istrators who are committed to improving department operation via automation. A dedicated project team and committed advisory committee will be a source of fresh ideas about the scope of the proposed system.Step 2 Conducting an operation and management auditConducting an operation and management audit will assist to provide the justification for implementing new information technologies and management procedures. The main purpose of the audit is to identify operations within the maintenance function where efficiency can be increased through computerization. Processes that are commonly targeted for this assessment are in the areas of work order management, periodic maintenance scheduling preventive maintenance, materials management, and other paper-based or clerical intensive manual management practices.Step 3 performing a cost vs. benefits studyPerforming a cost vs. benefits study serves four purposes: 1.Provides the analysis of the feasibility of the entire project.2.Assist to identify and evaluate all cost issues, thus eliminating future surprises.3.Assist the committee to evaluate the expected return on the investment4.Assist the committee to confront the real benefits of the automation projectStep 4 The CMMS implementation project planThe CMMS implementation project plan provides the blueprint for the entire implementation project. The plan should be comprehensive and afforded the same emphasis as any other major facility capital project. The planning process should seek to achieve a consensus, among advisory committee members, of the goals for the implementation and establish expectations about the systems performance. A thorough project plan is a critical step toward the timely and successful completion of each system design, development, and installation task. The project plan also provides an additional check to insure that all resource requirements (people, time and cost) have been identified and schedule into the project....