COMPANY: The McGraw-Hill Companies
INDUSTRY: Warehouse / Distribution Centers
CUSTOMER SINCE 2005
Customer Survey
Survey Questions:
The McGraw-Hill Companies’ Responses:
Question #1:
(BEFORE)

What system (if any) was in
place before Maintenance
Connection was
implemented?
Response:

We used the MP2 system by DataStream prior to implementing Maintenance Connection.

Main drivers for CMMS implementation included:
o Manage assets and record asset history
o Manage workflow
o Manage spares inventory
o Schedule PMs

What were some of the
main business drivers for
implementing CMMS?
Question #2:
(SELECTION)

What were your top
reasons for choosing
Maintenance Connection
over other CMMS options?

And which other CMMS
options did you consider
(Optional Question)?
Question #3:
(USAGE)

Describe the general usage
of Maintenance Connection
within your organization.
Response:

Our Top reasons for selecting Maintenance Connection were because of their CMM systems’:
o Powerful Features:

Their features were easy to learn and very user-friendly

(because if the staff can't use it - it's useless).
o Ability to manage multiple locations and stockrooms.
o Excellent ability to produce custom reports without programming.

Because if we can't get the data we need back out of a database, why even
put it in?
o Ability to submit work orders online through the requester tool.
o And of course, their e-mail notifications detailing work order history.

This was a fantastic tool and ensured our processes were running
smoothly.

We were considering DataStream’s 7i, but Maintenance Connection’s price and overall value
surpassed that option.
Response:

The primary areas of Maintenance Connection we use, include tracking and managing:
o Maintenance workflow
o Spares inventory
o Equipment assets
o PM and recurring task work orders
o Non-emergency service request work orders
Customer Survey continued
Survey Questions:
The McGraw-Hill Companies’ Responses:
Question #4:
(RETURN ON INVESTMENT)

List a few improvements
that your company has
experienced as a result of
implementing
Maintenance Connection’s
CMMS?
Response:

We have noticed that Maintenance Connection has benefited our company with a lot of
different company-wide improvements. For example:
o The ability to manage equipment assets and their care (PM) across an entire
organization.

We can now do this with great consistency between locations.
o Successfully manage our inventory.

Since implementing this program, out-of-stocks have become nearly nonexistent.
o We can now monitor partial receipts until a stock order is complete.
o The ability to monitor inventory usage over time has allowed us to adjust stock levels
to the needed quantities.
o Technicians are now able to quickly narrow down searches in equipment history to
find past issues with a particular piece of equipment.

They have also had great success finding similar failures across multiple
locations, which has helped speed up the process of troubleshooting.
o Downtime is definitely reduced, and overtime can often be reduced or completely
avoided.
o We have enjoyed having the ability to monitor our performance in order to see what
we do well and where we need to improve.

In turn, this has allowed us to provide the best possible service to our
customers.

(Examples include:
reduced downtime by 10%,
decreased parts stock-outs
by 25%, saved $100,000 per
year in overtime)
Question #5:
(IMPLEMENTATION)

Describe your experience
during implementation,
from the initial purchase
through “go-live.”
Response:

The initial purchase was painless for us.
o We continuously asked Brad, at Maintenance Connection, countless questions and
for repeated online demonstrations during our decision making process to ensure we
were getting the best product possible.
o In the end, Brad was extremely helpful, he did not pressure us, and definitely let the
product do the talking.

We decided to have Maintenance Connection host our database initially, until we could secure
space on our in-house servers.
o This proved to be a good idea, as it made it easy to work the Maintenance
Connection Support Team during set-up.
o Their help made the process of becoming familiar with the CMS software very easy
for us.

Overall, the training we received from Maintenance Connection’s Support Team helped a lot
and our “go-live” experience was very successful.
Question #6:
(IMPLEMENTATION)

Do you have any
suggestions for someone
just beginning the
implementation of CMMS?
Response:

Map out a plan for documentation and data integrity and ENFORCE it.

If work orders are not filled out, or are filled out poorly (i.e. - attached to wrong asset, not
including parts used, lack of detail in labor reports) you will be disappointed with the results.
o We tie this to our yearly goals, and rate our techs on it. It is a good way to keep
employees accountable.

If you have old data to import - and it is not up to par - consider starting fresh.
o You will quickly build history that is complete and useable.

Don't try to do it alone. You know your business, the people who created the CMMS know
their software. Work together for the best results.