CMMS: What It Is and How It Can Step Up Your Maintenance Strategy

Maintenance management isn’t easy, especially when you don’t have the technology to support your work.

You have to make sure maintenance work is done on time, equipment is running smoothly, and the company you are maintaining is running with minimal breakdowns.  Things become even harder when you realize that all of that needs to be done with a very limited budget.

No wonder maintenance and facility managers turn to CMMS solutions for help.

If you set up a CMMS correctly you can:

• reduce reactive maintenance by up to 73.2%
• increase productivity by 28%
• lower downtime by up to 32%
• and reduce part spend by 23%

We will share the tried-and-true secrets and best practices that make maintenance technology successful in this essential guide to CMMS.

What is a CMMS system?

A CMMS system is a software solution that helps businesses manage, automate, and streamline all of their maintenance operations. 

“CMMS” stands for Computerized Maintenance Management System.

It is a centralized web and mobile software that can hold all of your maintenance information such as work orders, preventive maintenance schedules, assets, logs, work histories, parts inventory, vendors, purchase orders, and maintenance reports.  This allows you to manage all of the chaos of maintenance work in one single spot.

A good CMMS will:

• automate PM and WO assignments
• hold your team accountable
• provide actionable real-time reports
• lower parts spending, decrease downtime
• drastically lower the manual work

Basically, a CMMS gives you a streamlined approach that ensures the right thing is being done at the right time for all of your equipment and facilities with the ability to report on what matters to you.

This type of system is typically just called a CMMS, but you may hear people using different variations of the acronym like CMMS software, CMMS system, CMMS platform, and CMMS solution. They all refer to the same thing.

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[Guide: Essentials of CMMS]

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How to read and use reports.

What core features really make a difference to your maintenance crew.

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How does a CMMS system work?

Modern CMMS systems are cloud-based solutions.  Cloud-based just means that all of your maintenance data is saved in and accessed from one centralized spot (database) and can be accessed on any device (that has access to the internet) with a simple username and password.

Here is how a typical CMMS is used.

Maintenance managers set up the CMMS

Setup includes having the right equipment (Assets) with the right work orders scheduled (preventative maintenance) for the maintenance team.  Additionally, the CMMS may be set up so that reactive work can be submitted through a ticketing system (Work Requests).

This allows your team to know immediately when something goes wrong and can provide instant feedback to who is experiencing the breakdown or problem.

Maintenance technicians use a mobile CMMS to complete their work

While working in the field, technicians can use their smartphones to complete work on the equipment.  From there, they can see their full list of work orders that need to be done and look up work histories & manuals, communicate with each other, document what they did, etc. from their mobile device.

Any work they do is automatically saved to the centralized database for their team or manager to view later. This increases their wrench time and limits time wasted wondering what to do, how to do it, or doing tedious data entry.

Maintenance managers run reports using automatically collected data

You can set your own unique KPIs, and as long as your technicians are completing work orders, the data is automatically collected with no extra work on your part.  For example, on-time percent of preventative maintenance, % of downtime, work orders completed on time, asset uptime, labor costs, the total cost of ownership, spare parts usage, etc.

The best CMMS programs allow you to build your own custom reporting KPIs based on what is needed for you to show your company that the millions of dollars of equipment or facilities owned are being maintained properly.

Since the information is stored on the cloud, any changes that are made in the database are updated in real time for everyone. This level of automation gives you as a manager many advantages:

• Universal access to up-to-date data
• Reduces the chance for human error
• Improves response times
• Speeds-up maintenance workflows
• Enables you to track and analyze a large amount of data

Why your team should use a CMMS

There are numerous benefits of having computerized maintenance management software. So many, in fact, that a couple of years back we made an extensive list of 31 reasons to use computerized maintenance management software.

Here are those benefits summarized.

Overall maintenance cost reductions

Many organizations decide to implement CMMS in an effort to reduce maintenance costs, improve maintenance productivity, reduce downtime, and improve their overall bottom.

