels are somewhat
comfortable with the software. Once you have played around for a while you may want to have
another round of discussions with your vendor rep to ask questions that youve come up with
during the trial or to get other stakeholders in on the conversation. At this point, your
organization should have a clear understanding of each vendor product and will be able to
make a thoughtful buying decision.

Key Takeaways
Needs Assessment

Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment offline before you begin to compare vendors

A needs assessment will help you to outline your ultimate software goals

It is important to get input from your entire team when conducting your needs assessment

A needs assessment consists of four main quadrants:

o

Objective: What do you want to get out of your software?

Feature Search: Which features do you want your software to have?

Functionality: How do you want your system to work, based on:

User Friendliness: The degree of simplicity a software offers

Web Based vs Installed: The type of hosting model you choose

Customizability: The extent to which you are able to customize your software

Scalability: The ease of which a system is able to grow with your organization

Budget: Create a preliminary budget that allocates resources towards the license fee AND
professional service fees, including training and setup.

Vendor Search

When comparing different software vendors, ask yourself the following questions:

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Q: How many vendors should I compare?

A: About 3-4

Q: What is the best approach to finding maintenance software vendors?

A: Use an online software comparison website such as Software Advice or Capterra

Q: What should I expect when Im going into my software demos?

A: Demos last between 30 min to 1 hour. Make sure you go in with clear goals and your
needs assessment in mind.

Q: Do you have any advice on pricing expectations?

A: Pricing structures vary between vendors. The factors affecting this structure are a)
number of users and work order requesters, b) number and size of facilities in your
operations c) size of your maintenance department.

Q: How long can I expect this process to take?

A: The entire process usually takes between 3 to 6 weeks.

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Part 2 Purchase and Integration

Understanding the Next Steps

After youve chosen a CMMS with the right mix of features, functionality and one that coincides
nicely with your budget, youre ready to start building your database. The data integration
process starts with importing the most important data first, which is typically your asset
information. Once you have your equipment data added in, you then add users and requesters
as necessary. Having both equipment and user data in first, will allow you to start using your
system to submit and respond to work orders. Depending on your CMMS goals, the next step is
to build up your database with preventive maintenance or scheduled work orders. At this point,
the foundation of your database has been built and the next data additions are simply icing on
the cake, adding more details such as images, documents, and asset info to make your database
more and more robust and comprehensive as you go.

Deciding the right direction to take to properly integrate your system into your business process
may seem simple at first. However, with varying degrees of support services that you can
purchase and a variety of factors that may affect the successful outcome of your setup, this
process may be more difficult than formerly thought. Without giving enough thought to setup,
organizations may find themselves unable to get their system off the ground, a key factor in
CMMS failure. Many clients dont understand the work involved in first setting up a system
properly and then integrating it into their daily business processes. Potential pitfalls await
organizations who havent
supplied a generous
budget to integration,
Pro Tip #5 Start simple and build up. In order to
who havent dedicated an
get your account up and running quickly, we
internal staff resource to
oversee the setup process,
encourage our clients to start small by inputting
and who havent solidified
some data such as asset names and user info first,
a reasonable
then slowly add details to these assets over time.
implementation timeline.

Give yourself data input goals such as plugging in

5 new PMs a week so you can stay on track. By
not overwhelming your workload at the
beginning and adding data in order of
importance, you can start tracking info and
submitting work orders much more quickly.

Learn what to expect

during the integration
process and identify the
type of setup that
matches your
organizations profile in
the next sections.

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Determining Your Setup Type

Weve devised a simple flow chart to determine the best course of action to get your system up
and running quickly, whether it be completing your own setup, investing in partial setup or
investing in a full on site audit. Once youve completed this exercise, read on to learn more
about the chart items.

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Setup Types (applies to dark boxes on flow chart)

There are three different types of setup; self-setup, partial service setup, and full service setup.
The differences stem from the amount of work that the organization must do versus the work a
vendor must do to setup a software system.
1. Self-Setup- This option puts all onus on the organization to complete its database setup. This
includes itemizing lists of equipment, assets, inventory, parts, PMs, and users to then be
imported into the system. Any asset info wanted to be tracked including asset IDs, images, and
documents must then be added to the system and associated with the asset in question. Users
with their respective permissions and contact info, interface customization, and lastly work order
templates are then added to the system.
RESPONSIBILITY: Solely Business
COST: Free included in license fee/ account activation fee
TIMEFRAME: 3-6 months (depending on four factors listed in next section)

