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CMMS Software
There are over 300 computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) and enterprise asset management (EAM) software products on the market. There are systems for different size organizations, industries such as healthcare and food processing, and there are different technology platforms and deployment models available. We’ve written this buyer’s guide to support maintenance and facility managers as they assess their options. Here’s what we’ll cover:
What is CMMS and EAM Software?
Application Categories
What Type of Buyer are You?
Market Trends To Understand
What is CMMS and EAM Software
Computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) and enterprise asset management (EAM) software are closely related. In most cases, the terms are used interchangeably. Though software vendors and analysts view them as separate types of systems. Reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) is often believed to be the key differentiator. This topic deserves an entire article, so we will cover it in a future post.
For some quick background, CMMS has been around for more than 30 years while EAM was introduced in the 1990’s. As a result, experienced maintenance professionals have been slow to adopt this new phrase. And, because of this, many vendors still market their product as a CMMS system or a joint CMMS and EAM system.
In terms of hierarchy, CMMS sits underneath EAM. It is often referred to as a departmental application that is used by maintenance departments. Enterprise asset management has a cross-department reach, or in other words, can be used across the entire enterprise (hence the category name). It has the ability to consolidate data across multiple locations, facilities and different asset classes.
CMMS software helps organizations track both the maintenance of their assets and associated costs of the work. This can include maintenance of a single facility, a range of facilities, a group of equipment like a fleet of vehicles, or other types of machinery. It is often the main software system that maintenance personnel and facility managers will use on a daily basis. It tracks the location of equipment; it maintains detailed records of equipment (e.g. service contracts, maintenance history, etc); it tracks labor resources including the skills, qualifications and labor rates of personnel; it tracks inventory movement and parts suppliers and more.
Meanwhile, EAM software extends the capabilities of CMMS. It may include more back-office applications such as financial management, human resources management and more. It may also provide greater reporting capabilities and analysis.
Overall, CMMS and EAM software help organizations keep their facilities and equipment running efficiently, effectively and safely. It helps organizations improve the performance of assets, reduce costs, extend asset life and ultimately receive a strong return on investment.
Application Categories
| Asset Management | Tracks all information about an organization’s assets (i.e. equipment, machines, buildings, fleets, etc). For example, when the asset was purchased, the expected lifetime of the asset, warranty information, the maintenance history, costs, depreciation, and more. It may be used by several departments, including accounting and maintenance. |
| Inventory Management and Purchasing | Keeps track of parts, tools and other materials required to perform maintenance. Features may include a scheduling system for personnel to reserve tools; an auto-notifier to alert staff when more materials need to be purchased, and; support for multiple currencies. Many vendors will offer a purchasing module - very similar to purchasing in supply chain management software, if not the same - that allows organizations to keep track of who they purchased supplies from, when they ordered, how much it cost and the quantity ordered. This module may be able to send out automated requests for quotes - to suppliers - when an item or material gets low. |
| Preventive Maintenance | Preventive maintenance software allows you to schedule maintenance based on meter readings, dates, or even by setting up custom triggers. You can view all current and future maintenance activity on a calendar. You can set up custom maintenance groups and routes. Some systems have a preventive maintenance task library to help you define the right tasks and procedures. |
| Predictive Maintenance and Condition Monitoring | Even if you have preventive maintenance scheduled, faults and breakdowns can and will happen at unexpected times. This is where predictive maintenance and condition monitoring come in. This application monitors the health of an asset. It will automatically schedule maintenance based on detailed analysis of the condition of an asset. How? It monitors and analyzes “health” about the equipment, including noise, vibration, temperature, corrosion, pressure and flow,and more. Users can define the upper and lower boundaries of each of these items for every asset. The system spits out information in easy to read reports. Some systems automatically create a work order when a reading falls outside of one of the predefined boundaries. |
| Work Order Management | This is a core application found in all CMMS systems. Employees can use work order management to schedule repairs, assign maintenance personnel to the job, reserve materials, record costs, track the cause of the problem, track downtime and make recommendations for future action. It may also feature: permission and notification settings, department and technician routing, work order logs with cost and repair information, and a portal where customers or other employees can submit work order requests. |
What Type of Buyer Are You?
Before you begin evaluating software, you need to decide what type of buyer you are. We find that 90% CMMS and EAM software buyers fall into one of these three groups:
- Full-suite buyers. These buyers are more concerned with having seamless integration than specific features. Instead of purchasing a stand-alone CMMS or EAM system, they may purchase a complete ERP suite that includes these applications.
- Best-of-breed buyers. Unlike the first group, these buyers only want to purchase a CMMS or EAM system. They prefer depth of functionality over integration. Many will choose a CMMS/EAM specialist rather than a big ERP vendor that offers some type of maintenance management application.
- Small business software buyers. Small business buyers often prioritize ease-of-use, low upfront costs and ease of implementation over other requirements. For these reasons, cloud or web-based software is often a popular deployment model.
Market Trends You Should Understand
As you evaluate computerized maintenance management and enterprise asset management software, keep these trends in mind. How your vendor fits with these trends could have a big impact on their viability.
- Software as a Service (SaaS). Web-based software or SaaS is becoming more popular. A growing number of maintenance and facility managers are looking toward cloud-based software to manage their operations. Low upfront costs, greater accessibility, ease of implementation and maintenance are all key factors pushing organizations towards adopting this deployment model. Meanwhile, more and more software providers are offering their applications over the web.
- Mobile CMMS. Many vendors now offer mobile support for their CMMS products. This is helpful for technicians that are working in the field or on the shop floor. Using a tablet or some other type of mobile device, they can access and update information about assets; generate work orders directly from the device; track labor and inventory use; issue, return, and receive parts in real-time, and more.
Have an opinion on this guide? Email the authors. We appreciate the feedback.
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Bigfoot CMMS
Bigfoot CMMS is an intuitive, complete Computerized Maintenance Management Software solution that helps organizations manage all operations, including maintenance, assets and equipment, inventory and more, all from the Web.
Maintenance Connection
Maintenance Connection gives organizations of any size a highly scalable, Web-based maintenance management solution to track and maintain assets throughout their entire lifecycle. It can easily integrate with other systems.
Infor EAM
Helping organizations optimize the life cycle and placement of their assets, Infor EAM offers a comprehensive enterprise asset management solution that tracks and maintains company assets, as well as monitoring energy consumption.
Axxerion
Great for transportation and fleet management, Axxerion is a Web-based system that allows expansion as an organization grows--to any size. Offering CMMS and asset management features, it's a robust solution for organizations.
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Proteus
As a leader in the market since 1986, Eagle Technology, Inc. supports over 3000 users in 34 countries. Their Proteus and Equipsoft product lines offer robust EAM and CMMS solutions from entry to enterprise level.
collectiveFleet
collectiveFleet is a flexible, highly scalable fleet and asset management solution for organizations looking to improve all aspects of their fleet operation, from tracking vehicles and assets to inventory management and more.
WOW! On the Web
Formerly called Work Order Wonder, WOW! is a fully inclusive solution that manages work orders, preventative maintenance, asset management and more, all from an extremely affordable web-based solution.
Service Pro Field Service and Repair Center
Service Pro by MSI Data is a comprehensive solution designed to help optimize an organization's field personnel and their related tasks, such as customer management, scheduling and inventory management.
Expesite VisionFM
VisionFM by Expesite provides a centralized, intuitive solution for companies to collect accurate information on business assets, space and condition. Using VisionFM, organizations have a complete asset control.
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