What Is Maintenance Management Software? (Types & Benefits)

Maintenance management software is a digital tool that helps manage, track and optimize maintenance activities.

It centralizes maintenance data — think work order tracking, asset information, preventive maintenance schedules and parts inventory management — into one cloud-based system that’s accessible via a mobile app. This gives your maintenance team a real-time pulse on which maintenance work requires the most attention.

For example, let’s say you run a bottling plant. The conveyor belt fails, and production stops. If you still rely on Excel spreadsheets to manage maintenance tasks, your technician will likely spend hours hunting for the equipment’s maintenance history and ordering spare parts. At the same time, your business risks losing thousands of dollars due to halted production.

On the flip side, a maintenance software solution would allow you to generate a work order within seconds and send a notification to a technician about the maintenance work that needs to be done. The technician would be able to easily access maintenance history via a mobile device and have the option to confirm part availability within seconds.That’s not to mention the asset maintenance procedural documents and checklists that would be available at the click of a button.

The result? Less downtime and more efficient maintenance processes. Read on to learn more about how a maintenance management software can drastically enhance day-to-day maintenance operations.

Key Features of Maintenance Management Software

The core goal of maintenance management software is to streamline your maintenance program by offering a centralized, cloud-based location for all maintenance planning. While features vary by software, here’s a general list of key features you can expect:

• Asset inventory management: Maintenance management software gives you a centralized view of every asset, including its maintenance history, performance trends and warranty details. Whenever an asset breaks down, you can find the data needed for informed decision-making — whether that be for troubleshooting or determining whether or not to repair or replace a crucial asset.
• Preventive maintenance scheduling: You can automate your preventive maintenance schedule to eliminate the possibility of missed maintenance tasks and minimize breakdowns. Simply set reminders for inspections or repairs to be done weeks, months or even years out.
• Managing and tracking work orders: Maintenance management software automates most parts of work order management. It can automatically create work orders based on your preventive maintenance schedule, notify technicians once a work order is assigned and allow them to mark the work order as complete when they’re done. At the same time, you get full visibility of the status of work orders and who’s handling them.
• Analytics/reporting: Maintenance management software collects data as you perform maintenance activities. It uses this data to generate actionable insights — cost analyses, failure trends and compliance reports — to help you optimize operations and justify budgets. 
• Mobile accessibility: Field teams can update work orders, check asset details and log repairs on the go using a mobile app. There’s no need to waste time dealing with clunky interfaces or paperwork when your crew can instantly access the maintenance data and report to you in real time.

What It’s Like Switching to Maintenance Management Software

Investing in maintenance management software can make your maintenance job a whole lot easier. In fact, several Coast customers discover that switching to a software solution drastically increases equipment uptime and team efficiency.

Case in point: One of our customer case studies highlights how Coast improved the maintenance system in place for Canton, Ohio-headquartered Solmet Group, a manufacturer that specializes in open die forging and machining services. Lisa Bosworth, who’s in charge of quality and continuous improvement for the company, says that the maintenance team completes work orders five times faster now that they’re using Coast. They’ve also completely revamped their preventive maintenance approach.

“We’ve been able to optimize our maintenance scheduling and decrease downtime with this more comprehensive preventive maintenance strategy,” Bosworth says. “Because the PMs are more in-depth now, we’re catching things before they’re happening.”

Key Benefits of Maintenance Management Software

Other key benefits of making the switch to maintenance management software include:

