What Is CMMS and How Do You Define CMMS?

The term "CMMS" stands for Computerized Maintenance Management System and is a software system designed to support maintenance management. Like Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), it seeks to improve maintenance and management of company assets through streamlining and automation of maintenance management, work order management, inventory management and purchasing and clear scheduling.

While a CMMS system is focused on maintenance and operations, EAM is considered a more long-term system, being a more comprehensive solution that includes all CMMS functions, as well as asset lifecycle management functionality and support for analysis and optimization.

A Computerized Maintenance Management System makes it possible to generate real-time accurate reports about the performance of your organization. With the help of CMMS, it becomes easy to predict which assets will require preventive maintenance, improving the organization of your business while reducing costs and increasing profits.

CMMS enables you to structure your work orders efficiently, without losing time on excessive paperwork and administration.

This makes the management of your organization a lot easier. Through work order schedules, inventory forecasts and other invaluable reports, you get immediate insights into maintenance needs. CMMS information allows you to make better and faster decisions for your business, giving you instant solutions based on real-time data.

CMMS systems optimize your maintenance practices by introducing features that save time while reducing costs. A well-managed maintenance process and access to accurate data in the decision-making process leads to improved asset reliability and higher productivity.

What Is the Difference Between CMMS and EAM?

CMMS is often used interchangeably with the term EAM, however, there is a clear difference between the two systems. CMMS focusses mainly on preventative maintenance, work order management, inventory scheduling and asset tracking. In addition to these areas of focus, EAMs include lifecycle planning tools, other predictive maintenance methods, workflow analysis and more advanced metrics to analyze an asset’s future stated and continued reliability. In short, EAM offers a holistic approach to viewing, managing and analyzing physical assets.

Looking for more? Read our EAM Guide or download our whitepaper.

CMMS/EAM and OEE – How Are They Related?

While CMMS and EAM are solutions to manage and maintain your equipment, the OEE system (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) is there to get the most out of your assets. The OEE measures the overall effectiveness of your manufacturing equipment. It is a solution that helps to improve your business’ performance by identifying areas for improvement at the operational level. Using a good CMMS that is tailored to your business will improve the availability, performance and quality of your equipment, improving OEE.

With an OEE system, you get the tools to follow up your production and support to optimize the utilization of your manufacturing asset. Before purchasing a CMMS/EAM system to compliment your OEE, ask yourself these 4 questions or consult our 3 step strategy guide.

Want to learn more about how EAM or OEE solutions from Aptean can help your business? Contact us today to chat with one of our experts or schedule a demo.