2. Partial Service Setup- Partial service splits the responsibility of setup between the business
and the vendor. In this case, the business is usually asked to fill out standard spreadsheet
templates that the vendor provides them with. After lists of equipment, assets, inventory, parts,
PMs, and users are collected and noted on these forms, the business then sends them to the
vendor. The vendor inputs all data into the system, cleans these lists as necessary, notes missing
information, and then associates assets with corresponding asset info. If your business requires
account customization or special software navigation, the vendor will create and link up these
items for you.
RESPONSIBILITY: Business and Vendor
COST: $150 /hr.- $250/hr. (depending on vendor rates and amount of data)
TIMEFRAME: 3 business days- 2 weeks (starts from the time business submits
spreadsheets and is dependent on extent of customization)

3. Full Service Setup- Full service puts the onus on the vendor to complete all setup tasks. This
implementation type usually refers to an on-site audit in which a vendor rep visits your facility(s)
and takes complete stock of your assets and equipment, asset info and their locations. They
then add all info to your account, create account customization and provide the business with
login credentials. The vendor may need to ask the business questions regarding their account
setup, but all work is initiated and completed by the vendor.
RESPONSIBILITY: Solely vendor
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COST: $1,500- $20,000+ (depending on vendor rates and amount of data)

TIMEFRAME: 7 business days- 1 month (is dependent on size of facility to audit and extent
of customization)

Factors Affecting Setup Type (applies to blue questions in flowchart)

Existing maintenance management software- Simply put, if you already have maintenance
management software and are looking to switch to a different vendor, a lot of the setup work
may already be done for you. Your team will have less of a hurdle during the initial setup of your
new database, and integrating software processes into their daily business lives. This will come
in handy during Part 3- rollout. For now, the primary question you need to ask yourself is does
this current system allow you to export your data?. If the answer is yes, then youre in luck! Your
setup just got a whole lot simpler and your maintenance history tracking just became much
more extensive. By migrating maintenance history data from an old system into a new one, you
will have seamless and consistent tracking from the beginning of time instead of losing your
data during the switch. In addition to maintenance history, lists of assets and equipment, users,
inventory and spare parts, and work order templates can typically be migrated from the old
software into the new one. Your vendors support team can help you clean up and import your
data, making this process much simpler.
If your current system
does not allow you to
extract your data then
you may have a little
Pro Tip #6 Whatever you put into the system,
more work ahead of you,
you get out. Although software helps to
which is where vendor
automate an otherwise manual process, it still
support staff comes into
relies on people to input accurate data on a
play. Perhaps you have
kept old spreadsheets
frequent basis. If you dont setup your account
with asset and
properly you wont be able to realize all of the
equipment info listed or
benefits that maintenance management software
perhaps your current
has to offer. It may take time to gather all data
vendor can pull info
needed to be tracked, but it will be well worth it
from your old database.
If all else fails you can at
once you begin to use the system.
least use your old
account as a guide to
setup your new one,
showing you the
equipment or assets that you used to track and copying them into your new database. Full or
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partial setup service is recommended at this point to get you up and running quickly and
correctly.
Integration Budget- As stated in Part 1, make sure you leave room in your budget for
integration fees. Hourly import fees can run anywhere from $150/ hr. to $250/ hr. depending on
the vendor, while others may include this fee in the license or eat the cost altogether. On site
audits have a wide pricing range as they usually add a per diem for travel and food expenses
and they base the price on the number of assets involved in the audit. $1,000- $3,000 per day
gives you an idea of an audit price point. Regardless of which setup route you take, we strongly
recommend that you opt for some help in setting up your system, meaning that you will need to
budget at least in part for these services.
Implementation Timeframe- You can view your implementation timeframe in three distinct
periods, short term (1-3 months), medium term (3-6 months), and long term (6 months- 1 year).
If youre not in a rush to get this new system off the ground, then you may have more time to
slowly and steadily set it up yourself. You can take your time grooming your lists to import,
conducting your own audit using internal staff, and getting feedback from fellow team members
on the kind of permissions they require or the assets they would like to track. If you need your
system up and running more quickly, then it might make more sense to hire a professional to
get the job done for you. With their expertise in the industry and ease of use with their own
product, vendors can conduct full audits and setup your account within a month or less.
Dedicated Internal Resource- A dedicated internal staff member should be appointed as the
go to contact person for setup and ongoing system support. This person should be one who will
regularly use the system and who can diffuse new info to their team of software users. This
software champion can help to setup the new system by gathering asset info, filling out import
spreadsheets, and integrating this info with the software. Some organizations utilize the skills of
a third party software consultant to help properly research a new system and set it up. Other
organizations task summer interns or trainees to setup the system, making this a large ongoing
project for the duration of their contract. This temporary hire could make sense as the initial
setup contact, but make sure this champion has successfully relayed their knowledge to the rest
of the team who will be using the system on an ongoing basis. If you have a designated staff
champion on your team with the mandate to set up your system, databases can get up and
running much more quickly than those who dont make this a priority in the maintenance
department.

