CMMS, short for Computerized Maintenance Management System, saves time and money and reduces paperwork by properly managing assets.
The software is used by asset-heavy businesses primarily for preventive maintenance management, work order management, and asset management. It delivers key features such as increasing asset reliability, reducing unplanned equipment downtime, and building effective preventive maintenance strategies.
What is a CMMS Software?
CMMS is a software solution to help businesses digitally manage, automate, plan, track, and streamline all maintenance processes. It automates some processes of asset-intensive organizations to improve efficiency by eliminating heavy paperwork.
It is a centralized web and mobile software essential for businesses like construction, oil gas production, manufacturing, transportation, etc. CMMS holds all maintenance information like purchase orders, work orders, assets, logs, work histories, vendors, and maintenance reports in one platform. It helps industries where physical infrastructure is required to optimize the availability and utilization of all physical equipment.
CMMS vs. Enterprise Asset Management (EAM)
CMMS and EAM systems are often confused for having the same function, features, and applications. CMMS focuses primarily on providing maintenance solutions to businesses, whereas EAM is a broader and more comprehensive solution to managing and tracking assets’ entire lifecycle.
Let’s discuss their differences in detail:
| Parameters | CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) | EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) |
| Definition | CMMS software is a tool that helps in tracking and managing maintenance operations. | The EAM system helps businesses to track the entire asset life cycle. |
| Main Objective | The main objective of the CMMS tool is to monitor an asset condition and help in maintenance processes. | The main objective of the EAM system is full optimization and utilization of assets while reducing costs. |
| Key Features | Preventive maintenance, inventory management, project management, reliability-centered maintenance, etc. | Asset tracking, Condition monitoring, Budget management, Inventory management, Process management, project management, Energy monitoring, etc |
| Users | Operations and Maintenance teams use the software. | Maintenance, Finance, Compliance, Operations, and Productions teams use the system. |
| Implementation | CMMS has a single cycle of implementation. | EAM has implementation cycles in multiple phases. |
| Decision Making | Done by the operations and maintenance team. | It is done by C-level management, operations, and maintenance team. |
| Ideal for Businesses | Businesses invest heavily in physical assets like power grids, manufacturing plants, communication towers, etc. | Asset-intensive businesses that focus on managing asset lifecycle like government and defense, energy and utilities, manufacturing, etc. |
Features of an ideal CMMS Software
CMMS offers several features to manage the maintenance operations of businesses. Following are a few essential features of an ideal CMMS:
Asset Management
For asset-intensive businesses, it is essential to have their asset data always accessible. That is when CMMS comes into play. It helps companies manage their assets and equipment in real-time and also helps prolong their life cycle.
With CMMS, businesses can make the best use of their assets. The software stores inspection requirements, meter readings, maintenance records, calibration points, etc.
Work Order Management
CMMS stores data on every piece of equipment, like when they will need maintenance and which parts are low in stock or unavailable. The software then makes work orders according to its timetable and also reacts to any order changes done by teams.
The work order feature of CMMS helps prioritize work requests, and this feature assists in effectively tracking the planning, scheduling, and fulfillment of every work request.
Preventive Maintenance
The preventive maintenance program of CMMS ensures that you entirely use every piece of equipment by prolonging its life cycle. It helps to prevent equipment deterioration and reduce the cost of emergency repairs by managing their maintenance.
CMMS features that support preventive maintenance are inspection management, preventative maintenance checklist, maintenance interval setting, performance maintenance, and failure detection.
Inventory management
A good CMMS software will help in stock and inventory management, and it will assist in tracking equipment parts if they are available in stock or not and help in placing orders accordingly. If inventory management is done right then, other functions like work order management and equipment maintenance are also done effectively.
CMMS features that assist inventory management are supplier information management, stock level metrics, cycle counting, bill of materials (BOM), and inventory allocation.
Vendor Management
A CMMS tool not only helps with asset and inventory management but assists in vendor management as well. It stores vendor information such as contact details for managers to access. The software has designed templates to place orders with a vendor whenever required.
It saves time for employees by storing vendor information and helping place work orders. The best CMMS software tracks the order from when it is placed with a vendor to when it is delivered, and it sends notifications to each vendor that new order is placed.
Reports and Statistics
CMMS has reports and statistics functionality to track and analyze assets’ current health, productivity, maintenance costs, etc. Teams can easily manage assets, track issues, and make decisions based on the reports created by CMMS.
The reporting feature of CMMS includes report creation, KPI creation, fault site reporting, and report auditing. CMMS teams can check statistics like total repair cost, total asset downtime, available inventory, pending and completed work orders, etc.
