5 Ways a CMMS Helps with Compliance

Key Takeaways:

• CMMS reduces the risk of human error, missing information, and outdated records.
• A food manufacturing company had to pay $463,224 because of OSHA violations.
• Proactive maintenance minimizes unexpected failures, ensuring long-term asset safety.

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Are compliance audits keeping you up at night?

That’s completely understandable, as failing to meet regulatory requirements can result in hefty fines, operational shutdowns, and even reputational damage.

Therefore, in industries where compliance is non-negotiable, having the right systems in place is critical.

That’s where a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) comes in, helping businesses always stay audit-ready.

In this article, we’ll explore five key ways a CMMS simplifies compliance, minimizes risk, and keeps your operations running.

Centralized Record Keeping

A CMMS automatically logs and centralizes all maintenance data and documents, such as inspections, work orders, certifications, incident reports, parts replacements, and more.

This ensures you have thorough and accurate maintenance records that can be easily retrieved when audit time rolls around.

Whether it’s an OSHA, FDA, or GMP audit, CMMS allows you to quickly access a complete, searchable maintenance history—like the one shown in the image below—for each asset.

Since data is automatically recorded and every change is tracked in real time, you don’t have to worry about inaccuracies or missing information.

You get a full, transparent audit trail.

Additionally, with analytics and reporting features, you can generate various customizable reports on the spot.

Work hours summaries, cost breakdowns, work completed vs. pending, parts consumption, and more are only a few clicks away.

You can see an example of one such report below:

Wherever you are, you can pull up the right data in seconds, making compliance audits painless for everyone involved.

Daren Hansen, Sr. Editor, Transportation Safety at J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm for the transportation industry, puts it perfectly:  

After all, that’s the only way to prove to regulatory bodies that you follow the rules.

Troy Design & Manufacturing, a leading manufacturer of high-quality automotive prototypes and stamping, has experienced firsthand the benefits of a CMMS in ensuring compliance.

According to Bill G., the facilities manager, the system has proven invaluable across their four facilities with its centralized records and user-friendly reporting capabilities.

Now, everything is stored in a single, digital hub—well-organized, easily searchable, and readily accessible.

Thanks to the CMMS, maintaining compliance has never been more streamlined.

Preventive Maintenance Scheduling

A CMMS streamlines preventive maintenance scheduling through automation, ensuring all tasks are completed on time.

This helps prevent unexpected equipment failures and subsequent safety violations.

Preventive maintenance tasks can be triggered based on factors such as elapsed time or equipment usage metrics.

For instance, time-based scheduling allows you to schedule maintenance activities on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis:

Additionally, you can define task durations and end conditions to further enhance efficiency.

Alternatively, meter-based scheduling ensures maintenance is performed according to specific usage parameters, including operating hours, mileage, temperature fluctuations, or pressure thresholds:

For each scheduled task, you can add relevant SOPs, checklists, images, and detailed instructions, ensuring that technicians have all the information they need.

However, a CMMS does more than just schedule maintenance.

It also boosts overall accountability by automatically sending alerts for upcoming maintenance and generating follow-up work orders when inspections fail.

That way, no critical task is ever overlooked.

Ultimately, such diligent and strategic asset maintenance significantly reduces malfunctions that could result in costly downtime, accidents, or regulatory violations.

Daren Hansen from J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc., whom we referenced earlier, fully supports this approach:

In other words, reactive responses to equipment failures are insufficient.

To ensure compliance, organizations must perform regular inspections and preemptive component replacements to mitigate risks before minor issues escalate into major problems.

While Hansen’s insights are specifically geared towards fleet management, these principles are universally applicable across various industries.

A CMMS is the key ingredient in any successful proactive maintenance program.

Tulco Oils, a mid-sized industrial lubricants manufacturer based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, can attest to this.

Before implementing this technology, Tulco Oils faced significant challenges in tracking and managing maintenance schedules as its asset portfolio grew.

Don Stanton, the company’s Vice President of Operations, recalls:

This inefficient system posed a growing risk to asset reliability and compliance.

However, after adopting a CMMS, Tulco Oils gained full control and visibility over its maintenance schedules.

Today, the company confidently ensures that each asset is regularly inspected, repaired when necessary, and fully operational and safe.