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Key Takeaways

There are three types of implementation, each with varying responsibilities, costs and timeframes:
o

Self-Setup: Conduct all your own setup including data collection, import, and account
customization.
RESPONSIBILITY: Solely Business

COST: Free- included in license fee/ account activation

TIMEFRAME: 3 -6 months (depending on four factors)

o

Partial Service: A group effort performed by both the vendor and the company. A
vendor typically sends the company spreadsheets to fill out with asset info and then send
back to the vendor who will import the data and setup the account.
RESPONSIBILITY: Business and Vendor
COST: $150 /hr.- $250/hr. (depending on vendor rates and amount of data)
TIMEFRAME: 3 business days- 2 weeks (starts from the time business submits
spreadsheets and is dependent on extent of customization)

Full Service: All setup tasks are initiated and completed by the vendor with little to no
input from the company.
RESPONSIBILITY: Solely vendor
COST: $1,500- $20,000+ (depending on vendor rates and amount of data)
TIMEFRAME: 7 business days- 1 month (is dependent on size of facility to audit and
extent of customization)

Determine your setup type based on the following factors

o

Existing maintenance management software: If you can extract your existing data, you
can simply transfer it to your new system and never lose any of your maintenance
tracking. If not, you can use your old system as a guide to build the new one.

Integration Budget: How much money have you allocated in your budget towards setup
and integration? You can either pay someone to setup or save money and do it yourself.

Implementation Timeframe: If setup is a long-term project, then you can complete this
in house over a longer timeframe. If you want your system up and running quickly then
you may need to hire your vendor to do the work for you.

Dedicated Internal Resource: Appoint a software champion to be your go to internal

staff member charged with setup tasks. Setup is quicker with a champion around.
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Part 3 Rollout
Now that your system has been setup and integrated, it is time to roll it out to your team for

use. The majority of this section will outline different forms of training that vendors offer and
how to optimize training for your team. We will also discuss software resistance from employees
and how to minimize these reservations.

The Importance of Training

Adequate training is a crucial step in properly diffusing software knowledge to your entire
organization and in ensuring its ongoing success. Training is the number 1 factor in a successful
software system. If users are confused over functionality or nervous to try something new, the
level of uptake will be severely decreased, and your system wont get off the ground. Depending
on the technical skill level of your organization, you may require more hours of training
delivered in incremental sessions and through different methods. Follow our training and rollout
tips below to ensure you are optimizing your time.

9 Tips to Optimize Your Rollout Strategy

1. Keep it short, simple, and sweet- We recommend that all organizations get at least 2 hours
of training for their staff to ensure that everyone is comfortable with software navigation and
has proper comprehension of key product features. Some vendors offer free training at the
beginning of any license and many let you buy and bank hours to use when you need them. We
encourage that sessions are only 1 hour long so that key concepts can be discussed and
practiced before diving into more advanced features. Throwing a lot of information all at once
to trainees is a sure fire way of creating confusion amongst your team. It is important to
remember that each user comes with a different technical skill level and that keeping training
topics simple and concise is the best way of making sure your team feels confident with their
new software.
2. Make an agenda- The vendors training team can teach you everything you need to know
about your software, and much more! Although they usually keep training sessions to one or
two topics, it is a good idea to come into every session with a game plan. Knowing what you
want to get out of a session will help to avoid getting off topic or becoming overwhelmed. Play
with the software before you go into training so you can create a list of questions you need
answered by the end of the hour. Trainers love when users lead the session as long as you stick
to your own script!