• Reducing unexpected equipment downtime: Breakdowns are expensive, not just because they often demand costly repairs but also because they lower production capacity. Maintenance management software minimizes equipment downtime by helping you stay ahead with automated alerts for preventive maintenance tasks. When equipment gets serviced on time, it performs better and is less likely to fail.
• Maximizing equipment lifetime: Proactive maintenance increases an asset’s useful life. The problem? You need past performance data to optimize maintenance activities instead of blindly following the maintenance schedule prepared years ago when you first purchased the asset. Maintenance management software gives you quick access to maintenance and performance history that can inform current maintenance strategies and improve your asset’s lifecycle.
• Decreasing maintenance costs: With maintenance management software, you can track warranties and ensure you never pay for repairs covered under warranty. The built-in parts inventory management capabilities help prevent overstocking parts and overpaying for emergency orders. Moreover, the software solution tracks labor expenses to ensure your team’s time is spent where it matters most. That’s what the City of Dallas did. Using Coast’s maintenance management system, they were able to document and quantify the team’s workload to prove their value and receive more funding.
• Improving team communication and work scheduling: Staying in sync is easier with maintenance management software that offers built-in communication and collaboration tools, such as a team chat feature and the ability to upload shared documents within work orders.
• Centralizing equipment maintenance: All your maintenance data, including asset health information and work order history, is centralized and accessible to relevant members via the maintenance management software. This means you never lose track of work orders or misplace files about equipment maintenance.

Industries That Use Maintenance Management Software

Maintenance management software is used across various industries, especially where profitability and other business outcomes are highly driven by asset performance. Here are some examples:

• Manufacturing and production: Manufacturers use maintenance software to schedule preventive maintenance, track parts inventory and track and complete work orders faster, among other things. This helps reduce costly downtime and improve asset lifespan.
• Facility management and building maintenance: Facility management companies, such as Coast customer Largo Facility Management, use maintenance software to streamline HVAC, plumbing and electrical maintenance. The software also helps streamline the building maintenance process by allowing tenants to submit work requests through a digital form. Through the software, the maintenance team automatically receives the request, making it easier to deliver faster responses and better service.
• Power and energy: Maintenance software helps ensure critical assets like turbines and transformers stay operational. It also helps comply with stringent safety and regulatory requirements.
• Shipping and logistics: Maintenance software makes fleet maintenance seamless, thanks to built-in capabilities like real-time repair tracking and inspections.

Different Types of Maintenance Management Software

Maintenance management software is available in various forms. Here are the most popular types available:

• Inventory management software: Used to track parts, tools and materials. It ensures you never run out of critical supplies or overstock, helping you minimize unnecessary spending and streamline inventory ordering and usage.
• Work order software: Helps create, assign and track work orders. Maintenance managers use work order software to ensure tasks are completed on time and to gain visibility over which team member is doing what and when.
• CMMS software: A computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is the backbone of preventive maintenance, asset performance and work orders. Insights from a CMMS solution help extend asset lifespans and minimize unplanned downtime.
• EAM software: Enterprise asset management (EAM) software integrates with your broader business systems to optimize an asset’s lifecycle. It offers insights into cost, performance and asset condition to help managers make strategic, data-driven decisions related to maintenance, replacement and performance optimization.

How to Choose the Best Maintenance Management Software

Consider the following when searching for a maintenance management software provider:

• Ease of use: Ease of use allows your team to hit the ground running when you first implement maintenance management software. An easy-to-use solution also ensures you spend less time on training and troubleshooting and more time getting results.
• Scalability: Find maintenance software that can grow with your business. Choose a system that can handle increased users, assets and data without compromising performance or overly expensive upgrades.
• Accessibility: Mobile-friendly solutions are your best bet. They allow your team to access maintenance and asset data wherever they are, whether in the field or shop floor.
• Customization: Every business has unique needs, so find software that can adapt. Customizable workflows and reporting, among other things, are critical to tailoring the system to your functionality requirements.
• Flexible pricing: Find software that offers pricing options that suit your budget and growth stage. You may need to upgrade your plan as your team and needs evolve, so flexible pricing is vital to long-term satisfaction.

How Coast’s Maintenance Management Software Sets Itself Apart

Coast combines simplicity, affordability and customization to meet your team’s unique maintenance needs. Its user-friendly interface minimizes training time, while the pocket-friendly pricing makes it accessible for businesses of all sizes.

You can tailor workflows for work orders, assets and parts using Coast as well as modify work orders and preventive maintenance forms to include recurring schedules, reminders, priority levels and status updates.

Coast also offers customizable dashboards to display real-time insights and trends to help you manage work orders and identify areas where there’s room to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

Book a demo today to get a preview of Coast’s capabilities.