Many business owners face numerous challenges in managing asset breakdowns, including the chaos of reporting, the accumulation of breakdowns, and the neglect of regular maintenance schedules. This negatively impacts productivity, increases costs, and reduces the lifespan of assets.
But imagine if you could rely on a seamlessly integrated system where breakdowns are reported promptly, maintenance is scheduled effectively, and problems are resolved efficiently. All of these tasks and many more are easily accomplished through integrated breakdown and maintenance management systems (CMMS).

In this article, we will walk you through step-by-step how to build an integrated system for managing breakdowns, reports, and maintenance, as well as analyzing data that contributes to accurate and effective decision-making, using DocSuite Maintenance.

Why do companies need an integrated breakdown and maintenance management system (CMMS)?
Before learning about the steps to build a breakdown management system, you must first understand the importance of implementing such systems. This is important because:

Reducing operating costs: Failure to adhere to and track regular maintenance schedules for assets can lead to unexpected breakdowns, costing companies a lot of money. However, by adopting a system like DocSuite Maintenance, you can identify problems early and avoid major breakdowns. This results in performing preventative maintenance, which contributes to reducing operational costs related to maintenance.

Improving productivity: Managing breakdown reports through a CMMS system helps reduce unexpected breakdowns and enhance regular maintenance processes. This contributes to more effective operational and production efficiency.

Enhancing customer satisfaction: In many industries, breakdowns directly impact the quality of services provided to customers. However, through an integrated breakdown management system, you can ensure the continuity of operations and the same quality to ensure customer satisfaction.

Extending the lifespan of assets: Preventive and regular maintenance ensures efficient equipment operation and contributes to better asset lifecycle management, delaying the need for replacement and protecting your investment. More Efficient Decisions: CMMS systems, such as DocSuite Maintenance, contain tools that collect and analyze all data related to asset management. This provides valuable insights into asset performance and maintenance costs, helping to make important strategic decisions.
How to Build an Integrated System for Reporting, Breakdown, and Maintenance Management?
Assess the Current Situation and Set Goals
The first step in building a CMMS system is to assess the current status of the assets and the desired objective of the CMMS.

Asset Inventory: Start by listing the assets, whether they are equipment, machinery, buildings, electronic devices, etc. Record basic information for each (type, model, serial number, location, purchase date).
Analysis of Current Operations: Determine how maintenance operations are currently managed. What are the challenges? What are the weaknesses? Document relevant to breakdown management, breakdown reporting, and maintenance.
Set Goals: What is the purpose of using the system? For example, is it to reduce downtime during breakdowns and maintenance? Reduce maintenance costs? Enhance asset lifecycle management? Or improve response time to breakdown reports? And don't forget to make your goals measurable to ensure the effectiveness of the system used.
Choosing the Right System
Determine Your Budget: CMMS breakdown management systems vary in price depending on their features, so first make sure you have a budget in place.
Define Your Needs: Based on the asset evaluation step, start by identifying the key features you want to use. For example, do you want the system to integrate with other systems?
Research and Audit: Research available CMMS systems, review their features, and compare them. Review user reviews of the system. You can also request demos and trial versions before making an actual purchase, as is the case with DocSuite Maintenance.
Create an Asset Database
After selecting a breakdown management system, begin creating your asset database.

Data Entry: Enter the asset data collected in step 1. Assign a file for each asset containing all available information.
Define Spare Parts and Inventory: Enter details of your available inventory of spare parts used for each asset, and the number of used and unused assets.
Creating Alerts: A system like DocSuite Maintenance allows you to create alerts when spare parts are about to run out. This ensures constant availability and prevents business interruptions.
Designing Report and Breakdown Management Processes
Multiple Communication Channels: Providing a platform with multiple communication channels that contributes to recording breakdown data as soon as they occur and generating alerts.
Categorizing Breakdowns: Through DocSuite Maintenance, breakdowns can be classified as (high, medium, or low) based on their impact on various operations.
Defining Responsibilities: Assigning the roles of those responsible for receiving reports, those responsible for dispatching the maintenance team, and those responsible for monitoring maintenance work.
Response Times: Determine the maximum response time and repair time to avoid any delays that could impact production operations.
Tracking System: Through the system interface, the status of breakdowns can be easily tracked from the time of reporting until they are fully repaired. This enhances transparency and contributes to future risk analysis.
Maintenance Scheduling
Preventive Maintenance: This involves setting a schedule for periodic maintenance work, including checking equipment for spare parts used, replacing worn-out equipment, and other routine maintenance tasks.
Predictive Maintenance: Predictive maintenance is used in asset management, which is one of the most important aspects of maintenance.