Development of an organisational CMMS implementation and sustainability guide for abattoirs

Abstract

Throughout the years, companies have realised that, in order to consistently deliver quality products, you need to have a well-implemented and sustainable maintenance plan. For this reason, companies make use of a CMMS to help them maintain their assets and manage their maintenance cost. Despite the extensive utilisation of CMMSs at companies, the successful implementation rate is surprisingly poor. A partially implemented CMMS will not reduce the maintenance cost of any company, as not enough information is captured on the system for the optimisation of assets maintenance strategies. The dissertation investigates whether an implementation and sustainability guide can be designed and implemented at abattoirs in South Africa to ensure that the CMMS is used to its full potential. Staff turnover, lack of data and incorrect training are some of the factors, identified by CMMS vendors, that could all lead to implementation failure of CMMSs. By not having a CMMS implementation and sustainability guide, the CMMS is nothing more than a work order system. An implementation guide, explaining how the information captured for each module is utilised, is not readily available for perusal. The case study research methodology was decided on for this study, and a pragmatic approach was followed. This was done by collecting quantitative data by going through archives to see what the requirements were when the CMMS was initially implemented; by circulating a questionnaire, and by implementing the guide on some selected assets. Qualitative data was obtained by conducting semi-structured interviews with participants. The investigation showed a strong correlation between CMMS implementation failure and ‘partial implementation’, ‘incorrect training of staff’ and ‘staff turnover’. A CMMS implementation guide for abattoirs has been developed to ensure that all CMMS modules, as discussed in this dissertation, are fully utilised. A sustainability guide has also been developed, indicating what infrastructure needs to be put in place, the necessary training to be done and pointing to what would be needed from management down to workshop level to ensure sustainability of the implemented CMMS - showing the steps that need to be taken by each level of management. As radical personnel changes may be necessary to fully implement the developed guide, the guide was only implemented in some selected assets. Data from a period before and after implementing the developed guide was analysed, and it became clear that the developed guide has reduced the maintenance cost quite significantly. The reduction in maintenance cost is a good indication that the developed guide will reduce the maintenance cost when fully implemented. Training guides and standard operating procedures (SOP’s) must be developed to ensure the sustainability of the implemented CMMS guide. The study concludes by making recommendations for the developed guide and discussing future research possibilities.