Maintenance work is very interconnected. Inefficiency at any point in the maintenance process will echo across all other maintenance activities. That is why CMMS aims to support every aspect of maintenance work.

Decreased downtime occurrence and length

An unexpected failure of a critical machine is one of the worst nightmares of every maintenance manager. The only way to combat this is with a proactive equipment maintenance strategy.

A CMMS can reduce downtime by helping you implement a proactive maintenance plan and execute it day after day.

Since equipment downtimes can cost upwards of $100k/per hour for some companies, this alone might be an incentive enough to invest in modern CMMS software.

Big productivity gains

With a CMMS, technicians can do more in less time. This especially holds true for CMMS solutions that offer a mobile app.  Limble specifically sees an average productivity increase of 28%.

With access to mobile maintenance software and a sound maintenance calendar, maintenance teams become more coordinated and take less time to diagnose a problem, perform the repair, and log their work. This is a direct consequence of the fact that CMMS improves communication, automates data recording, gives instant access to maintenance history, and allows you to create maintenance checklists and attach them to your work orders.

Better inventory control

Managing spare parts inventory doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. What is the point of running a spare parts inventory if it is constantly out of stock?

Use your CMMS software to track spare parts usage. Then, use that data to make accurate inventory forecasts for the following month, quarter, or year. This is at the core of best practices for spare parts inventory management.

Deep insight into all aspects of maintenance work

Arguably the largest benefit of using CMMS is having in-depth, structured access to your maintenance data.

Paper records or Excel spreadsheets cannot compete with a CMMS. A CMMS automatically logs data such as parts used, maintenance history, time to complete work, etc., and structures that data in easily accessible reports that can be used to make informed decisions.

The best part is that the CMMS database isn’t plagued with human errors and misplaced documents.

With Limble CMMS, we took things a step further. To maximize our customers’ access to maintenance data, we designed an advanced custom reports dashboard. It gives you the ability to break down the reports in thousands of different ways to find out the root cause of just about any problem.

For example, instead of just seeing that the cost of your spare parts increased, you can check how and where they were used and by who with a couple of clicks.

Core CMMS features and their benefits

Computerized maintenance management systems generally come with a very similar set of features. But if you want your team to use your CMMS, features must be easy to use.

The only thing worse than not having a CMMS is paying for one you stop using after only a couple of months.

Let’s review the core features a CMMS should offer so you know what to expect and look for.

Work order management

Work order management is at the core of every CMMS. Its purpose is to streamline how people submit work requests, how supervisors track work orders, and how technicians carry out actual maintenance work.

A strong work order management system should offer:

• A dashboard with an overview of all maintenance tasks
• An easy-to-use work request portal where people can report issues to your team
• A drag-and-drop maintenance calendar so scheduling work is quick and easy
• A mobile app that allows your maintenance team to complete work orders on-the-go

This combination of features is what drives the large 28% productivity gains the very best modern CMMS systems can get.

Asset management

The more assets you have, the harder it is to save, organize, and use asset information. Filing cabinets and paper records are inefficient, and often inaccurate too.

A user-friendly CMMS should be set up so that everyone can get the data they need in just a few clicks.

A modern CMMS solves these problems by allowing users to:

• Create unlimited custom fields to track the information you need
• Organize assets in a clear parent-to-child hierarchy that is searchable on a single page
• Pull complete work histories on equipment and run total cost of ownership reports
• View real-time KPIs such as MTTR, MTBF, and different asset performance metrics

Tracking assets to this detail drastically improves an asset’s life and reduces your capital expenditures.

Spare parts inventory management

Few things are more frustrating than not having spare parts needed to fix a machine everyone is depending on.

A good CMMS will help you run a spare parts inventory the right way which can result in cutting spare parts spend by 23%.

