What is a CMMS?
A Computerized Maintenance Management System, or CMMS, is a software solution that manages your maintenance operations including work orders, service requests, asset and parts inventory, maintenance tasks, and inspection schedules. Basically, maintenance data or processes that are currently on paper or spreadsheets can be digitized and automated with a CMMS. This improves your maintenance operations by eliminating duplicate data entry, manual spreadsheets, standardizing processes, and streamlining your information to one convenient location. Furthermore, with CMMS software, your team can access it from their computer or mobile device, which improves the efficiency and accuracy of maintenance data.
Is a CMMS the Same as Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Software?
While you may hear about CMMS and EAM software simultaneously, they have some important differences. A CMMS is only for maintenance, which is a small portion of total asset management. EAM software is more robust and covers more aspects of asset management from maintenance to resource management and in-depth reporting. Additionally, an EAM provides high-level visibility and insights for strategic analysis. This doesn’t mean that a CMMS is not as good as EAM software. Instead, when it comes to maintenance, think of a CMMS as a specialized system and EAM as a more general system.
The Benefits of a CMMS
The objective of a CMMS is to maximize asset life by optimizing maintenance. This has many benefits including:
- Streamlining asset management
- Automating preventive maintenance
- Increasing maintenance task efficiency
- Improving asset productivity
- Reducing maintenance and downtime costs
- Providing convenient reporting
- Increasing visibility
- Making maintenance data more accessible with a cloud-based mobile app
A survey of 558 companies using a CMMS found that 28.3% had an increase in maintenance productivity, 20.1% saw a reduction of equipment downtime, 19.4% decreased their material costs, and 17.8% reduced their maintenance repair and operations (MRO) inventory costs. This is just a small sample of the potential benefits of CMMS implementation.
Who Uses a CMMS?
If your company relies on equipment, machinery, or other assets to produce a product or provide a service, then you could benefit from using a CMMS. Some of the most common industries that implement CMMS software are:
- Manufacturing Plants and Mills
- Oil and Gas
- Construction
- Mining
- Farming and Agriculture
- Transportation
- Food and Beverage
- Restaurants
- Hospitality
- Building or Property Management
- Educational, Government, or Municipal Facilities
- Gyms
As you can see by the range of industries, a CMMS can manage maintenance for all kinds of assets from manufacturing equipment to cranes or industrial machines. Regardless of asset size, a CMMS will streamline maintenance to make it more efficient and cost-effective.
How to Choose a CMMS
There are some key factors to consider when looking at a CMMS solution for your business. These factors include the size of your company, your budget, the functionality you need, and who your users will be. It is important to get clear on these details because you may find that EAM software is a better fit for what you’re looking for. For example, a large business with multiple locations that would have their maintenance team, accounting, and senior management using the software would find EAM to be a better fit. Alternatively, a small business that only needs to manage work orders and maintenance tasks may prefer a CMMS for its maintenance team to use.
If your business is in an asset-heavy industry, then your maintenance budget can reach up to 50% of your entire operational budget. A study found that companies that implement a CMMS see a cost savings of 5-35%. But, the greatest impact of a Computerized Maintenance Management System is the reduction of downtime, which further increases revenue and makes for a safer workplace.
