CMMS Maintenance Software Blog Archives | BlueFolder

Field Service Software vs CMMS Software. What’s the Difference?

BlueFolder — Fri, 21 May 2021 16:19:00 +0000

Managing multiple field service technicians and equipment while keeping your business organized and accurate is quite the chore, especially without the right software. There are a few different options to consider when it comes to properly managing your teams and equipment efficiently. Writing everything down by hand just isn’t going to cut it anymore. To grow as a company you have to put systems in place that help you achieve your full potential. That means using software that can assist you with everything from customer management to work order management.

Most companies use either a field service software (or field service management software) or a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). However, many people don’t know the difference between the two or how each one can benefit their companies. While they share similar features and capabilities, a CMMS and an FSM solution both serve different purposes.

To determine which one is right for your company, let’s take a look at what both a CMMS and an FSM solution can offer your company and the key differences between them.

Field Service Software VS CMMS Software

What is CMMS Software?

A computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is a software program used to manage information about the maintenance operations of a company.

It also allows companies to:

Manage work orders
Schedule and track preventive maintenance
Track employee and equipment certifications
Manage inventory
Store crucial data about assets and equipment, such as manufacturer, model, serial number, installed location, warranties, user and repair manuals, tech specs, and more

A CMMS comes with benefits that can help your company be much more proactive and efficient about its maintenance operations.

Benefits of a CMMS

A CMMS can benefit your company in multiple ways, including:

Reducing maintenance costs by organizing workflows
Increasing team productivity
Extending equipment lifespan and reducing unexpected breakdowns
Improving the customer experience and customer service

Features of CMMS Software

The features of some of the top CMMS software programs include:

Work Order Tracking
Asset/Equipment Record Management
Preventative Maintenance
Service History Tracking
Calibration Management
Technician Management

What is Field Service Software?

Field service management (FSM) software is similar to CMMS software in that includes work order management and the ability to track and schedule equipment maintenance. But FSM software also helps collect field data and track client requests and personnel status, as well as improve operations visibility.

Benefits of Field Service Software

FSM software can help improve work order management and service delivery while enhancing customer service. It will improve your team’s overall efficiency by streamlining work orders between the fieldworker and the company office while making it easier for teams to communicate. FSM software also makes it easy to optimize maintenance routes and check your company’s key metrics and analytics anytime. But more than that, it helps with:

Automation
Resource optimization
Efficiency
Oversight and compliance
Scalability
Accuracy
Flexibility
Seamless payments
Smart field inspections

An FSM allows for smart scheduling and for self-service (which makes your company more efficient and attractive to customers). FSM also increases mobility by bridging the gap between technicians in the field and employees in the office. Your teams can utilize messaging and notifications to stay in sync on open jobs and status.

Features of FSM Software

The best features of FSM software help make life easier for you and your employees. For instance, some of these features allow you to manage customer records, set up recurring jobs, track work orders, assign work orders to your technicians, manage service contracts, and more. With customization options, you can tailor your FSM to meet your needs.

Some of the other top features of FSM software programs include:

Dashboards & Reports
Quotes & Estimates
Task Scheduling
Forecasting
Service History
Billing & Invoicing
Inventory Tracking
Dispatch Management
Fleet Management

Some FSM software programs also have digital signature capture, branded templates and PDFs, voice and search commands, and phone system integrations. Others offer features like intelligent scheduling at the point of booking, open API, a supplier database, and real-time suggestions optimization.

What are the Key Differences?

While they share similarities, there are key differences between field service software vs CMMS software. FSM software is primarily focused on serving external customers and includes tools to help you document and accelerate your service billings, get paid faster, and grow your business. CMMS solutions are typically more geared towards organizations that are performing asset and equipment maintenance for internal customers and don’t require robust customer management tools or billing features.

FSM can help improve communications with field service technicians, improve your response times, listen to customer feedback, use strategic scheduling, and analyze patterns to improve forecasting. FSM is robust enough to handle multiple aspects of your business, offering a customer portal, field service dispatch and scheduling, assignment and work tracking, field service dashboards, asset and equipment tracking, and customization and security capabilities. FSM software is kind of like a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) for a service company.

A CMMS can help you take better control of your maintenance processes, tracking preventive maintenance schedules, analyze equipment most likely to fail, etc. So if you’re a company that with a lot of internal maintenance and operational processes to manage, a CMMS could help.

Equipment-Centric Field Service Solutions

Some field service management solutions, like BlueFolder, are equipment-centric, meaning that they include some features that are typically only found in CMMS solutions. This equipment-centric type of FSM solution is a great fit for service businesses that perform work for external customers but still need many of the asset and equipment tracking and preventive maintenance features of a CMMS.

Managing Field Service Teams and Equipment More Efficiently

Now that you know the key differences between field service software vs CMMS software, you can make an informed decision about which is best for your company. As you’ve learned, a CMMS and an FSM are similar but are clearly not the same thing. If you’re ready to learn more about an equipment-centric FSM solution, schedule a free personalized demo of BlueFolder.

