Computer-Based Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS)

 A Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) or Marine ERP with PMS software is an integrated solution for efficiently managing maintenance and inventory operations. These systems also aid in human and capital resource management, but it is essential to understand that CMMS is a tool—not a replacement for strategic management. This chapter examines the marine industry's CMMS functionalities, benefits, limitations, and challenges.

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Key CMMS Functionalities

A CMMS integrates various functions to streamline maintenance activities, including:

• Equipment and asset management
• Work order and history tracking
• Inventory control
• Preventive maintenance planning and scheduling
• Human resource and purchasing management
• Invoice matching and accounts payable

These functionalities ensure seamless data management, task execution, and report generation. However, CMMS effectiveness relies heavily on accurate and consistent data input.

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Essential CMMS Data Files

Equipment/Asset Identification and Specifications

Each equipment record in a CMMS contains essential details like equipment type, location, and specifications. This data ensures efficient work order creation, verification, and planning. Comprehensive equipment records eliminate manual searches and streamline maintenance workflows.

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Equipment/Asset Hierarchies

Hierarchies group equipment into broader categories, enabling:

• Aggregated maintenance cost tracking
• Simplified equipment location identification
• Comprehensive historical data analysis for root cause failure identification

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Bills of Materials

Bills of materials (BOMs) link to specific equipment, listing major components and parts. Accurate BOMs aid in planning work orders and inventory management, ensuring the right parts are always available.

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Spare Parts and Inventory Management

An effective CMMS maintains real-time inventory records, tracks usage trends, and automates reorder processes. Integration with procurement ensures parts availability, reducing downtime and costs.

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CMMS User Roles and Applications

Maintenance Teams

Maintenance personnel use CMMS for work order initiation, planning, scheduling, and performance tracking. Features like automatic preventive maintenance (PM), work order generation, and resource allocation enhance efficiency.

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Engineering Teams

Engineers leverage CMMS for project planning, equipment performance tracking, and modification history management. These insights help optimise maintenance strategies and improve equipment reliability.

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Vessel Operations

Onboard crews use CMMS for:

• Downtime Scheduling: Planning routine maintenance during scheduled equipment downtime.
• Repair Request Backlog: Monitoring work order statuses without reliance on external communication.
• Failure Analysis: Analysing repair histories by cause and effect to identify systemic issues.

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Inventory Control

Inventory personnel manage parts usage, cross-reference inventory with equipment, and plan stock replenishment. Automated requisitioning and part-to-equipment cross-referencing improve inventory accuracy and reduce costs.

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Purchasing Teams

Integrated CMMS systems streamline purchasing by consolidating requisitions, automating reorders, and managing supplier relationships. This integration reduces administrative overhead and ensures timely part availability.

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Accounting and Finance

CMMS aids in cost tracking, budget preparation, and compliance with standards like ISO 9000. Accurate cost allocations and comprehensive maintenance histories ensure efficient financial management.

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Executive Management

Senior managers use CMMS for:

• Budget Tracking: Monitoring costs versus budgets for better resource allocation.
• Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring adherence to IMO, STCW, ILO-MLC, and ISO standards.

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Benefits of a CMMS

• Efficient Data Management: Automated sorting, summarising, and displaying of maintenance data.
• Enhanced Preventive Maintenance (PM): Reliable scheduling and notification systems ensure timely task execution.
• Streamlined Inventory Management: Automated replenishment and reduced stockouts.
• Accurate Scheduling: Resource-based work order scheduling improves task completion rates.

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Limitations of a CMMS

Despite its benefits, CMMS is not a replacement for skilled personnel. Key limitations include:

• Dependency on Proper Implementation: Partial implementations often lead to underutilisation.
• Resource Constraints: Successful deployment requires time, training, and commitment.
• Lack of Cultural Adaptation: Resistance to change can hinder system adoption.

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Common Reasons for CMMS Failure

1. Partial Implementation: Due to incomplete setups, many organisations use only 9% of CMMS functionality.
2. Inadequate Resources: Underfunding and understaffing derail implementations.
3. Misaligned Expectations: Overreliance on CMMS without addressing systemic issues.
4. Poor Communication: Lack of a clear project plan leads to confusion and inefficiency.
5. Work Culture Resistance: With staff buy-in, CMMS adoption is expanded.

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Steps to Ensure CMMS Success

1. Comprehensive Planning: Define clear objectives and allocate sufficient resources.
2. Employee Training: Equip teams with the skills to utilise CMMS effectively.
3. Collaborative Approach: Involve cross-functional teams to align system functionalities with organisational goals.
4. Continuous Monitoring: Regularly review and optimise CMMS usage to maximise ROI.

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FAQs on CMMS in the Marine Industry

1. What is the primary purpose of a CMMS in marine operations?
A CMMS improves maintenance efficiency by centralising data, automating workflows, and optimising vessel resource allocation.

