Maintenance Software: Suppliers' Roundtable

Fleet Equipment, Mar 2005 by Skydel, Seth

By managing information and turning it into valuable knowledge, fleet maintenance software systems have changed the very nature of equipment and maintenance management and enabled greater productivity and cost efficiency. In a recent roundtable discussion, five key suppliers of maintenance software discussed product developments, capabilities and how evolving software is helping fleet managers meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

SUPPLIER PANEL

Charles Arsenault

President & CEO

Arsenault Associates

Ed Cooper

CEO

Squarerigger Software

Paul Halberstadt

President

Halberstadt & Co.

Leon Hale

Vice President

World Information Systems

Rick Rosenberg

President

TMT Software Co.

How has maintenance management software evolved over the years? What drives the development of system capabilities?

Cooper: When Squarerigger released its first maintenance software in 1986, we rarely saw computers in shops. By the late 1980s, shop software was very basic, consisting of work orders, preventive maintenance scheduling, parts tracking and fuel as core functions. Shop managers slowly began to accept the fact that software could help them, rather than slow them down, and in the 1990s, maintenance management software steadily became more sophisticated as the demand for more reporting and easier access to information evolved. As a result, we are now seeing shop software that can predict parts failures, anticipate inventory requirements and alert service writers to driver-reported defects so they can be automatically placed on a work order when a vehicle is in for service. System capabilities and functionalities are driven by customer needs.

Rosenberg: Fleet maintenance software development has evolved due to the need to contain costs and streamline business processes. Initially, the primary function was a preventive maintenance (PM) scheduler and a way to aggregate expenses. Operationally, maintenance software should capture information and seamlessly integrate with other primary business applications. Now, it is this integration that is driving the development of maintenance software, bringing maintenance information directly into the overall operation and improving business flow.

Arsenault: The most important evolution in maintenance management software is the potential to change fleet managers from 'information starved' to 'knowledge rich.' In days past, fleet information was trapped in filing cabinets. Today's computers unlock the power of this information. The term 'end user' used to mean data entry clerks. Today, fleet managers and technicians can access data to help make better everyday decisions. Fleet managers are more productive because they have access to automated sources of information. This allows them to make decisions based on facts and use these facts to drive OEMs and service providers to offer better equipment and services and hold everyone involved with their fleet more accountable.

Hale: Maintenance software has evolved from what people could remember, to inaccurate manual records, then to computerized detail. Today, we have intelligent systems that tell managers what they need to know with accuracy and give them the ability to get details when needed. New technology, along with maintenance people who know how to use the systems available to them, continues to drive this development.

Halberstadt: Transportation fleets, by their very nature, are geographically dispersed operations. When the first computerized maintenance systems started appearing in the mid-1970s, processing power and communications were expensive, so maintenance information was brought to a central location for processing, and reports and schedules were distributed to the field on paper. By the mid-1980s, maintenance information could be processed at multiple locations on personal computers, but those were still islands of information. By the mid1990s, with the Internet and virtual private networks, it became affordable to link centralized databases with decentralized operating locations. Now, up-to-the-minute information can be available to the shop floor throughout the enterprise.

What are the most pressing challenges fleet managers face today in terms of information management for maintenance operations, and how does software help meet those needs?

Rosenberg: The most pressing need is for real-time and accurate information and granular reporting, which is easily accomplished by those systems that grasp the importance of Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards (VMRS) coding. Maintenance software should capture the data at the point of creation and flow seamlessly into other business applications as well as feed the management reporting function.

Hale: Fleet managers today are inundated with detailed information that can make their jobs more time consuming and frustrating. While software can record accurate detail, fleet maintenance software companies also strive to provide value by reporting what each level of management needs to know.

Does maintenance management software require regular updating, and how is that accomplished?