Enterprise asset management (EAM) software and computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) continue to grab headlines as a realistic way to reduce expenses and increase revenues. For one, maintaining an adequate level of repair and service parts inventory based on forecasted equipment usage can prevent already-limited funds from being over-allocated just to achieve a false sense of security. Also, an effective preventive maintenance program can improve equipment use and availability, enabling production schedules to be achieved, especially when an exorbitantly expensive equipment replacement is a no-option during depressed economic times. Extending into the customer base, this applies as much to standards of service as it does to product quality.
What attracts companies to this class of software is that the savings are tangible and real—you know, the kind that you can take to the bank. Consequently, the advantage that EAM/CMMS has over other types of enterprise applications is that its return on investment (ROI) is often reasonably quickly achieved and easily quantified. Namely, it is a relatively straightforward exercise to demonstrate the bottom line value provided by optimized use, which results from optimally maintained production equipment and the facility where it is housed.
This article looks at where CMMS ends and EAM takes over, with particular emphasis on features and functionality of EAM software. If you are unsure of the capabilities of CMMS and need a quick refresher course, please read CMMS: A Tutorial.
Offerings from software vendors IFS AB (XSSE: IFS) and Intentia (XSSE: INT B), two fellow Swedish providers of enterprise business applications for midsize and large enterprises, will be used to help illustrate some of the advanced features of EAM.
The remainder of this article compares CMMS and EAM software and explores, in more detail, two key differentiators: integration concerns and reliability-centered maintenance (RCM). The article ends with a background on Intentia and IFS, and with a general discussion about enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors' foray into the EAM/CMMS arena.
Comparing CMMS and EAM
Many regard EAM as CMMS on steroids, which is an oversimplification and does not paint the true picture. Typically, CMMS deals strictly within the confines of the work order and preventive maintenance activity. Specific functions include
*
scheduling preventive maintenance based on triggers (such as hours of operation) or timed events (for example, every three months)
*
ensuring probability-based availability repair and spare parts
*
serial number tracking and tracing
*
suggesting and originating the purchase of needed repair parts
*
warranty tracking
*
ensuring availability of manpower resources with required skills and training
*
maintaining an asset registry and repair parts database (i.e., nomenclature, hierarchy structure, where used, support descriptions, etc.)
*
tracking costs of maintaining individual pieces of equipment
*
differentiation and appropriate management of fixed, mobile, and continuous assets
*
recording unexpected events for further analysis
*
statistical analysis of equipment performance and reliability, and providing a variety of reports from static and dynamic sources (i.e. equipment use, equipment downtime, equipment mean time between failure [MTBF], equipment mean time to repair [MTTR], etc.)
EAM software encompasses these functions and, in most cases, extends their capabilities but EAM software offers many features that can provide additional capabilities, value added functionality, and savings to your company. As seen above, a CMMS solution usually includes purchasing and procurement, inventory management, as well as equipment, parts, and asset tracking. However, CMMS applications typically do not have financial and accounting (other than mere cost recording) or human resources (HR) management capabilities (other than basic staffing needs recognition), and are typically purchased to integrate with the applications that support financial and HR management more deeply. These back-office applications are also typically designed to run at and for a single plant.
source
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/eam-versus-cmms-what-s-right-for-your-company-19574/
What attracts companies to this class of software is that the savings are tangible and real—you know, the kind that you can take to the bank. Consequently, the advantage that EAM/CMMS has over other types of enterprise applications is that its return on investment (ROI) is often reasonably quickly achieved and easily quantified. Namely, it is a relatively straightforward exercise to demonstrate the bottom line value provided by optimized use, which results from optimally maintained production equipment and the facility where it is housed.
This article looks at where CMMS ends and EAM takes over, with particular emphasis on features and functionality of EAM software. If you are unsure of the capabilities of CMMS and need a quick refresher course, please read CMMS: A Tutorial.
Offerings from software vendors IFS AB (XSSE: IFS) and Intentia (XSSE: INT B), two fellow Swedish providers of enterprise business applications for midsize and large enterprises, will be used to help illustrate some of the advanced features of EAM.
The remainder of this article compares CMMS and EAM software and explores, in more detail, two key differentiators: integration concerns and reliability-centered maintenance (RCM). The article ends with a background on Intentia and IFS, and with a general discussion about enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors' foray into the EAM/CMMS arena.
Comparing CMMS and EAM
Many regard EAM as CMMS on steroids, which is an oversimplification and does not paint the true picture. Typically, CMMS deals strictly within the confines of the work order and preventive maintenance activity. Specific functions include
*
scheduling preventive maintenance based on triggers (such as hours of operation) or timed events (for example, every three months)
*
ensuring probability-based availability repair and spare parts
*
serial number tracking and tracing
*
suggesting and originating the purchase of needed repair parts
*
warranty tracking
*
ensuring availability of manpower resources with required skills and training
*
maintaining an asset registry and repair parts database (i.e., nomenclature, hierarchy structure, where used, support descriptions, etc.)
*
tracking costs of maintaining individual pieces of equipment
*
differentiation and appropriate management of fixed, mobile, and continuous assets
*
recording unexpected events for further analysis
*
statistical analysis of equipment performance and reliability, and providing a variety of reports from static and dynamic sources (i.e. equipment use, equipment downtime, equipment mean time between failure [MTBF], equipment mean time to repair [MTTR], etc.)
EAM software encompasses these functions and, in most cases, extends their capabilities but EAM software offers many features that can provide additional capabilities, value added functionality, and savings to your company. As seen above, a CMMS solution usually includes purchasing and procurement, inventory management, as well as equipment, parts, and asset tracking. However, CMMS applications typically do not have financial and accounting (other than mere cost recording) or human resources (HR) management capabilities (other than basic staffing needs recognition), and are typically purchased to integrate with the applications that support financial and HR management more deeply. These back-office applications are also typically designed to run at and for a single plant.
source
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/eam-versus-cmms-what-s-right-for-your-company-19574/
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