MEX CMMS Tips and Tricks: How to Master Customization, Reporting, and Workflow Automation

If you are reading this, you aren’t looking for a sales pitch about why you should buy MEX. You likely already have it installed. You are probably a Maintenance Planner, a Systems Administrator, or a Maintenance Manager staring at the dashboard, thinking, "There has to be a faster way to do this."

You are correct. There is.

While the official manual covers the basics of creating a Work Order or adding an Asset, it rarely dives into the nuances of workflow optimization. It doesn't tell you how to prevent technicians from accidentally deleting history, how to bulk-update 500 assets in ten minutes, or how to make the mobile app behave when you're three floors underground with zero Wi-Fi.

This guide is structured to answer your core question: How do I move beyond basic data entry and turn MEX into a high-performance reliability engine?

We will bypass the basics and go straight to the "Power User" features—the tips, tricks, and workarounds that separate a clunky digital filing cabinet from a streamlined maintenance operation.

Unlocking "God Mode": How do I customize the interface to force data integrity?

The most common frustration with MEX (and any CMMS) is "Garbage In, Garbage Out." Technicians skip fields, enter generic data, or ignore safety checkboxes. You might be asking: How can I force my team to enter the right data without standing over their shoulders?

The answer lies in MEX’s customization capabilities, often referred to affectionately by power users as "God Mode" (or simply System Customization).

The Power of Mandatory Fields

In standard MEX, very few fields are strictly mandatory. This is a recipe for incomplete data. If you want to analyze failure modes later, you cannot rely on a technician voluntarily selecting a "Cause Code."

You need to edit the form properties. By entering the customization mode (usually accessible via the "System Options" or specific hotkeys depending on your version, traditionally Ctrl+right-click or via the admin menu in V15+), you can select specific input fields—like Fault Codes, Solution Codes, or Downtime Hours—and toggle the "Mandatory" property to True.

Pro Tip: Do not make everything mandatory. If a technician has to fill out 20 fields to close a simple lightbulb change, they will revolt. Only mandate fields that drive your preventative maintenance procedures and reliability reporting.

Hiding Dangerous Buttons

Have you ever had a junior planner accidentally delete an asset instead of retiring it? It wreaks havoc on your historical reporting.

One of the best "God Mode" tricks is UI simplification. You can select buttons—specifically "Delete" buttons on Work Orders or Assets—and set their "Visible" property to False for specific user security groups.

Implementation Strategy:

1. Create a "Super Admin" security group that sees everything.
2. Create a "Standard User" group.
3. In the customization layer, hide the "Delete" button for the Standard User group.
4. Now, if something needs to be deleted, it requires a manager's approval, ensuring an audit trail.

Renaming Fields for Your Jargon

MEX uses standard terminology (e.g., "Account Code"). Your facility might call it a "Cost Center" or "WBS Element." When terminology doesn't match, users get confused.

Don't force your team to learn MEX's language; teach MEX your language. Use the Label properties to rename text fields on the forms. Changing "Trade Code" to "Craft" or "Asset Type" to "Equipment Class" reduces friction during onboarding and ensures data is entered in the correct slot.

The Asset Register: How do I structure hierarchy for accurate cost rolling?

The second most common question is: Why can't I see how much this specific production line costs to run? I can see the costs for the individual motors, but not the whole line.

This is an Asset Hierarchy issue. Many users treat the MEX Asset Register as a flat list. This is a mistake. To get value out of your asset management strategy, you must utilize a Parent-Child relationship structure.

The "Region to Component" Framework

If your hierarchy is flat, you cannot "roll up" costs. You should structure your register in a strict tree format:

1. Region/Site (Parent)
2. Department/Area (Child of Site)
3. Production Line (Child of Dept)
4. Machine Center (Child of Line)
5. Maintainable Asset (Child of Machine - e.g., Pump Assembly)
6. Component (Child of Asset - e.g., Motor, Gearbox)

Why This Matters for Reporting

When you structure it this way, you can run a "Cost Roll-Up" report.

• If you replace a bearing on the Motor (Level 6), the cost is recorded there.
• However, because of the hierarchy, that cost also contributes to the Pump Assembly (Level 5), the Machine (Level 4), and the Production Line (Level 3).

The Trick: When setting up this hierarchy, ensure your "Asset Type" coding is consistent. Use the "Duplicate Asset" feature when building out identical lines. If Line A is set up perfectly, clone it to create Line B, C, and D. This saves hours of manual entry and ensures the hierarchy structure is identical across the plant.