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3. Utilize user permissions- User permissions tell the software what a user is allowed to do or
see in their account and what should be hidden. So as not to overcomplicate a users workflow,
make sure that fancy features are turned off for those who dont need to use them. By
constructing a simpler interface, users wont get distracted with useless buttons or veer off
course from their basic task during training and in real world scenarios.
4. Define the work order process- To determine which permissions should be granted and
which should be hidden from a user, define the work order process. Identify which users submit
a work order/ request, who assigns this WO to the maintenance team, and who closes out the
WO. Once these roles are defined, clear permissions can be granted depending on their
responsibility in this process. For example, dont let junior maintenance technicians view all the
work orders in the facility at once. Instead, give them permissions to view only their own so as
not to overwhelm them with work they dont have to complete. Refer to Figure 4.0 on page 28
for a workflow process.
5. Choose the right delivery method- Vendors offer a variety of delivery methods to
communicate software features and functionality to your team. Understand the needs of your
team in order to choose the best one.
o

Web Conference Training- Brought to you via Go To Meeting or Webex, trainers will share
their computer screen online with trainees to demonstrate a particular topic or display
software navigation. The trainee will follow along at the comfort of their own desks, asking
questions via telephone, and interacting with the software by repeating the motions of the
trainer. Sessions are usually recorded and can be requested by the trainee to use as
reference.

On Site Training- The trainer will visit the offices of the organization to present a live topic or
display software navigation to a group of trainees. Training manuals may also be used to
follow along.

Online Resources- Vendors may develop wikis, online forums, training manuals and video
tutorials featuring FAQs and software terminology that is available 24/7. These materials
support the user as they navigate the software and come up against specific issues.

Ongoing Support- Most vendors have support emails, phone numbers, support request
tickets, and even live support chat. These platforms allow the vendor to be available at
different times of day to answer one off questions about feature use or software
functionality.

6. Rollout Slowly- Conduct trial and error testing to a small sample of your users with different
job roles. Make sure emails are firing to the right users, features are showing up to those with
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the right permissions, and that login credentials are working. Once your test is complete, you
can roll out to your entire user group.
7. Identify the key users- Often we see big training groups fail because they werent able to
get enough personalized attention or felt uncomfortable asking questions. Getting a large
group to sign up for training can be a challenge as people are busy with their daily work
schedules without having to learn yet another software. To mitigate this, we recommend you
identify one or two key software users in your organization and make them the software
champion. It is their responsibility to sign up for training, understand basic features and then
take it back to the rest of the team. They can field questions from the rest of their team and
follow up with the vendor on the answers. By having an internal software guru on staff, the rest
of the team will feel more comfortable to ask questions to someone they know and chances are
they will get a quick and simple response.
8. Create your own training materials- Sometimes vendor manuals and support
documentation may be a little too detailed for the average user. Create a one or two page
training document on a key function in the software. A simple screenshot and 3 or 4 steps
describing how to complete the task would do. By getting right to the point and having a simple
document on hand, youll be fielding questions much less frequently.
9. Overcome tech-anxiety- When bringing something new into any work environment, people
have a tendency to resist change. This factor can be exaggerated if the new thing is software
as many people feel they do not have the technical skill level to master a new program. With a
steep learning curve in mind and the perception that this system will simply add to their
workload instead of making their lives easier, it can be difficult to get people on board and thus
a system could fail. Apart from choosing a very user-friendly software and reinforcing the
importance of training to your team, one of the best ways to reduce tech-anxiety is to explain
the benefits of a CMMS to your team in terms that are relevant to them. Most of your requesters
wont care that you can report on a wide range of maintenance history items and they definitely
cant relate to the benefits of housing your asset info in one place. They would, however, enjoy a
simple request form that they can easily use to submit work order requests. By explaining
benefits that apply to different job roles from maintenance techs to requesters to mid-level
managers, more people can get on board with the same system.

Key Takeaways

Keep it short, simple, and sweet

o

Sign up for at least 2 hours of training

Break each session into 1 hour segments to discuss 1 topic at a time

Keep topics concise and relevant to the trainees

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Be aware that each user may have a different technical skill level

Make an agenda
o

Begin each training session with your own game plan

Play around with software before your training session to have a list of questions
prepared

Utilize user permissions

o

User permissions allow system users to gain access to features/ functions that they need,
and to hide those that they dont

To reduce interface clutter and confusion, turn off functions that a user doesnt need
access to.

Define the work order process

o

Identify the flow of your work order process, from who submits, accepts, modifies and
ultimately closes out the work order in order to better understand user roles and process
inefficiencies.

Correct these inefficiencies by reassigning user permissions and tightening up processes.

Choose the right delivery method

o

Web conference training: Trainers share their computer screen online with trainees to
demonstrate a particular topic or display software navigation.

On-site training: The trainer visits the clients office to present a live topic or display
software navigation to a group of trainees.

