How many CMMS users should you have?

If you’re looking to implement a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), one of the first questions you should ask is, how many people should be using the software? It would be great if there were a simple answer, but unfortunately, there isn’t. In this article, you’ll learn the key considerations for determining how many users you should have in your CMMS based on your unique situation.

The big question: How many CMMS users should you have?

The answer to this question depends on the size of your organization and how many people are using the maintenance software. If your company has fewer than 20 employees, a basic CMMS is likely sufficient for your needs. However, upgrading to an enterprise-grade solution may be necessary if you have more than 50 employees in a single location or multiple locations who need access to the same data at once (for example, field workers).

There are some questions you can ask to evaluate whether or not you need more CMMS users for your company. Ask yourself these questions:

1. How often will the employee use the CMMS daily?
2. How will using the CMMS benefit the employees’ day-to-day tasks?
3. Does the employee need to access data from the CMMS regularly?

The answer to these questions will help you determine whether to include the employee in question on your CMMS.

What are the advantages of having fewer CMMS users?

There are several advantages to limiting the number of people with access to your CMMS. It’s easier to manage, works better for small businesses, and is less expensive. If you’re just starting out or if your business is small, having fewer users will make it easier for everyone in the company to get up to speed quickly because there won’t be as much data generated by each person using the system. In addition, training new employees can be done more efficiently since they will have less data at their fingertips when they first start using the software.

What are the disadvantages of having fewer CMMS users?

The disadvantages of having fewer CMMS users include:

• Less flexibility for employees. If you have a small number of users, each one will have to be able to use the software to complete their tasks. This means that if one person goes on vacation or leaves the company, it could take several days before another person can take over their responsibilities and get back up-to-speed with how things work with your CMMS (and even longer if they’re unfamiliar with how it works).
• More work for maintenance departments and administrators. In addition to being more difficult for employees who need to become more familiar with using your CMMS, more calls will likely come in asking how things work within the program. This could lead some people in these roles to be overwhelmed by requests within their department and external requests from people who need help navigating certain features.
• You get trapped in a hybrid work model. One common strategy for maintenance departments is to keep CMMS users to a minimum and print paper work orders for technicians—creating a hybrid work model. The problem with the hybrid approach to maintenance is that you’re taking one step forward by getting a CMMS, then two steps back by not using it to its full potential. This creates a host of problems. For example, your team might still print work orders and enter them into the system at the end of the day. In this situation, you don’t have a full picture of what’s happening in your facility. On top of that, your team isn’t getting real-time updates when the status of a piece of equipment changes.

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What are the advantages of having more CMMS users?

The more CMMS users you have, the more projects can be worked on simultaneously. This is especially important if you’re working in an environment where projects are always changing and being updated. It also means that when one person is busy with something else, another user can jump in and get something done while waiting for them to return.

Another advantage of having more than one user is that they can share knowledge and experience. This will help improve everyone’s skills and create a better understanding of how things work within the CMMS.

Having multiple users also makes it easier to train new employees because other people already know what they’re doing (or at least have some idea). Plus, there’s less pressure on just one person having all this responsibility placed upon them. Instead, there’ll likely be several people looking after various aspects of training, so there’ll always be someone available if questions arise during training sessions.

Logging information in your CMMS immediately means you have a much fuller picture of the state of your assets. And when it comes time to generate reports, your historical data will be much more precise. Working with a CMMS lets your team provide detailed updates and information on all your assets as they go, so no information gets lost.

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What are the disadvantages of having more CMMS users?

The disadvantages of having more CMMS users are as follows:

• More data to manage. If you have too many users, it will be difficult for them to keep track of all the information in their system, and it can lead to errors.
• More problems with the CMMS. If you have too many users, there is a greater chance that someone will make a mistake when entering data into the system or running reports—causing problems like inaccurate reports or missing data points in your CMMS database.

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The number of CMMS users you have is based on the size of your business

The number of users you should have actively using your CMMS depends on your company’s needs and resources. We recommend you consider each scenario’s advantages and disadvantages before making a decision.