What are the advantages of using CMMS Software?
- A CMMS software helps you plan and manage preventive maintenance inspections and tasks. It helps to catch minor issues of every asset or equipment early and repair it before giving it a chance to grow into something big. This, in turn, helps you save money by fixing a problem early.
- Sometimes even after taking every preventive precaution, things can go wrong, and here CMMS acts as reactive maintenance. It helps businesses to react faster by showing what steps to follow.
- CMMS helps to keep track of MRO inventory. A small failure could delay the repair process and hamper other tasks if the parts didn’t come on time from the vendor. The software controls inventory and stores information about parts you have and what you might need to order.
- CMMS helps reduce the cost of ordering repair parts overnight when a failure happens. When you know which parts you don’t have, you can order beforehand so that it is available in times of crisis, and you don’t have to pay extra for shipping it overnight.
- An ideal CMMS helps you leverage the data it stores and make better decisions. You know which equipment will need maintenance at what time, and you can trust the data stored in the software and take the necessary steps accordingly.
Next, let’s take a look at some of the best CMMS software listed below.
MaintainX
MaintainX is one of the popular and most recommended CMMS software available in the market. The software is used by brands such as McDonald’s, Marriott, Hilton Hotels, etc. It helps businesses improve daily communications within the maintenance department and manage large no. of assets and equipment.
Core features of MaintainX
- Unlimited work orders
- Unlimited assets
- Highly responsive mobile applications
- Collaboration workflows
- Form creation templates
Businesses prefer MaintainX because of its exceptional features and various use cases.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a robust cloud-based CMMS tool with easy-to-use and automated features. It brings additional functionality like barcode scanning, document management, and collaboration tools.
Core features of SmartSheet:
- Real-time data reporting
- Inventory management
- Mobile access
- Calibration management
- Preventive maintenance
- Service history tracking
Smartsheet is best for businesses looking for automaton features and project-based maintenance features.
Limble CMMS
Limble CMMS is a user-centric platform designed to help with work requests and other tasks using mobile phones. The app is available for both on-premise and cloud deployment.
Core features of Limble:
- Work orders
- Preventive maintenance
- Work requests and tracking
- Vendor management
- Custom reports and dashboards
- Inventory management
Limble is best for small to large organizations looking to shift from reactive to preventive maintenance schedules.
Upkeep
Upkeep is a mobile-ready CMMS software popularly used for businesses like manufacturing, property management, transportation, etc. The software offers QR codes and meter readings along with its other functionality.
Core features of Upkeep:
- Work order and requests
- Time and cost tracking
- Inventory management
- Maintenance checklists
- Depreciation tracking
- Workflow automation
Upkeep is ideal for maintenance management teams and field service technicians.
Fiix
Fiix is an AI-supported CMMS tool that helps in maintenance management and productivity. A perfect software solution for businesses that don’t require complex features.
Core features of Fiix CMMS:
- Asset management
- Work-order management
- Reporting
- Parts and supplies management.
If you are looking for affordable and one of the best CMMS software to manage your assets and work order and help in reporting, then Fiix should be your choice.
EZOfficeInventory
EZOfficeInventory is an excellent asset tracking and maintenance software. The software helps track the entire asset lifecycle and accordingly streamlines the workflow.
Core features of EZOfficeInventory:
- Calibration management
- Mobile access
- Inventory management
- Technician management
- Service history tracking
- Preventive maintenance
This CMMS tool helps to manage assets irrespective of location with the software.
Cryotos
Cryotos is a mobile-first application that helps to schedule maintenance activities and automate workflows using its calendar/scheduler feature. The platform has predefined checklists and templates available to process work orders effectively.
Core features of Cyotos:
- Work requests
- Work orders
- Preventive maintenance
- Parts inventory
- Checklists and inspections
- Customizable process workflow
- Business intelligence report
The software is best for professionals who need it on the go to manage workflows.
Hippo
Hippo is one of the best easy-to-use web-based CMMS software available. Users of Hippo need not be tech-savvy due to its simple interface and web-based deployment.
Core features of Hippo CMMS:
- Equipment management
- Predictive maintenance
- Work order management
- Inventory and parts management
- Vendor management
- Maintenance reports
The software is best for small and medium-sized maintenance and service businesses that are looking to grow into multiple locations.
Final Words
CMMS is an excellent solution for any asset-intensive business to track and manage its assets effectively. Select the CMMS software after trying some from the above list to find out which one fits perfectly for your business needs and budget.
