Companies Large and Small Find Value

I was recently hired by a small manufacture in Fort Myers Fl after relocating from Northeast Ohio. Back in the Cleveland area I was maintenance director for a mid size, 100 + employees and primarily responsible for the implementation of their first modern CMMS program. The initial investigation was an extensive undertaking with myself taking the lead for a team collaboration. Many hours were spent on trying to identify the features we needed that would fit our target dollar investment. Eventually we narrowed the field to the "Fab Five" ranging in price from $2500 to well over $10,000 for the base modules. I only tell you this as a comparison to the SS-CMMS program. Most of the features I had wanted for the larger company can be found within this software at a tremendous value for any size company. We only have a handful of machines and nothing is so sophisticated as to warrant spending thousands of dollars to track basic maintenance. Working with a very limited budget, I was amazed to discover the SS-CMMS program that has all the necessary components that was truly affordable for Mom and Pop to the Major Players in the manufacturing field. This software, like many others, will allow you to take control of the daily operations within your facility but at a fraction of the cost. 1. Work orders generated manually or setup to reoccur at intervals you setup. 2. Preventive maintenance schedules that can remind you ahead of time so you can coordinate with individual departments to keep downtime to minimum. 3. Parts tracking that will deduct your on hand inventory as the parts are used for repairs. 4. Critical spare parts reminders when stock reaches a re-order level that you set 5. Quick visual analysis of where your time is being spent. Scheduled, Reactive, Preventative There are too many features to list so my advise is to give it a shot. The only thing you have to lose is the time it takes to download the fully functional demo.

Pros

Packed with features found in programs that would otherwise not be affordable for small businesses

Cons

None for the price

SS-CMMS More than meets the eye

I was tasked by my company to improve our services department since the industry is becoming more keen on outsourcing maintenance of their equipment, I had the idea to implement the use of a Maintenance Management Software so I search the WEB for something that generally meets the requirements of a company transitioning from manual tracking to a computerized system and guess what I came across SS-CMMS at first I was reluctant why because it literally met the general requirements I've set Simple,Web Based and of course the "COST" to acquire, now during the trial I made activity ,dispatch simulations that I will need to interface the system with our business which is primarily Repair and Maintenance of clients equipment's and the result is simple SS-CMMS is a system that gives you everything you "NEED" to manage R & M it does not give you the "WANT" now considering we wanted to improve our service infrastructure at the least possible cost then this was the system we needed, the main thing to keep in mind is when I presented the system to the management and our clients was we were there to provide their "NEEDS" not their "WANTS" and explained if they "WANT" more than what they "NEED" the maintenance cost would go up because of some features that is rarely gonna be used and just because they "WANT" it , so that's it use the system as it is and what it was meant to do just keep in mind the value for your money and last but not the least I understand that this is on it's Start Up stage but I wanted the say thanks to Rob for developing this management system and continue improving so that the day will come when it would be the most preferred system in the market.

Pros

It's simplicity which addresses the basic needs of maintaining equipment's and since it's Web based the idea of getting the needed information on the repairs made and the needed parts in real time is one of it's best features.

Cons

Basically some upgrades would be considered to make it a complete system

What a relief!

I am new to Facilities Management and actually only stepped into this role because the previous guy was on medical leave. After spending almost a year spinning wheels and figuring out where everything is, I decided I just HAD to computerize a work order system to keep track of things. Preventative Maintenance was being forgotten because of some other fire that had to be put out and there was no definitive list of what was being worked on and what stage it was at. I researched options and found systems that people swear by, but just weren't economically feasible for our church's budget. There were free systems available too, but what I was finding either A) didn't work out of the box, and there was no support - or B) MIGHT work, if I had a spare web-server laying around, time to learn Linux and how to program everything into the web-page, an MX record to point emails to, a domain-name to tie it all together, and a DMZ on the firewall that I could hang it off of. Then I saw a mention about a well-written solution that's not that well known: SS-CMMS. Checking out the website, I saw that it would accept email entries as well as prioritize work loads. It also has some inventory capabilities and ...AND... IT CAN HELP KEEP TRACK OF PM's!!!! Using the trial period, I set up reminders for checking mouse traps, certifying Fire Extinguishers, changing HVAC filters, even "burping" the maintenance valves on the fire suppression systems. I was expecting a kludgy, eccentric system that was going to require extensive knowledge of anacronyms and terminology I didn't know. What I got was a ready-to-use system that didn't require late-night studying and a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I could use it right away to start helping me keep track of my work...even in the trial stage. But BY FAR, the best thing about this system I've found has been the tech support. Even during my trial period, I was getting answers to questions and even help with problems WITHIN AN HOUR of submitting a request for help. I can't even give a response that fast most times. I know, as things progressively get larger, I may not always get that fast of a response. But I have been wowed! Not only speedy, but the help was actually helpful! What a rarity in computer support. We bought lifetime license because of it. Thanks guys, keep up the good work.