Online resources- A collection of manuals, documents, tutorial videos and forums

available 24/7 to support a user as they navigate the software.

Ongoing Support: Various channels such as emails, phone numbers, support request
tickets, and live chat used to support a user as they navigate the software.

Rollout Slowly
o

Conduct a trial with a smaller group of users before rolling out to your entire team.
Gauge the success of the system, user permissions, email linkage, etc.

Identify the key users

o

Choose one or two key users who will undergo training from the vendor and then pass
this info on to the rest of the team.

Create your own training manuals

o

Vendor training manuals can be more complicated than a user may need
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Create a one or two page document in house to outline one key function in the system.

Over-come tech anxiety

o

Tech anxiety stems from the preconceived notion that new software programs are
difficult to learn.

To overcome tech-anxiety choose a user friendly software, stress the importance of

training, and explain the benefits of a CMMS in terms that are relevant to them.

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Part 4 Post Purchase and System

Optimization
Even after youve successfully rolled out your new software, there is still some work to be done

to ensure ongoing support of your system. Post purchase is a time when features, training and
setup can be refined and measured. By taking a critical eye to your system you will be able to go
beyond the basic functionality that you learned initially and dig deeper into more advanced
features. This section will explain follow-up steps to complete 1 to 2 months after you have
rolled out your system and the best ways that you can optimize your current system.

Post Purchase Timeline

Short Term (3 weeks to 1 month)
Assess your newly created database and determine its current strengths and weaknesses. Make
sure all basic features are working properly, that all users are receiving the right work order
notifications and status updates, and that your team is getting the hang of integrating this new
system into their everyday work life. Speak to different users to understand any challenges that
they may be facing and follow up with a member of your vendors training staff to seek advice
or get more training to mitigate these issues. If a process is working really well or you are seeing
great benefit from a particular feature, maybe someone else in your organization would also see
benefit from utilizing the tool. Slowly add new permissions to users throughout this period while
striking a balance between robust functionality and software simplicity. These small changes and
tweaks to the system will help to address user concerns while simultaneously getting the most
out of your software.
Medium Term (1 to 2 months)
After about a month of consistent software use, you will have collected enough maintenance
history data to begin reporting on these activities. Reporting is one of the most robust and
beneficial features that a CMMS can provide. You can analyze in depth data to discover patterns
and make better decisions. From HR decisions to repair and replace decisions to reordering
spare parts, you can report on a wide variety of items or narrow your focus to view micro data.
You will probably require one or two training sessions to adequately dig into your software
reporting tools. Since the scope of reporting can be so varied, other members of your team may
also find benefit in this feature. Reach out to your vendor to book a reporting-only training
session for your team. The vendor can explain different types of reporting that may be helpful
for stakeholders on your team, or each member can attend the session with a reporting
objective in mind.

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Long Term (3 months+):

In addition to reports training, get better acquainted with all features of your software by
booking sessions with your vendors support team. Make sure that you keep these sessions
short -limit them to one hour at a time- but frequent. Once youre aware of the many ins and
outs that your system has to offer, youll be able to truly master your software. Keep in mind
software vendors come out with new updates throughout the year. Depending on if your system
is deployed via web or is an installed solution, these upgrades will be received and
communicated to your team differently. With web-based, small changes that may prove to be
very beneficial to the user arent always directly communicated. Thats why its important to stay
in the know by taking advantage of free resources that your vendor most likely provides. These
ongoing resources include new CMMS content like videos, articles, social media messaging, and
blog posts. Subscribe to your vendors e-newsletter, follow them on Linked In, and read their
latest article. You can also check in with your account rep to see whats new and whats on their
software development roadmap (aka a timeline of when new features will be released). By
staying on top of the latest and greatest, youll be the first to get new info and will most likely
get to share your opinion on these changes while they are still in beta testing.

6 Software Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

No matter how hard you may try, its easy to lose your footing and stumble right into common
software pitfalls. Identifying these challenges before they happen is an important first step to
mitigate their effects.
Visit Appendix 2 located at the back of this document to take the maintenance software pitfall
quiz. If you check Yes to one or more of the questions, chances are youve already fallen into
an unfortunate situation. But have no fear, as this section outlines concrete action steps you can
take to rid your system of negative pitfalls.
1. Pitfall- Youve lost your software champion
Maybe they quit or got promoted, but either way your original software champion has left. If
your software has been in place for a long time you may not feel it is necessary to appoint a new
software champion, however this is often a costly mistake made by many organizations. A
software champion is charged with the initial setup and implementation work to get the system
up and running, they also play an important role in maintaining the system, answering basic
software questions from new users, and staying in the know of software changes or upgrades
that may occur overtime. Many companies are too busy to keep up to date with all of their
software vendors and can easily fall behind on their system or miss a great tool that would have
benefited them. For all of these reasons and more, its important to always have an internal
software guru in place.