2. How does a CMMS streamline inventory management?
A CMMS tracks inventory in real-time, automates reorders and provides usage insights, ensuring parts availability while reducing overstock and costs.

3. What are the key challenges of implementing a CMMS?
Challenges include partial implementations, inadequate training, resistance to cultural changes, and lack of stakeholder commitment.

4. Can a CMMS ensure regulatory compliance?
A CMMS assists with compliance by maintaining records and schedules for IMO, STCW, ILO-MLC, and ISO standards.

5. How can organisations maximise ROI from a CMMS?
To maximise ROI, ensure full implementation, provide thorough training, involve all stakeholders, and regularly review system performance.

Disclaimer:

Out of Box Maritime Thinker © by Narenta Gestio Consilium Group 2022 and Aleksandar Pudar assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this paper. The information in this paper is provided on an "as is" basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness, or timeliness or of the results obtained from using this information. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your company's situation or system or consulting a consultancy professional. The content of this paper is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only.

SPARE PARTS

The Vessel's Spares Parts Management ( within MPMS(CB))

Suppose the vessel does not have that spare part when needed, then the owner may be in big trouble.

However, it is impossible to keep an extra vessel in the storeroom.

Vessels are trading worldwide, and it is difficult to predict what might happen and when and do proper planning for the delivery of necessary spare parts

Vessel spares are supplied in 4-6 months intervals for typical spares used throughout the year.

However, there is an analytical way to minimize the expected costs if an unexpected breakdown occurs. In addition, there is a way to identify critical spares that may affect the vessel earnings if the spare part is not readily available onboard.

The process of that analytical way is following; keep in mind that using common sense to choose spares and machinery included in this process is paramount to the success of the process.

1^st step is to calculate the costs of whether or not to purchase and keep the critical spares.

 

2^nd step is to estimate downtime costs ( off-hire ), the failure frequency, and the lifetime of the machinery where it will be used.

 

In case 1^st and 2^nd steps indicate that spare might be financially critical (high financial impact in case spare is not on board), then it is time to proceed

Step 3 Risk Assessment must be done keeping in mind redundancy of equipment, the criticality of equipment, experience-based of machinery maintenance history, condition-based monitoring etc

If all three steps indicate that a spare part is critical or optimal for running maintenance and should be kept on board, then that spare can be included in the planned maintenance and kept on board

Combining these three results can determine the criticality level l of spare and ensure that the best decision has been made regarding that machinery and the vessel overall.

 

An Introduction to Planned Maintenance Storeroom Management

 

Planned Maintenance Storeroom Management is the essential skill of any marine engineer in managing the storage of spares required for normal vessel trading. Sometimes this  has been compared to having a floating spare parts store for the vessel

The maintenance items inventory includes all the spare parts for machinery, tools, and company-supplied consumable equipment such as safety glasses, overalls, etc., necessary for the vessel's normal day-to-day operation.

This category excludes consumables, such as washers or bolts.

 

Planned Maintenance Storeroom Management has three major goals:

• To have the spare that is needed
• To supply that spare quickly when it is needed
• To control the overall cost of delivering and keeping spares in stock

For example, suppose that a gasket on an emergency fire pump needs to be replaced about twice a year, but only when it "fails" (rather than on a pre-emptive maintenance schedule). That emergency fire pump will stop running until the gasket is replaced. There will be a significant delay in bringing it online if it is out of stock, even if the replacement can be purchased and delivered on board. If a replacement gasket is listed in the inventory but misplaced, there is still a delay as one or more engineers search for the item. Sometimes the response to this "crisis" is that a dozen gaskets are purchased, some stored near the emergency fire pump and more in the storeroom. That expense represents a 60 month supply; some gaskets will likely be misplaced in the coming years, completely wasting the purchase.

Setting up proper inventory keeping procedures is essential in planned maintenance storeroom management. The procedure must be simple and easy to follow.

The best solution is to have that in an integrated software solution linked to approved PMS software and purchasing software.( Danaos,PAL,BASS, NETPASS etc)

So the prerequisite for proper spare parts management is to have a reliability-centred maintenance program (RCM) or machinery planned maintenance system (MPMS) with condition-based monitoring (CB). The advantage is that most maintenance is scheduled; therefore, the demand for many maintenance spares are known in advance.

Ensure that the crew members are given sufficient advance notice of the planned maintenance schedule to pick up the spares and prepare maintenance "shopping carts" for each machinery. Alternatively, to have enough notice ( including delivery time) to order spare and have it on board just in time or before it is required.

This smoothes out the workload for the storeroom management and should lead to fewer errors. 

One key recommendation is to consider a barcode computerized inventory management system for the maintenance supplies. This should integrate the purchasing, storage and stock-release functions, so the system tracks pending orders, expense authorizations, where items are stored, and to whom the items are released.

