Maintenance controlling
Maintenance controlling serves the planning and control of maintenance measures. The Menger Group presents tasks and possibilities of controlling.
Control the effectiveness of maintenance
Maintenance controlling is used to plan, manage and control the maintenance of a company’s machinery and equipment. It specifies the goals to which all maintenance measures are directed and checks whether these are achieved. The Menger Group presents the tasks and possibilities of maintenance controlling in more detail.
Selection and control of suitable maintenance measures
Maintenance includes all measures that maintain the target condition of machines and systems or restore them after damage. Maintenance controlling, also referred to as “maintenance management”, is used to plan and control these measures in order to maintain the company’s performance. To this end, maintenance controlling on the one hand specifies the strategic goals of maintenance, for example optimized plant availability or lower maintenance costs. On the other hand, it enables the selection of suitable measures with which these goals can be achieved, takes over their control and checks their results.
The goals pursued by maintenance management include, in particular, the creation of an objective basis for deciding which maintenance measures should be carried out, when and how. In this context, it is of great importance to create an overview of the costs and benefits of individual maintenance measures. In this way, they can be compared with each other and those can be selected that are best suited to achieving the company’s goals.
Make decisions based on sound information
The basis for planning maintenance is concrete information on the machines and equipment used, such as:
- Plans for the construction of machines and equipment
- Manuals and operating instructions
- Logs of previous maintenance and repairs
- Data determined by sensors on the current function
This data is collected and evaluated during maintenance controlling by software specially used for this purpose. The wear and tear of components and damage are thus detected at an early stage. According to the principle of predictive maintenance, suitable maintenance measures are planned before a malfunction or even failure of the machine or plant occurs. It is often even possible to include the respective operating times in this planning so that normal operating processes are not disrupted. This is done in parallel for all machines or plants integrated in the system.
Of course, maintenance controlling not only facilitates the elimination of defects, but also the planning and execution of routine quality assurance maintenance measures, such as legally required maintenance. For this purpose, maintenance software often also offers the following functions, for example:
- an overview of the available personnel
- an overview of available tools
- an overview of the spare parts and material stock
Control the effectiveness of maintenance
In addition to the planning of maintenance measures, their control and the review of the results are also part of maintenance management. This means, for example, that the function of machinery and equipment is constantly monitored as part of digital quality assurance. This enables conclusions to be drawn about the efficiency of individual maintenance measures, making them directly comparable.
If a fault or malfunction is detected as part of this quality assurance despite regular maintenance, maintenance controlling also makes it possible to track the measures carried out. If necessary, these can then be adjusted or their interval shortened in order to prevent failures.
Overall, maintenance controlling thus not only increases plant availability and thus serves quality management (QM) in the company, but also reduces maintenance costs in the long term.
The right solution for your maintenance controlling
There are numerous software solutions that support you in maintenance controlling in your company. Which type of maintenance management software is the right one should depend on the individual requirements in your company.
First, determine the purpose for which you want to use maintenance controlling. Do you only want to support the maintenance department in its daily work by making important information on machines and equipment, tools, spare parts, etc. available at all times? Or do you want to plan maintenance in advance in order to reduce downtimes, increase productivity and minimize costs?
In addition, you should have as clear an idea as possible of how the data determined by the software should be presented. Is a list of relevant measurement data sufficient, should key figures be presented, or should the system automatically evaluate the data according to certain criteria? How often do you need the data? And in what format? As a printout, in an app for mobile availability, or in the form of workflows that are automatically forwarded to the employees involved?
The more precisely you know your requirements for maintenance controlling, the more specifically you can search for a solution that fits your individual needs. Of course, the Menger Group is always happy to assist you in selecting a software solution for maintenance that fits your company. Contact us! We will support you in planning and implementation.