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Solution
The solution is simple, re-appoint a software champion in your organization to take over as the
main point person for all things related to your maintenance management software. This doesnt
have to be a time consuming job as the chosen person should already be well acquainted with
the software. To get up to speed quickly, have them schedule training sessions as soon as
possible with questions or specific topics already in mind. Explain the situation to the training
staff and make sure they are clear on the items you would like to cover in these short and sweet
sessions. Although it may be a little late at this phase, ensure your vendor is proactive when it
comes to support services. Vendors who regularly check in with their clients usually see higher
retention rates, more thoughtful users, and better client databases. If this is not the case with
your chosen vendor then have your champion be the proactive one. They should take advantage
of free support resources like ongoing tutorials, demos, and product information. Ensure that
the vendor has at least 3 up-to-date contacts from your company so they can always get a hold
of someone and pass along key info to your team. Lastly, it is important to remember that
software is simply a tool designed to help you manage your maintenance processes, it is not a
fully automated robot. Your team must be accountable for the quality of your system by
inputting clean and continuous data.
2. Pitfall- Your database is full of outdated information
If your data is teaming with open work orders, PMs that have never been closed out, or old
contacts that havent worked at your organization in years, then your database is outdated.
Once your info is no longer relevant, the quality of your database and the benefits that
maintenance management software can provide are decreased or eliminated altogether. It is
important to cut the clutter and get your database back on track. Doing so may require some
manual legwork to comb through and clean existing data. Although this may seem like a
daunting task there are tips and tricks to get you up and running more quickly.

Pro Tip #7 If you would prefer to complete

this task internally, you can use your software
to add automation to the process. Run a
report to determine equipment that should
be retired by using filters based on inactive
assets. Many systems will then let you mass
delete data in batches for quick and easy data
cleaning!

Solution
Depending on the extent of
your database clutter, you can
opt to clean the data yourself
or hire the services of your
vendor. In addition to saving
you many hours of tedious
work, enlisting the help of your
vendor will ensure quality
control and accuracy. They can
quickly view inactive data and
remove work orders, users or
outdated pieces of equipment
from your system in a matter of
a few business days or hours.

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Now that your system is clean and comprehensive, it is important to institute a control system
ensuring that your database stays that way. First, assign a staff member (perhaps your software
champion) to be your go to data removal person. Create a procedure where your maintenance
team and staff members report any maintenance or user changes- such as noting when
equipment has been retired or when a user of the software leaves- to the data removal person.
On a frequency of their choice (we recommend bi weekly), they should remove the outdated
info from the database. Additionally, make it a mandatory policy for maintenance techs to close
out their work orders once the task has been completed. Youd be surprised how many people
dont! By getting used to this communication process and instituting usage policy, your
database will remain clean and tidy for years to come.
3. Pitfall- Your software is not user friendly
If you have a non-intuitive interface or software that is difficult to navigate through, then simple
workflow processes can be severely disrupted. User uptake may decrease and the quality of
information that your database captures will diminish. Software that is not easy to use is a
primary reason for system failure in any organization and at the very least makes optimizing a
system extremely difficult. Put simply, if processes are tricky to use and features hard to find
they wont be used and the money youve dumped into a system is wasted.
Solution
An obvious but costly solution is to ditch your confusing system and start fresh with a new more
flexible platform. Often you can find less expensive options with simpler and more intuitive
features. At the same time, we understand that most organizations dont want to start from
scratch every time an issue arises. To proactively deal with your current system it will be
important for you to invest in more training and follow the training steps outlined in Part 3 for a
better support strategy moving forward. Make sure that all of your users are confident with key
software functions. Then, select a smaller group of users to be able to complete more advanced
tasks. Your software champion will play an important role in this process as they will have to
field more questions from staff and make sure they stay on top of all system upgrades and
features. Lastly, play around with your user permission settings. Make sure you have streamlined
the permissions for each user, giving them access to things they need and hiding those things
they dont. By modifying these settings, you can help to clean up an existing interface and give
them less to look at or get lost in. Work with your vendor on changing these permissions or
customizing your database to see if you can make it less flashy and more streamlined.
4. Pitfall- Your workflow processes are inefficient
What happens after a user submits a work order request? Who closes out work orders after the
job has been completed? Where does the work order go after it has been closed out? If you
dont know the answers to these questions, then chances are your workflow processes arent as
efficient as they could be. By understanding the process from beginning to end and determining
the unique roles and responsibilities of different members on your team, you will be able to
identify areas of inefficiencies that require a fresh makeover. This allows your users to do their
jobs more effectively and much more quickly.
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Solution
First, map out your workflow process from beginning to end using the help of a flow chart.
Figure 4.0 Workflow Process

