What is it even doing if your CMMS doesn't get you audit-ready?

If auditors come knocking tomorrow, is your CMMS equipped to demonstrate that you're operating in accordance with safety practices and governmental regulatory requirements?

An audit-ready CMMS is especially crucial for businesses that operate in highly regulated industries like healthcare and finance. These industries have stringent requirements that must be adhered to as compliance with regulatory requirements is not just a matter of avoiding fines and penalties but also ensuring the safety of patients, customers, and employees. Whether purchasing or upgrading your CMMS, audit readiness is sometimes a deal-breaker, even in other industry verticals.

So, let's talk about what an audit-ready CMMS should be able to do for your organization.

1. Handle routine inspection checks:

Most O&M teams continue to adopt manual approaches for inspections despite having a CMMS (often the case with legacy solutions). The minimum requirement your CMMS should meet is to ensure that it is able to schedule routine inspections in advance. This entails setting up an inspection check-list and capturing data in real-time for:

• HVAC operations
• Assessment of housekeeping conditions such as the cleanliness of the main lobby, rooftop, staircase, lift lobby, and toilets
• Daily checks to ensure optimal operating conditions of the assets in a building like lighting, electrical, and plumbing.

2. Regulate audit and risk assessments:

The CMMS should enable you to track and report on risks and issues related to compliance, safety, and security. A centrally maintained audit trail should have access controls for authorized personnel only to view reports. Validate compliance with specific laws, regulations, and guidelines such as:

• Are hazardous materials identified and in a safe condition?
• Are areas used for access and movement safe, appropriate, and compliant?
• Are Chemical storage tanks tested?
• Are licensed competent workers performing high-risk activities, and has the plant been registered?

3. Automated compliance reporting

While documenting the inspection results are crucial, it is also important to log incidents caused by non-compliance and address them effectively. Your CMMS should automate reports on completed inspections, and report deviations so the right individuals and departments are held accountable. This helps organizations demonstrate that they are compliant with regulatory and customer requirements and avoid fines, penalties, or legal action.

Unfortunately, most legacy tools do not have the capabilities to tailor inspections to different scenarios. Ridgid tools come with less to no customizations and are bottlenecks from being audit ready.

Here are the key features that you should consider when looking for a CMMS:

1. Inspection templates

These are customizable questionnaires that can be built ground-up, specific to each category of inspection. Ideally, a drag-and-drop editor, as offered by Facilio, helps you set up templates within minutes and captures consistent and relevant data that is specific to the type of inspection being performed. This helps in identifying issues that require immediate attention and provides a basis for future analysis and improvement.

2. Scheduled Inspections

Your CMMS tool should support the automated scheduling of inspections at a frequency that best suits your operating environment. Sending the right inspection questionnaire to the right staff ensures that inspections are scheduled and performed in a timely manner, reducing the likelihood of non-compliance and regulatory violations. These should be configurable based on factors such as location, asset type, or inspection type.

3. Deviation reporting

See a broken asset or a safety hazard during your routine inspection check? Your CMMS should allow you to report an aberration and automatically trigger an on-demand work order. This will be immediately picked up by a technician and investigated to minimize safety hazards.

4. Real-time reporting

The CMMS should be capable of providing insights and analysis of data collected during an inspection in real time. This enables stakeholders to identify issues and take corrective action immediately. Real-time reporting allows for transparency and accountability, making it easier to comply with regulations and provide evidence of compliance during audits. Facility managers can also identify trends and patterns and decide on, site and portfolio-level improvements.

By leveraging the power of a robust CMMS tool, organizations can not only avoid regulatory violations but also ensure the safety of their employees and customers.

Ultimately, investing in an audit-ready CMMS can help businesses improve efficiency, reduce risks, and enhance their overall reputation in the industry.