Handling Rotable Spares

A common edge case is the "Rotable" asset—like a spare motor sitting in the store. How do you handle that in the hierarchy?

The Solution: Create a virtual "Rotable Store" location in your Asset Register. When a motor is pulled off Line 1 for refurbishment, do not delete it. Use the "Move Asset" function to transfer it from "Line 1" to "Rotable Store." This preserves the maintenance history of that specific motor (the serial number) while allowing you to install a replacement motor on Line 1. This is critical for tracking the lifecycle of expensive components like compressors or large gearboxes.

Advanced PM Scheduling: How do I stop "Over-Maintaining" my equipment?

A major frustration for maintenance managers is the "Monday Morning Flood." This happens when all Preventative Maintenance (PM) work orders trigger on a calendar basis, regardless of whether the machine ran that week or not.

Question: How do I transition from blind calendar maintenance to smart, usage-based maintenance within MEX?

Utilizing Suppression and Hierarchical PMs

MEX has a feature often called "PM Suppression" or "Shadowing." This is vital for nested maintenance schedules.

The Scenario:

• You have a Monthly Service (A-Service).
• You have a 3-Month Service (B-Service).
• The B-Service includes everything in the A-Service, plus extra tasks.

The Mistake: Setting them up as two independent calendar PMs. Every third month, both the A and B work orders trigger. The technician gets two sheets of paper, confusing the workflow.

The Fix: Configure the B-Service to "Suppress" the A-Service. When the 3-Month timer hits, MEX checks the suppression list. It generates the B-Service work order and silently resets the timer for the A-Service without generating the paperwork. This cleans up your backlog and prevents duplicate labor hours from being recorded.

Implementing Meter-Based Triggers

Calendar maintenance is wasteful for assets that run intermittently. If you have a standby generator or a backup pump, checking it "weekly" is a waste if it hasn't run.

Switch these assets to Meter-Based PMs.

1. Define a "Meter" in MEX (e.g., Run Hours).
2. Set the PM to trigger every 500 Hours.
3. The Trick: How do you get the hours in? You don't want to manually type them every day.
   • Low Tech: Add a "Meter Reading" field to the weekly operator checklist.
   • High Tech: Use the MEX API or the "Readings Import" function to pull runtime data directly from your SCADA or PLC system.

By moving to usage-based maintenance, you immediately reduce labor costs on standby equipment. This is the foundational step before moving toward true AI predictive maintenance.

Mobile App & Offline Mode: How do I keep techs working without Wi-Fi?

The MEX Mobile app is powerful, but it is often the source of complaints regarding sync errors and data loss.

Question: My facility has dead zones. How do I ensure my technicians can actually use the app without losing their work?

The "Sync First" Discipline

The most common error is technicians walking into a dead zone before opening the app. The app tries to fetch data, fails, and hangs.

The Protocol: Implement a "Crib Sync" rule.

1. Technicians must open the app and hit "Sync" while still in the maintenance office (Wi-Fi zone).
2. They must download their specific Work Orders and the Asset Register for their area.
3. Crucial Step: Switch the app to "Offline Mode" manually before leaving the office.

By forcing Offline Mode while still connected, you lock the database on the device. The technician can now go three floors underground, complete inspections, issue parts, and add photos. The app won't waste battery trying to find a signal.

Barcoding for Accuracy

Typing on a tablet with greasy fingers is difficult. Searching for "Conveyor Motor 3" returns 50 results. This friction causes technicians to abandon the app.

The Trick: Implement QR Codes or Barcodes on every asset. MEX Mobile has a native camera scanner.

1. Print asset tags with the Asset Number encoded in a QR code.
2. Technicians simply tap "Scan," point at the machine, and the app instantly jumps to that Asset's history and open Work Orders.

This reduces "search time" from 2 minutes to 5 seconds. It also guarantees they are writing the Work Order against the correct asset, which is essential for accurate work order software data.

Stores & Inventory: How do I stop running out of critical spares?

Question: We have thousands of dollars in stock, yet we are always missing the one bearing we need. How do I fix this in MEX?

The APL (Asset Parts List) is King

The biggest tip for inventory management in MEX is populating the Asset Parts List (APL). This links a specific stock item to a specific asset.

Why do this?