Establish which member(s) on your team are responsible for which step. At each step, ask
yourself if this process is working and what can be done to improve it. Most importantly,
determine what kind of feedback loop is in place to communicate outcomes back through the
chain. Once you critically view the process, you can take steps to change it. An example of this
may be to have better communication from the maintenance team to the original requester on
job status and completion. Maybe, you find that maintenance techs in the field arent utilizing
the help of a mobile app to communicate the work they have completed or started. A common
occurrence we find is much of the work that maintenance techs perform is in dead zones, or
areas that lack wifi access. In these cases, printing out work orders or opting for a native mobile
app would better match your workflow requirements.
Additional suggestions for more efficient work processes are to always utilize functions that are
built into the software for just this purpose. You would be surprised to see how many clients
never use due dates, checklists or comment fields. All of these features work together to tighten
up a process and come as standard features in maintenance management software packages, so
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use them! Lastly, you can run reports that allow you to easily allocate work hours for different
tasks. These reports take the number of work hours in a week, the number of jobs to complete
in the week, and the number of hours a job will take to craft an optimized work schedule for
each of your maintenance techs. This report can keep you and your entire team on track with a
just a few simple clicks.
5. Pitfall- Your system has too many bells and whistles that you have no idea how to use
Often buyers can get roped into acquiring the latest, greatest and flashiest software on the
market. Equipped with all sorts of dashboards and metrics, several types of mobile apps, the
ability to customize everything, and hundreds of buttons to click, your system might be a little
too sophisticated for its intended purpose.
Solution
As reiterated several times in this manual, simplicity is king. Know that you dont have to use all
features at once and you can always choose not to implement a feature if your organization
wont benefit from it. Stick to the features that you need like simple work order management,
scheduling PMs, and tracking asset info. When your team is ready, begin to implement more
features only if you find a need for them.
6. Pitfall- Your software is missing a crucial feature that your organization requires
Sometimes users will see a gap in the functionality a software offers and the feature that they
require. Perhaps your needs assessment wasnt as in-depth as it should have been or maybe the
needs of your company have changed since implementing your system. Regardless, it is
important that your system meet expectations so that you can avoid double entry to another
system.
Solution
If you are committed to your current software system then you may be in a make it work
moment. There are special system work-arounds that can be implemented by the vendor in
order to make it work the way you need it to. These work-arounds are situational, usually
requiring the help of the vendor support team to reconfigure the system in the backend.
Although this tactic may not be as streamlined, they can definitely help to satisfy your need and
are usually free of charge. A more expensive solution is to have your vendor custom create a
feature for you. Working with the vendors developer, new features can be custom built
specifically for your business. If you are not the only client requesting this particular feature, the
vendor may share the cost. Note that software customization can take a while as programming
the code, structuring the navigation, testing the beta version and then deploying the feature to
the client is an extensive process. Depending on the complexity of the customization this
process can take a week to 6 months (or more). Before you throw in the towel with your current
system, make sure you reach out to your vendor to discuss work-around options and software
customization.

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Key Takeaways
Post Purchase Timeline
In the months after launching your system, follow simple tasks to ensure the ongoing success and
maintenance of your database.

Short Term (3 weeks to 1 month)

o

Assess strengths and weaknesses of system

Make sure basic features are working for all users

Add training sessions for users who are confused with the system

Add new permissions to users who require more functionality

Medium Term (1 to 2 months)

o

Begin to generate maintenance history reports

Understand the benefits of reporting for different users in your organization

Undergo one or two training sessions to cover a variety of reporting examples

Long Term ( 3 months +)

o

Get better acquainted with all features of your software with frequent but short training
sessions

Keep up to date with new software upgrades by being in the know with your vendor.

