Top 3 Ways your CMMS Can Help You Reach Compliance Success
Learn more about three specific ways that CMMS software can help you stay compliant
Compliance doesn’t happen overnight, but continuous improvement processes and leveraging a CMMS can make passing inspections and fostering a safe work environment a lot more seamless.
Whether you’re striving to meet ISO Standards, focused on OSHA compliance or ensuring a safe workplace for your employees, you should have a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) that can support those goals.
Here are the top three ways you can use your CMMS software to stay compliant, boost morale and avoid costly fines.
1. Documentation
One of the most vital uses of a CMMS for compliance is the documentation. Paper binders are no longer the go-to for documentation in today’s digital world and there’s good reason for that. With a good CMMS, technicians can have all the documentation they need at their fingertips on a mobile device.
Whether they need the task list for their work order to ensure the proper steps, knowledge of where to get parts or equipment needed for their job, or are re-reading the Job Safety Analysis (JSA) instructions for their work, documentation is essential. Manufacturers also can ensure that they have all of their Safety Data Sheets (SDS) in place so the technicians can check what the hazard is before doing work and ensure the proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as gloves or respiratory protection.
See 3 ways a mobile CMMS supports manufacturers.
2. Training
Training records need to be at your fingertips to make sure you’re creating a safe workplace. A CMMS can help you not only store those records for easy access, but remind you when to look over the records, when certifications expire, and much more. A maintenance manager can easily assign work to the right people when they have personnel data, such as certifications and their expiration dates, available right as they’re scheduling the day’s work orders. The system can also help in identifying training gaps. For example, if you’d like Joe to get the crate from the shelves, but he’s never gone through forklift training to do so, you can get him properly trained to ensure safety.
3. Tracking
Finally, it’s essential to track what the work you’re doing so that you can pinpoint any issues to a certain date, time or job owner. Powerful operations management systems will make sure that any changes that are made in the system are logged so you can easily access a history of exactly what was done, who did it, which fields were changed and when. With tracking, you can also identify root cause problems to help modify your master safety programs effectively.
You should also be able to insert a digital signature wherever you need it in your process. Many manufacturers choose to add an electronic signature after technicians have reviewed their work order before they begin to ensure they’re practicing safe procedures. For example, you may need to comply to FDA regulations that require tasks to be signed off with a name, date, time and signature, which satisfies the FDA’s guideline 21 CFR Part 11.
Efficiently Compliant
It’s easy to see that CMMS software ensures you’re taking the right steps to get to a safe, compliant workspace. Violations can be expensive as well; with retraining and the insurance price hikes involved, you could be in for a long-term drain on your resources. When you’re fostering a compliant and safe work environment, you’re also building trust with your employees and boosting morale on top of the obvious safety benefits.
By focusing on compliance and employee safety, you’ll attract and retain the best talent.