Real-Time Hazard Reporting

Many CMMS solutions offer mobile access so workers can document safety incidents and submit work requests on the go.

As shown below, they can add photos, descriptions, priority levels, asset details, locations, and more, ensuring that the right information reaches the right people without any delay.

This real-time reporting significantly speeds up response times, reducing workplace risks and helping prevent accidents and safety violations.

Gone are the bottlenecks and the delays caused by paper-based processes.

What remains is fast, efficient issue resolution.

Take it from Camden Property Trust, a real estate company that cut apartment maintenance completion times in half by equipping its technicians with a mobile app.

Previously, they relied on paper-based service request forms, which wasted valuable time, explains Danielle Rivers, their Business Services Director:

Each time an issue arose, the appropriate forms had to be completed and printed, introducing delays.

Additionally, all the back-and-forth conversations between technicians and front-office staff diverted attention from core responsibilities.

Since implementing the new system, the staff has embraced it, finding it far more efficient and allowing them to remain focused on their work, says Rivers:

“Instead, right in your hand is this tool that lets you view what’s on your plate, record your progress, report any complications, close and open new jobs, even do things like take photos of itemized damage during inspections for charging back to residents.”

When the process is this simple and efficient, reporting problems no longer feels like a chore.

As a result, risks are addressed swiftly, and operations run smoothly, safely, and in full compliance.

Labor Hours Tracking

A CMMS tracks who performed the work, how long it took, and what tasks were completed.

This simplifies worker hours monitoring and ensures compliance with wage and labor laws, overtime regulations, union agreements, and fair labor standards.

Many CMMS solutions integrate a clock-in/clock-out system, like the one shown below, enabling workers to log their time and activities easily.

This ultimately minimizes errors and keeps records complete and up to date.

Additionally, CMMS systems generate reports, such as work completion summaries or comparisons of actual versus planned labor hours, offering a clear view of labor efficiency.

Here’s one example:

With this data, you can more easily identify potential compliance issues.

For example, a recent audit by Toronto’s Auditor General, Tara Anderson, revealed that the city lacked a reliable system to track whether workers completed tasks to the required standard.

As a result, city crews responsible for maintaining Toronto’s parks reported spending more hours on job sites than they did.

While some daily logs did exist, the investigation revealed inconsistencies in reporting.

Such inefficiencies and errors are quite common without automated work tracking.

Fortunately, a CMMS eliminates the need for manual logs or spreadsheets by enabling technicians to record hours in real time as tasks are completed.

As employees must specify the work performed, discrepancies in reported labor hours are easier to identify.

Additionally, you can analyze task histories to estimate typical completion times and compare them against reported durations to spot inconsistencies.

Health & Safety Procedures Management

With a CMMS, you can centralize all safety procedures, reminders, and requirements in one easy-to-access system.

For example, our CMMS, WorkTrek, enables users to upload safety rules and set reminders about potential hazards in the field.

You can also attach information about the personal protective equipment to specific work orders:

That way, technicians clearly understand potential dangers and how to mitigate them before beginning any work.

Similarly, instructions and step-by-step procedures for Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) can be created and attached to work orders or corresponding assets:

Documenting proper shutdown and isolation procedures protects workers and helps demonstrate compliance with OSHA and other workplace safety standards.

According to OSHA, lockout/tagout standard violations are among the most frequent.

For instance, in 2024, Aunt Kitty’s Food Inc., a New Jersey food manufacturing company, faced $463,224 in OSHA fines due to such violations.

The company failed to implement a lockout/tagout program for its maintenance staff working on equipment in the canning and filling department, exposing workers to significant risks.

Paula Dixon-Roderick, Area Director at OSHA, explains why this standard is so important:

Aunt Kitty’s Food failed to implement these critical procedures, ultimately neglecting its responsibility to provide a safe and healthful workplace, which resulted in legal accountability.

Fortunately, with a CMMS like WorkTrek, you can avoid similar incidents.

It helps you manage and track all critical instructions and procedures, ensuring your workers stay informed, accountable, and—most importantly—safe.

Conclusion

You can think of a CMMS as your in-house inspector, always preparing you for actual audits.

It supports compliance in everyday operations and guarantees that all necessary documentation and information are readily available whenever required.

These solutions completely take the stress out of compliance.

With a CMMS, compliance becomes so ingrained in your daily operations that it almost takes care of itself.