Is your CMMS software VMRS licensed?

June 5, 2019
The added benefits of a standardized reporting format.

Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards (VMRS) is a coding system that allows individual fleets and shops to follow a standardized reporting format. When selecting a CMMS software, fleets should verify that the software is VMRS licensed if there is a chance that they will need to exchange data with another service provider.

Say, for example, that a small fleet is operating off of a non-VMRS licensed software and has a truck that is traveling across country when it breaks down. The fleet doesn’t have a local service provider, so it needs to send the downed truck to a third-party service provider. To expedite the repair, the fleet wants to send the vehicle’s data to the third-party provider. But, because the fleet’s software doesn’t use the standardized VMRS codes, that information is not useful to the service provider. The software doesn’t speak the same “language” as the VMRS licensed software, so it is much harder to translate that information.

The value of using a VMRS-licensed software is that it helps ensure that the fleet and any third-party providers are speaking the same language—which helps track whether the repair would be covered under warranty or identify if it was a failure of the PM program.

“In addition to a VMRS license, fleets should ask potential maintenance partners if their support and professional service team are well-versed in VMRS,” advises Bob Hausler, vice president, marketing and technology, Dossier Systems, Inc. “Having an experienced partner can make the difference between having VMRS and using VMRS.

Here are some examples of how software that leverages VMRS well can benefit a fleet:

  • Software should capture the full 9-digit VMRS data (System-Assembly-Component, Fail Code, Repair Reason, Work Accomplished) as part of the natural workflow of performing the service. When this is captured automatically through VMRS, it eliminates the need for manual entry after the work is done, reducing the risk of incomplete or incorrect information.
  • VMRS data is available for historic reporting and analysis using any of the VMRS code keys as the metric for trends in cost, performance, repetitive repairs, etc.
  • Standard repair times can be associated with VMRS codes, delivering increased productivity monitoring.
  • Being able to complete comprehensive cost reporting categorized by VMRS offers insight into where a fleet is spending money, and allows easy identification of problematic assets.
  • A warranty claim constructed using VRMS coding will contain all of the information needed for the OEM/supplier to evaluate the claim. Having claims that include full VMRS coding (which includes the cause and correction) can improve the possibility of recovering the cost from the OEM/supplier.
About the Author

Stefanie Von Rueden | Assistant Editor - Vehicle Repair Group

Stefanie Von Rueden is assistant editor for the Vehicle Repair Group.

Von Rueden’s background includes professional writing and publishing. Previously, she worked in the Continuing Education department at UW-Whitewater. She has covered the vehicle maintenance and automotive aftermarket since 2016.