Problems & Solutions - The Benefits of using Compass EAM / CAFM Products
When it comes to the functionality of our products, in layman's terms the difference between Compass EAM / CAFM products and many of our competitors products would like be comparing the difference between going to a doctor for a basic checkup against getting a full health check in a hospital.
While there are many and varied types of CAFM / CMMS software products on the market, however because our products were designed for the purpose of complete tracking of all aspects of PPM and Remedial Works, they have many advantages over our competitor products. The following are real events that happened and will help both explain the difference and show the commercial advantage of using a Compass Software solution.

Example 1. (No Maintenance Records)
A large chiller had not been used for over three years as the summers had been cooler than average and the plant was very expensive to run. At some time in the past a service had been carried out and an inspection door to the main electrical controls had not been closed properly. As a result it had eventually been blown open by the wind and rain had penetrated the electrical cabinet causing very extensive damage to the plant. In 2009 with the hot weather at the start of summer it was decided to run the plant, which of course would not operate.

This type of plant should have been serviced 4 times per year and detailed reports given after each service. No trace of the reports were found and they were presumed lost or not presented. In fact there was not one scrap of evidence to show that the plant had been either serviced or the damage when noticed reported on. Because the property where the plant item was located was one of many, it had been overlooked by head office as it was not used and reports were only required in summary paper format which listed only problems found.

With Regional Pro, each visit for each item of plant must be not only marked as complete but detailed data from electrical and mechanical observations entered. This would have either highlighted that the services were not done or had data been entered on a non-functioning plant, shown that the contractor had falsified their reports. In either case the contractor would have been shown to be in the wrong and should have immediately reported the damage on the next PPM visit. As it stood no blame could be allocated and the client incurred an expense of over € 50,000 to install an alternate cooling system.

With many of our competitors products the PPM visits could have been scheduled but on an individual plant item basis, the visits may have been shown to be completed but with no facility to enter the electrical and mechanical observations or make notes recommending repairs. The result could be the same as the paper system where this problem was not exposed.

1. How would you react to this situation?

2. Would your current maintenance administration solution prevent this from happening within your organisation?

3. To whom would you assign the blame?

Example 2. (Client / Customer Interactivity)
A callout for a lack of heating in a property turned into a protracted affair which lasted 2 weeks and three engineers were involved.

This was after a relatively new installation and due to several very cold days, the heating system was pushed to its limit and then failed. What should have been a job lasting a couple of hours, turned into a job that cost 1,000's of Euros in time and materials.

With the event logging system in Coordinator, the client was kept up to date twice a day as all communication with the engineers was logged into the system and sent by e-mail to them. By the client having this written record rather than verbal communication, it was easier for them to give permission for extra expenditure as required. Likewise all communication between the client and the facilities maintenance company was logged. The system also kept a track of both hours and materials used during the work. This was of advantage to the FM company when they presented their invoice and the amount was questioned. As everything had been logged, the payment was cleared without further problems.

Few of our competitors products can handle this level of interactivity between, client, engineers and contractor. As a result delays or worse could be expected when payment is sought for a difficult job.
Are you able to track and see the justification when a job becomes a protracted affair?

Do you have easy access to original installation and commissioning reports?

What is the level of interactivity between your company and contractors?

Example 3. (Maintenance Work NOT being Monitored)
A contractor was doing planned maintenance for a client on a very tight budget. As a result some smaller items of plant such as pumps were either given only a cursory inspection or overlooked on each visit. It was not realized by the contractor that one pump had a critical function in the day-to-day operation of part of the clients business and of course it was this pump that failed a couple of weeks after it was due to have been serviced. All the rest of the pumps in the plant room could be replaced within 24 hours but not this type. They were built to order with a delivery time of 7 working days.

Again the client not on site, but in Head Office only received a summary paper report after each PPM visit listing what problems had been found. Had the pump been serviced, the engineer would have noticed that it was running hot and a vibration would have been felt as the bearings were failing. As long as an item of plant was running it was not included on the report and the client was happy with this as they did not want to be bogged down in reams of paper from all the different sites.

With Regional Pro, the engineer would have had to complete the service and also note a 'caution' with regards to the heat and vibration. The client in Head Office would have been flagged to this potential problem and could have purchased a replacement pump which could have been kept on standby. As a result the downtime incurred the client a loss of over € 7,000 per day until the replacement pump was installed.

Most of our competitors products do not have the means of flagging potential problems as they do not allow for this level of data entry and notifications are back to either paper or e-mail which can be overlooked or lost.


How do you know all your plant has been serviced to your specifications on each maintenance visit?

Do you know the experience and qualification of each person involved in the maintenance of your plant?

How would you react if you found a planned maintenance was uncompleted or below the set standard?

Example 4. (Inter Department Communication Issues)
An air conditioning unit had been giving trouble on and off over most of its operating lifespan which had resulted in numerous callouts. As per normal the invoices were paid by accounts and as the sums involved were within the expected costs, they were passed without question. What was not realized by accounts was that these callouts were all for the same unit, not different ones throughout the building and that as time went by, the cost of these callouts had far exceeded the replacement cost of the unit.

Using Regional Pro costs would have been constantly assigned against the unit. It would have become very apparent when the repair costs were reaching a point when replacement would have been the most economical option. This would not only have saved the additional callout costs but also the replacement would have been cheaper than the current cost when eventually discovered.

Our competitors products allow for replacement plant budgeting but most do not take into account repair costs against the eventual replacement cost.

 What level of communication is there between the facilities and finance departments within your organisation?

On top of the examples above where Compass Software solutions could easily pay for themselves in one instance, There should always be some sort of saving through the introduction of a CAFM system. As quoted on several websites and forums, realistically you should be able to save between 5% and 15% of your annual maintenance budget.


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Compass Software Technology Ltd.
Rubicon Centre, CIT Campus, Bishopstown, Cork, Ireland
Tel: +353 21 492 8946
Mobile: +353-87-6076565
E-mail: sales@compass-softtech.com
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