Why use CMMS software to manage your maintenance Subcontractors ?

The evidence is overwhelming when it comes to the benefits of using a CMMS software for Maintenance Service interventions. However, what about for companies that call upon Subcontractors ?

Many companies subcontract their maintenance, either partially or fully. This generates logistics and a specific follow-up, which exceeds contractual agreements.

What does it mean to subcontract Maintenance ?

Subcontracting is when a company delegates to another company the execution of all or part of its activity. A solution that has its advantages, but also, its disadvantages.

Subcontracting allows, in particular, a company to be able to concentrate workforce on production, or eliminate the need for internal maintenance teams (and adjusting numbers in teams depending on situations). There’s a certain risk involved in subcontracting however, such as losing some of the company’s know-how, being dependent on your service provider, or paying annual maintenance fees for services that do not truly reflect the company’s needs.

That is why it is so important to set up a real collaborative partnership, which will allow the company to maintain control over information and everything that is done in its workshops. Transparency of this kind must be specified in the contract and can be made easier with the use of CMMS software.

How can CMMS contribute to managing the company’s relationship with its subcontractors ?

A CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software) along with its many features, allows the company to standardize processes within a single solution.

When outsourcing maintenance, using the company’s CMMS software makes it possible to preserve all existing data, which would be important for example, when changing service providers. The CMMS makes it possible to track the hours worked by the subcontractor and to analyze the savings level compared to the established contract.

Another important advantage is the capacity to manage Regulatory and Safety documents in relation to subcontracting, such as legal certificates, prevention plans, fire permits, special instructions, regulations pertaining to Health and Safety Obligations, and so on.

Reminder : Prevention plan

A Prevention Plan makes it possible to reduce the risks related to collective collaborative work on a given intervention site. It allows the main company to define and formalize general measures and regulations that must be applied to external companies, and also to define any specific measures that will need to be taken by a company depending on its role in an intervention. This document act as a means to identify and analyze the risk of interference between activities and installations, and also to put in place prevention measures.

CCMS software allows the company to keep track of external provider contracts, whether they are suppliers or subcontractors. The company therefore has a better overview of interventions, pending requests, and provider commitments as outlined in the established contract.

Two different situations can occur :

  • The subcontractor uses the CMMS and all data is saved on company software, or
  • The subcontractor does not use it, but in this case, it is still possible to monitor and track the data.

The subcontractor uses the company’s CMMS :

Equipping subcontractors with the company’s CMMS software means better control over monitoring services, as well as better quality of service. The interventions log is generated progressively over time.

A few tips:

  • Restrain the CMMS software access so that the provider may only have access to the relevant equipment and features.
  • Define possible, or non possible, actions within the software.
  • Ensure that where required, in order to improved service quality, and respect the contract, checklists are completed and made obligatory for certain key areas.
  • Make signing at the end of the intervention mandatory, which ensures traceability.
  • Offer to have a mobile solution on-hand, so as to facilitate entering the data into the CMMS.

The subcontractor does not use the company’s CMMS :

It is still possible for the company to record subcontractors, in order to generate history logs and process data, even if the subcontractor does not use the company’s CMMS.

A few tips:

  • Schedule anticipated interventions and automatic confirmation emails
  • For all out-of-contract interventions, send your service orders out quickly
  • Follow-up on the subcontractor’s intervention right within the CMMS: you can add labor cost, cost of spare parts, along with the order number or delivery note
  • Add the document given by the subcontractor as an attached document concerning the Work Order.

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The use of CMMS software facilitates everyday subcontractor management (reminder emails, scheduling, shipment order etc.), it guarantees a precise monitoring method with regards to interventions and reliable data (statistics, costs, history logs etc.).

Are you interested in all of these features?

If so, they exist within the MAINTI4® CMMS solution ! Contact us !


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