Essential to my shops maintenance program

Has been Great! After using another system at previous company, this software has so many more useful features and easy to navigate. Set up on new equipment, in the system, is also very easy with this software. Has done a great job at helping reduce machine brake down as well as keeping me organized.

Pros

This program generates my Preventive maintenance task on what ever frequency I need and set for the machines . This has greatly helped keep Machines properly maintained and resulted in less frequent machine down time. Also like having the ability to keep inventory of my commonly used Parts. The software also warns you when inventory is low for that part.

Cons

When you complete an active work order it takes you back to page one of the active work order log. might even be a way to fix this I could just be unaware of it.

A convenient CMMS program with all the features you NEED without the complexities of all the others.

Hands down the best CMMS software we tested. Over a 10 month period, we tested over a dozen of the most popular packages out there and this was the absolute best for us!

Pros

The program provides everything we need and more without all the fluff the others offer. We demo'ed many other systems over a course of 10 months before committing to SS-CMMS and we couldn't be more satisfied with our decision. We have been using SS-CMMS for over two years now and we continue to find areas that it's able to assist in....beyond simple machine and facility maintenance. We have now included our entire gage calibration program into the software....and now we can be certain we will never have an out of calibration situation within our organization.

SS-CMMS the idea maintenance management system for small or medium businesses and properties

Overall we have been very happy with our SS-CMMS experience. As a small non-profit housing co-operative trying to do a good job maintaining our housing assets it has been an invaluable tool to track what maintenance is happening and make sure work doesn't get forgotten about. Two thumbs up!

Pros

Simple, the software doesn't have all the bells and whistles of a Maximo or other major vendor's CMMS but it does what most small and medium sized users will want, it handles work orders well.

Cost effective - most small and medium sized companies want something that isn't going to break the bank, SS-CMMS definitely delivers on that front. We are a small non-profit housing co-op and we don't have a lot of money, SS-CMMS was within our budget for maintenance software.

Web hosted - Our business does not have the IT infrastructure to host our own database servers. SS-CMMS is entirely web based with the option to download your data. Fit our needs perfectly.

Excellent customer service - we've encountered a bug or two and reported them to the developers, we get fast responses and quick fixes. We've been very happy with the customer service to date.

Cons

The only down side we've found so far is a somewhat clunky user interface in some areas, but with the responsiveness of the developers I would expect this to improve over time.

Unsung hero of cmms software!

We were struggling at our metal fabricating plant because we were 20 years behind in terms of our maintenance department. No PM program, no ability to track breakdowns, and no accountability. I looked into getting a cmms implemented but as soon as upper management saw the price of these programs it was shot down. Then I learned of Rob's SS-CMMS and of the free demo I had no choice but to try it. It has been extremely helpful.

Pros

This system is pretty straight forward. Very easy to learn and implement.

Cons

I wish the dash was more configurable. Each Tech could filter just the work orders that are assigned to them. I would also like to be able to see the status of the work orders at a glance without having to open each one. i.e. waiting on material, hold, complete, pending.

VIstech Manufacturing

When I first went looking for CMMS software, I found plenty. I just didn't want to spend thousands of dollars for it. I googled for free software, found SS-CMMS and others. Tried 3 of them and saw that this software had almost everything we needed to start. Rob was always working on updates. It got better and better. It got so good that I was willing to send him some money to keep him at it. It wasn't much. He kept doing his thing for about a year that we used it. He made a good case for subscriptions. We have subscribed when he did that and renewed this year. He is still making it better and better. I think that right now it is better than most of the expensive software out there and easier to use.

Pros

ease of use and price

Cons

Need to be able to download data better

Tracking service repairs

SS-CMMS allows for tracking service repairs, parts in inventory, and scheduled maintenance. It allows for specific reports and track spending. It’s very user friendly. Highly recommend.

Pros

Like it’s ease of use and clarity. Nothing Complicated. Simply laid out. Efficient. Like that suggestions are well received. Listen to client needs.

Cons

With the new server every screen has % loading which slows down process but you adapt.

All the basics

For the low price. This software cannot be competed with by the larger expensive cmms programs. It has all the functionality I need for my department. A few changes to make searches and navigation quicker would be great, but I am satisfies with the way it is now. Thanks for providing such a value for such a low price!

Pros

The compartmented setup for locations and work orders is ideal for quickly referencing up to date information on our assets. Unlimited users makes the communication very fluid between departments and upper management.

Cons

The search engine could have a few changes to make one less click for every PM completed. When quick compelting 30 or more PMs in one day. Each and every cleared pm will restart you at the top of the list. On a mobile device this requires lots of scrolling and makes for a tedious clean up if the list lapses for a day or two. A mobile app would be extremely handy and hopefully better oriented towards Android devices.