1. Speed: When a planner creates a Work Order for "Pump A," they can click "Add Parts" and see only the 5 parts relevant to that pump, rather than searching the entire catalog of 10,000 SKUs.
2. Analysis: It allows you to run reports on "Where Used." If a specific brand of bearing is recalled or constantly failing, you can instantly see every asset in the plant that uses it.

The Purchasing Wizard & Min/Max Levels

Stop writing manual purchase requisitions. You should be using the Replenishment/Purchasing Wizard.

For this to work, you must audit your "Min/Max" levels.

• Min: The safety stock level. When you hit this, you reorder.
• Max: The maximum shelf space or budget you have.

The Trick: Many users set the Min/Max once and forget it. You should review these quarterly. If a machine is aging and consuming more parts, raise the Min. If a machine is being phased out, lower the Max to zero to prevent "Zombie Inventory" (parts for machines you no longer own).

Proper inventory management in MEX isn't just about counting; it's about dynamic adjustment based on consumption history.

Reporting & Analytics: How do I get data out that my boss actually cares about?

Question: The standard MEX reports are fine for lists, but they don't show trends or KPIs. How do I get better visualization?

Microsoft Report Builder vs. SQL

MEX uses Microsoft Report Builder for its custom reports. If you are comfortable with this tool, you can modify the .rdl files to change logos, add columns, or group data differently.

However, for true "Power User" insights, you should bypass the built-in report writer for analysis and go straight to the database.

The Trick: Use Power BI or Excel via ODBC. You can set up a "Read-Only" user on your SQL database. Connect Microsoft Power BI to the MEX SQL database.

• Pull tables like WorkOrder, Asset, History, and Readings.
• Build a live dashboard that shows MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) and MTTR (Mean Time To Repair).

MEX stores data, but tools like Power BI visualize it. If you want to show your ROI to management, a Power BI dashboard showing a downward trend in "Emergency Work Orders" is far more convincing than a printed list of closed jobs.

The "Comment" Analysis

A hidden gem in reporting is analyzing the text in "Work Order Comments." Use a simple keyword search query to find recurring problems that aren't being coded correctly. Search for terms like "temporary fix," "bypassed," or "jerry-rigged."

If you see "temporary fix" appearing 50 times in the last month, you have a culture problem, not a software problem. This insight helps you move from reactive firefighting to prescriptive maintenance.

Bulk Tools & Integrations: How do I manage mass updates?

Question: I need to change the cost center for 400 assets. Do I have to open them one by one?

The Import/Export Function

Never do manual data entry for more than 10 items. MEX has robust Import/Export functionality (often via XML or Excel templates).

The Workflow:

1. Export your current Asset Register to Excel.
2. Use Excel formulas to update the Cost Center column for the 400 rows.
3. Re-import the sheet into MEX.

Warning: Always backup your database before a bulk import. If you map the columns wrong, you can corrupt your data.

Pro Tip: Use this for "Task Lists" as well. If you are creating a new PM for 50 identical conveyors, write the task list in Excel once, and import it against all 50 assets.

API Integrations

In 2026, a standalone CMMS is an island. You need bridges. The MEX API is the tool for this.

Common high-value integrations:

• ERP (SAP/Navision/Xero): Push approved Purchase Orders from MEX to your finance system so you don't have to double-entry invoices.
• Fuel Management Systems: If you manage a fleet, link your fuel bowsers to MEX. When a truck fills up, the odometer reading and fuel liters are automatically sent to MEX, updating the "Average Fuel Consumption" KPI and triggering the next service.

For more on connecting systems, explore our guide on CMMS integrations.

Conclusion: It's About the Process, Not Just the Software

MEX is a tool. Like a torque wrench, it works best when calibrated and used correctly. The tips above—customizing the interface, structuring the hierarchy, automating PMs, and leveraging external reporting—are about bending the tool to fit your maintenance strategy, rather than shrinking your strategy to fit the tool.

Start small. Pick one area—perhaps fixing your Asset Hierarchy or enforcing mandatory fields on Work Orders—and implement it this week. As your data quality improves, so will your ability to predict failures and manage costs.

If you find that even with these optimizations, you are hitting a ceiling with legacy architecture, it might be time to look at how modern, cloud-native platforms handle predictive maintenance and AI-driven workflows. But for now, take control of your MEX instance and turn that "clunky" database into a reliability machine.