Sign up for vendor newsletter and mail lists to have communication sent to you

System pitfalls and how to avoid them

Pitfall #1-Youve lost your software champion

o

Re-appoint a new software champion to take over duties

Have them sign up for training to get them up to speed quickly

Ensure your vendor provides proactive support with regular check-ins

Take advantage of free support resources provided by your vendor

Ensure your vendor has at least 3 up to date contacts from your organization

Recognize that your team is responsible for the quality of the data inputted into the
system.

Pitfall #2- Your database is full of outdated information

o

Clean your database of clutter either internally or hire your vendor to do it for you
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Create a control system to keep your database clear of clutter using a data removal
person and transparent communication process

Make closing out work orders a mandatory policy in your organization

Pitfall #3- Your software is not user friendly

o

Ditch your confusing system and start fresh with a more intuitive one

If you opt to keep your system, invest in more training for your entire organization

Rely on your software champion to diffuse new system info to staff members

Streamline your user permissions for each user

Pitfall #4- Your workflow processes are inefficient

o

Map out your workflow process from beginning to end using the help of a flow chart

Find process gaps and determine how to fix them and who is responsible for this process

Find better ways to perform these functions

Run reports to easily allocate work hours to tasks

Pitfall #5- Your system has too many bells and whistles that you have no idea how to use
o

Know that you dont have to use all features a system has to offer

Stick to basic features and slowly add on more advanced ones only if your organization
will benefit from it

Pitfall #6- Your software is missing a crucial feature that your organization requires
o

Speak with your vendor regarding work-arounds that they can do to make the software
work for you.

Speak with your vendor regarding software customization and dont forget to inquire if
the vendor will share some of the cost.

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Wrap Up
Choosing the right maintenance management software to meet your needs and your budget

can be tricky. Streamline this process with thorough research, proper purchase and integration
steps, a solid rollout strategy, and thoughtful post purchase follow up. Research should consist
of a solid needs assessment and a structured shopping experience. After narrowing down your
search and choosing the best product for your software needs, determine the type of setup that
you will use based on important factors that affect this process. From there, rollout your new
system to your entire team with comprehensive training. Continuously monitor your software
workflow, making changes to the features used and software roles as you see fit.
If you are looking to optimize your current system, identify software pitfalls and learn how to
avoid them by putting the right policies and people in place. Note that software never has to be
complicated and that all processes should be kept as simple as possible. Create policies and
procedures to ensure that your system stays clean and utilized. Dont be afraid to seek the
support of your vendor, utilize their resources, ask them questions, and develop a solid
relationship with their support team.
Maintenance management software is an excellent tool to help your entire teamwork more
efficiently. When used properly and setup correctly, software can be leveraged as a key
competitive advantage in your industry. Cost savings, workflow efficiency, departmental
organization, less equipment downtime, and in-depth reporting are all realized with a
comprehensive software system. A good system will stand the test of time, growing with you as
your organization scales upwards and becomes more innovative as technological processes
continue to advance.

About Hippo CMMS

Hippo CMMS is a powerful and user-friendly web-based maintenance management

solution. Its flexible platform and essential CMMS features suit a variety of industry
needs, from manufacturing to healthcare hospitality to education and more. Hippo
makes the complex simple with its graphical interface, unlimited user licenses, and
friendly support team. With over ten years of experience, Hippo has been instrumental
in streamlining maintenance operations for hundreds of organizations.
To learn more about Hippo CMMS visit our website at www.hippocmms.com.
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Appendices
Appendix 1 Online Buyer Resources
= Recommended Software Comparison Site

Software Advice www.softwareadvice.com

Capterra www.capterra.com
G2 Crowd www.g2crowd.com
VentureBeat venturebeat.com
CMMS Software Insight www.betterbuys.com/cmms/
Gigaom www.gigaom.com

Appendix 2 Maintenance Software Pitfall Quiz

See next page for quiz

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Appendix 2- Maintenance Software Pitfall Quiz

First, identify which pitfall(s) your software may currently be experiencing. Check Yes or No to the following questions:

1. Have you lost your software champion (aka the person who used to maintain the software or who
set it up originally)?
Yes
No

2. Is your database full of outdated information and packed with clutter?

Yes
No

3. Is your software difficult to navigate and confusing to use?

Yes
No

4. Is your system integrated properly into your teams' workflow?

Yes
No

5. Does your system have too many fancy features that you have no idea how to use?
Yes
No

6. Does your software perform all the functions that you need it to?
Yes
No

For more information about Hippo CMMS

Visit www.hippocmms.com
Email info@hippocmms.com
Phone (866) 956-2859
Address 300-214 McDermot Ave
Winnipeg, MB, Canada
R3B 0S3