Ordering / Purchasing Guidelines for Planned Maintenance Storeroom

This is usually where engineers believe they do well and often do.

For improvement, it can be considered a kanban approach or some iteration of it: let demand-pull re-order process. While this usually is applied to parts and processes in manufacturing production, it can be applied to vessel maintenance parts, if appropriately planned in line with MPMS(CB)

The brief idea is to order new stock (applicable to most consumables and select machinery spares) when the remaining inventory drops to the point where the replacements will arrive just before the system reports "out of stock" to the subsequent request.

Basically, for select items ( expensive consumables) purchasing system should have lead time included in the description.

So when the item drops to min described stock or the rate of consumption reaches min level, the system alerts the user to place an order for the item so that item comes onboard when needed considering lead time.

This way, the risk is minimized, considering that this is being applied to the vessel.

Kanban requires a good understanding of the lead for each item and the lead time between the order and its delivery.

The benefit is that kanban minimizes inventory levels while maintaining enough supply to meet maintenance requirements on board.

Deciding Whether to Stock a Critical Spare Part

A financially-driven decision on whether or not to stock a particular spare part compares the cost of being out of stock against the cost of keeping a replacement part in inventory. For example, once a machine breaks down and a replacement part is required, there are two possibilities: the part is in stock, or it has to be purchased. The extra cost for being out-of-stock is the hourly cost of downtime, multiplied by the extra time required to purchase the item rather than taking it out of inventory. On the other hand, the holding cost for having the part in stock includes the interest on the pre-paid item, storage costs, and depreciation if the part becomes obsolete before it is needed.

This calculation is essential for expensive but critical spare parts. An informed decision requires knowing the cost of downtime, how often the part must be replaced per year, and the time it takes to purchase the new part.

It is overkill to run through this calculation for inexpensive or easily-stocked parts.

Stock-Keeping Guidelines

It is useless to have a spare in stock if it is not found.

Again, most engineers ensure that they have a system for keeping track of where spares are stored.

The best practice on board or in any workplace is to keep the workplace tidy and organized; this is especially important for spare past storage and inventory.

It puts the most frequently used items nearest the point of use (in easy reach), the most-rarely used items into storage areas and intermediate-use items in convenient places within sight of the point of use.

Maintenance Storeroom Guidelines for Releasing Stock

 

This is often the downfall for engineers and other crewmembers. Engineers are undoubtedly rushing to pick up spares and are not inclined to fill in the paperwork.

However, a lack of control over stock withdrawal is similar to a self-serve store with no cash register. Items that might be taken for personal use, such as safety glasses, solvents or drill bits, might easily find their way to cabins. In addition, inventory management and re-ordering are compromised even with most honest engineers without some tracking system.

Worse yet, an increase in the consumption of maintenance spares may be the symptom of a significant problem with a machinery or maintenance process. Engineers might overlook this if the problem builds slowly but could be visible as an increase in usage even before it becomes an out-of-stock or over-spending issue.

How can the process of taking spares from the planned maintenance storeroom be made quicker and more accessible and with increased record-keeping accuracy?

The best labour-saving approach is to use either a barcode scanner, QR code scanner or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) devices to log spares as they are removed from inventory. This should, of course, be integrated into the PMS

The best time-saver to track which department (Deck /Engine) withdrew the spares is to use the employee's computer-readable identification card. The withdrawal is then charged to that employee's department budget.

 

Conclusion

A vessel's overall performance relies heavily on how well its planned maintenance storerooms are managed.  The stock of spare parts may grow over time. When the machinery for which they are intended is replaced, the newly obsolete spares might remain on the shelves. Spares with a limited shelf life need to be replaced.

It can be difficult to argue to reduce this inventory since an out-of-stock situation can stop the vessel or reduce training capacity.

 

The requirement to balance keeping the parts in inventory with the need to control spending is the reason it is important to have a clear, rational, and well-understood policy. The person in charge of the planned maintenance storeroom needs to know the costs, the frequency of the need for specific critical, optimal, consumable and expensive parts and the lead time required for purchasing them and delivering them on board to keep that balance.

 

 For more information and guidance contact us.

 

  Disclaimer:

         “ Out of Box Maritime Thinker” © 2018 and Aleksandar Pudar assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this paper. The information contained in this paper is provided on an “as is” basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness or of the results obtained from the use of this information. The ideas and strategies should never be used without first assessing your own company situation or system, or without consulting a consultancy professional. The content of this paper is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only

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Published in "Nord News"  Spring 2017 pages 14 and 15
Publisher
REEDEREI NORD GmbH
ASTRATURM, Zirkusweg 2
20359 Hamburg - Germany
www.reederei-nord.com

Abstract: Published in "Nord News" Spring 2017 pages 14 and 15 Publisher REEDEREI NORD GmbH ASTRATURM, Zirkusweg 2 20359 Hamburg - Germany www.reederei-nord.com