Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day..Neither Should A Cmms

Utilities recognize that a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) serves as a foundation for an effective Asset Management Program. Especially the work order management module within any CMMS, documents and reports day-to-day activities and work performed by operations and maintenance (O&M) crews on various infrastructure assets. Accurate and reliable information from the CMMS can potentially be used to optimize O&M activities and feed into the risk based capital improvement planning (CIP) process.Within the water/wastewater industry today, recognizing the importance and impact of a CMMS, organizations are looking to reenergize the process of data collection and management within a CMMS and/or performing the due diligence to identify, procure, and deploy these systems within their organization. This is especially true for organizations looking to develop and implement asset management programs.Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility (LRWWU) operates and maintains approximately 220 miles of sewers, with sizes up to 120 inches in diameter, in the City of Lowell, MA. The utility also owns and operates the Duck Island Wastewater Treatment Facility that treats an average flow of 22-30 mgd (depending on season), and serves a population of approximately 200,000, including four neighboring towns (Chelmsford, Dracut, Tewksbury and Tyngsborough).Given the surplus of CMMS solutions currently in the market place, LRWWU has adopted a “business-driven technology-adoption” approach by establishing business requirements that will meet their specific needs for the proposed CMMS solution.The CMMS solution evaluation and selection process included the following steps:Identify primary business needs at LRWWU for a CMMS solution (i.e. why does LRWWU need a CMMS solution?)Develop the functional and technical requirements for a CMMS solution (i.e. what capabilities/functionalities does LRWWU need in a CMMS solution?)Develop evaluation criteria based on the business needs and requirements Determine the “must have” vs. “nice-to-have” functionalities for a CMMS solutionEvaluate and prioritize CMMS solutions based on LRWWU specific needsCMMS solution selection