Computerized maintenance management system

Computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is also known as enterprise asset management and computerized maintenance management information system (CMMIS).

A CMMS software package maintains a computer database of information about an organization’s maintenance operations, i.e. CMMIS – computerized maintenance management information system. This information is intended to help maintenance workers do their jobs more effectively (for example, determining which machines require maintenance and which storerooms contain the spare parts they need) and to help management make informed decisions (for example, calculating the cost of machine breakdown repair versus preventive maintenance for each machine, possibly leading to better allocation of resources). CMMS data may also be used to verify regulatory compliance.

CMMS packages may be used by any organization that must perform maintenance on equipment, assets and property. Some CMMS products focus on particular industry sectors (e.g. the maintenance of vehicle fleets or health care facilities). Other products aim to be more general.

CMMS packages can produce status reports and documents giving details or summaries of maintenance activities. The more sophisticated the package, the more analysis facilities are available.

Many CMMS packages can be either web-based, meaning they are hosted by the company selling the product on an outside server, or LAN based, meaning that the company buying the software hosts the product on their own server.

CMMS packages are closely related to computer-aided facility management packages (also called facility management software). For the purposes of many organizations, the two are interchangeable.

Work orders

Scheduling jobs, assigning personnel, reserving materials, recording costs, and tracking relevant information such as the cause of the problem (if any), downtime involved (if any), and recommendations for future action. Typically, the CMMS schedules preventive maintenance automatically based on maintenance plans and/or meter readings. Different software packages use different techniques for reporting when a job should be performed.

• Inspection

Details condition of assets.

• Preventive maintenance

Keeping track of preventive maintenance jobs, including step-by-step instructions or check-lists, lists of materials required, and other pertinent details.

• Machine breakdown

Incidence of machine breakdown, details of repairs completed and repairs "to do". Preventive maintenance tasks are often undertaken during breakdown repair and so preventive maintenance tasks need to be rescheduled.

Asset management

Recording data about equipment and property including maintenance activities, specifications, purchase date, expected lifetime, warranty information, service contracts, service history, spare parts and anything else that might be of help to management or maintenance workers. The CMMS may also generate metrics such as the Facility Condition Index (FCI) to measure effectiveness of asset management.

Inventory control

Management of spare parts, tools, and other materials including the reservation of materials for particular jobs, recording where materials are stored, determining when more materials should be purchased, tracking shipment receipts, and taking inventory.

Safety

Management of permits and other documentation required for the processing of safety requirements. These safety requirements can include Lockout-Tagout, confined space, foreign material exclusion (FME), electrical safety, and others.

System integration

CMMS packages often link to enterprise software and process control systems:

• Scheduling
• Asset management
• Computerized maintenance management system
• Fixed assets Details the machines being maintained and their associated tooling
• Parts inventory / Parts locations / purchasing
• Costing
• SCADA Scheduled maintenance based on number of units of output or condition of machines
• OEE Systems – to reduce maintenance response time to failure (RFT)

See also

• 1:5:200
• Building lifecycle management
• CAFM
• Enterprise asset management
• Facility management
• Fixed assets register (FAR)
• Maintenance, repair and operations
• Preventive maintenance

External Links

• ARC Advisory Group. Market Research Firm concerning CMMSs in Automation Technology, Industry, Infrastructure and Enterprise Solutions.