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> Creating a CMMS with Excel
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For a long time, the Excel spreadsheet was the main IT solution for maintenance management. However, technological advances have led to the development of software specifically designed for CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System), with more advanced features.
And yet, many companies still use Excel or other spreadsheet solutions to manage their maintenance rather than dedicated software. Why is that? Are they making the right choice? This article provides all the guidance you need to choose between Excel and a CMMS to manage your maintenance activities.
Advantages and disadvantages of managing maintenance in Excel
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Starting to use an Excel file to oversee maintenance is often the first step in digitizing technical services. This method saves valuable time compared with paper files, but it also comes with its share of limitations.
Advantages of maintenance in Excel
Maintenance management can sometimes be handled simply with a sufficiently comprehensive Excel file to record technicians’ inspection schedules for an asset and various other key elements needed for tracking: asset register management, inventory tracking, an overview of workload versus staffing resources, etc.
Excel is Microsoft’s Swiss Army knife. Ideal for reporting results, running analyses, planning work orders, or even managing entire processes, it has undeniable strengths.
The most obvious advantage of using a spreadsheet for maintenance is that it is easy to set up. You do not need to be a spreadsheet expert to deploy a basic tool for tracking maintenance work orders. For very small businesses looking to improve their maintenance management at an affordable cost, Excel is the most accessible tool—first because it is “free” (since, most of the time, they have already purchased it), and second because they can use it without hiring an external provider or training their employees.
In addition, this tool offers great flexibility to provide any type of information, it is easier to share with a colleague than a paper file, and neither the file nor the software is likely to become obsolete very quickly.
Disadvantages of maintenance in Excel
However, Microsoft’s famous spreadsheet has significant drawbacks.
A negative impact on productivity
The first drawback of Excel is its negative impact on team productivity. Processing, managing, and analyzing data takes a great deal of time once it reaches a certain volume. In addition, the risk of errors is fairly high, which affects data reliability and how it is used.
Although a maintenance spreadsheet is the cheapest option in the short term, it is rigid and does not respond to what is happening at your site. As a result, its ability to minimize costs associated with downtime, parts storage, and management reporting time is, at best, limited.
A CMMS streamlines and automates all of this, and many solutions can be customized to fit your maintenance processes, regardless of the size of your organization. A CMMS can be deployed effectively by any company in any market sector for efficient asset management.
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3h20
average time saved on management per week
2.0
modern web app accessible from your mobile, tablet, or PC
500+
specialist partner companies
€0
to create your account and test our next-generation CMMS
30%
average incidents handled
+ 34
years of technical experience on the team