The post Field Service Software vs CMMS Software. What’s the Difference? appeared first on BlueFolder.

4 Tips to Improve Your Preventative Maintenance Schedule

BlueFolder — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 18:21:00 +0000

A preventative maintenance schedule is a systematic approach to identifying issues and correcting equipment failures before they happen. That means performing preventive maintenance on a regular basis and coming up with a preventive maintenance plan in which someone conducts routine checkups on equipment to ensure operating efficiency.

In order to be effective, a preventative maintenance schedule needs to be constantly adjusted, which is why old methods of providing preventative maintenance may not work as well (i.e, pen and paper, email, spreadsheets, etc.). Use technology to your advantage and create your preventative maintenance schedule using a robust preventative maintenance scheduling tool like the one we’ll discuss in detail below. But first, let’s take a look at four tips to help improve your preventive maintenance schedule.

1. Set Goals & Monitor Them

It’s great to have a preventative maintenance schedule, but you need to know what you’re trying to accomplish. And if you do use one, there are a few things to think about. For example, are machines and assets running more efficiently? Are you having less downtime? Figure out what your goals are and write them down (and remember to be specific).

Set goals and consistently monitor them so that it’s easier for you to stay on track to meet them. Updating your goals as your business grows is important if you want it to keep growing. That means keeping your goals in a place where you can always refer back to them and make quick and easy updates when you need to.

2. Assess All of Your Machines and Assets, Not Just the Most Critical Ones

Assessing all of your machines and assets is essential to making sure all of your equipment is running at maximum efficiency. If you only pay attention to the most critical ones, you’re essentially running around putting out fires instead of taking the most efficient route to managing your equipment. If you want your assets and equipment to last, you’ve got to come up with a preventative maintenance plan that’s beneficial for all of your assets — not just the oldest or most critical ones.

3. Stop Performing Unnecessary Maintenance and Learn About Preventative Maintenance Schedules

Performing unnecessary maintenance is something no one wants to do and if you want to avoid it as well, you’ll need to find a way to make maintenance more routine. That’s where preventative maintenance schedules come in.

Preventative maintenance schedules can help you avoid performing unnecessary maintenance by establishing priorities based on the criticality of the assets. Creating a preventative maintenance schedule can also define all of the tasks that need to be performed throughout the year to ensure everything runs smoothly and few (if any) maintenance issues arise.

4. Continue to Improve Your PM Schedule By Analyzing and Adjusting Accordingly

Once you’ve created a preventative maintenance schedule, start analyzing it so you can make adjustments accordingly. See what’s working and what isn’t and make the necessary changes. Make sure to include key stakeholders in your preventative maintenance scheduling plan so everyone impacted can be involved in the design and implementation. It will ensure it’s the most effective plan it can be.

Finding a Preventative Maintenance Scheduling Solution

A comprehensive preventative maintenance scheduling solution is crucial to managing your field assets adequately. Field asset management software can help improve efficiency and increase equipment uptime because you’ll have all of your asset information in one, easy-to-access location.

Field asset management software like BlueFolder’s allows you to schedule preventative maintenance and track serial numbers, service histories, warranties, and more. Providing greater attention to detail is seamless with asset management software. Imagine being able to impress your customers with detailed information tracking all of the equipment you service.

Using BlueFolder’s customizable features can help you streamline your equipment maintenance. Some of those features include:

Equipment records – This allows you to keep track of customer equipment and assets, track manufacturer and model information and serial numbers, as well as warranty expiration, and more.
File attachments – This allows you to upload user manuals, photos, or other types of attachments to any asset or piece of equipment.
Maintenance schedule – Get reminders when an asset or piece of equipment is due for service and create new work orders quickly and easily for the service. Or reset the next service date so you can set a reminder for the next service date.
Custom fields – Create customized, searchable fields so you can keep track of all the data for each customer to make it easy to find the information you need quickly.
Service history – Get instant access to each customer’s service history to keep your team organized and efficient, and allowing them to provide great customer service.
Import/Export capabilities – If you have existing customer records or data, you can import them into BlueFolder using the built-in import tools.

You’ll also have access to service dashboards and custom reports and customizable equipment fields.

The service dashboard and custom reports help you maximize your equipment and asset management by helping you quickly access equipment information (like model numbers and serial numbers), helping you identify equipment replacement sales opportunities, and providing insights into which pieces of equipment are past due for service or have an approaching service date.

You can track equipment fields like Location, Item Name, Manufacturer Name, Status, Service Interval (the amount of time between service dates), and more. With custom fields, you’ll have the ability to track information for equipment that’s specific to your industry.

Simplify Managing Your Assets and Equipment

Creating a preventative maintenance schedule will make managing your assets and equipment seamless. BlueFolder’s easy-to-use asset management software can help you create an easy-to-follow preventative maintenance schedule that keeps all of the equipment you service in tip-top shape and saves you the most time and money. If you’re ready to take your preventative maintenance to the next level and partner with a provider that makes customers a priority, schedule a personalized one-on-one demo so you can see exactly what you’re getting before you spend a dime.

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