Here are the key things a modern CMMS should do:

• Automatically track parts usage and helps you make accurate inventory forecasts
• Set up reminders for when parts go below a certain quantity
• Let you know which parts are used on which assets and if those parts are no longer needed
• Quickly look up and order parts from preferred vendors

Vendor management

Nearly every organization has some specialized maintenance work that has to be carried out by third-party contractors. If you do not have an option to track and manage their work, then your maintenance records are incomplete.

Depending on your outsourcing strategy, you may be spending tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on vendors.  A good system can help ensure you are getting the biggest bang for your buck.

A great CMMS should be able to:

• Track and manage your vendors’ contact information, past work, and invoices
• Know which assets your vendors take care of and which vendors you purchase spare parts from
• Give limited access to a vendor so they can complete only the work assigned specifically to them

Maintenance reports

You might assume that every CMMS offers customizable reports, but unfortunately, that is not always the case.

After all of the setup and data being collected by your team, the last thing you would want to miss out on is the real-time maintenance reports and KPIs.  A good CMMS system will make it so you don’t require a data science degree to gather insights important to you.

Here are the characteristics of a strong dashboard and reporting system:

• Customizable reports dashboard that lets you choose which maintenance KPIs and metrics you want to track and compare
• Reports that are built once and automatically regenerate so you don’t have to rebuild them
• Reports that can be shared in different formats like Excel and PDF
• Drill-down capabilities to learn exactly why the data is showing you the problem
• Capacity to compare costs and KPIs between different facilities and teams

As the famous saying goes “What you don’t measure, you can’t improve”.  Everyone’s maintenance operations are different and the only way to find where to improve is to get a system in place and start taking those measurements.

Sensor integration

As Industry 4.0 and IoT continue to grow, it is only natural that advanced maintenance strategies like CBM and predictive maintenance will become cheaper to implement, making them accessible to more businesses.

This is why a modern CMMS should offer integration with condition-monitoring sensors that are at the core of those strategies. In practice, it means that your CMMS should be able to talk to those sensors and automatically start work orders depending on the information it receives. You can learn more about this process here.

That being said if you are just coming off of a paper or excel based system you may want to learn how to walk before you run. A good CMMS will morph to your unique needs, but also allow you to grow into more advanced setups like a sensor integration.

How to find the right CMMS for your organization?

Finding the best CMMS solution for your business will take some research and testing.

We recommend the following approach.

Step 1: Identify the core problems you and your team are trying to solve

Some customers have horrible response times to breakdowns.  Others are trying to improve overall reliability.  Every company is battling a unique combination of problems and knowing yours will help you know what to look for.

Step 2: Make a list of “must-have” and “nice-to-have” features

Making a list will help you know what you need to prioritize now and what you may want to grow into in the near future.  Nice-to-haves can often be a trap, so don’t get too focused on having every little thing.

Prioritize easy-to-use software

It doesn’t matter how powerful a software program is if the user interface is so horrible that no one uses it. It is better to have software your team can use, even if that means sacrificing features.

Check CMMS software review sites

Check sites like Capterra and PAT, and choose a few solutions you want to test. Software Advice specifically has a quadrant that shows customer satisfaction.

Review and test your top 2-3 CMMS solutions

You should test the software yourself. Contact the CMMS vendor and ask questions on details that you’re unsure about.

It is often a good idea to involve supervisors and technicians in the testing process as they are the ones that will use the platform on the daily basis. Not to mention that they will be more excited about using it if they feel they have had a say in the selection process.

Dive deep into the testing of the CMMS

It is incredibly important to test the user-friendliness of a CMMS. You can do this by checking how many clicks it takes to do something in the CMMS or throwing a curveball at the sales rep to show you how to import items on the spot. Ask yourself, “does it look and feel modern?” Test the CMMS’s support on the spot. Give it a run for its money.

If you want to read more, here is an in-depth guide on how to pick the best maintenance software.

How to calculate a CMMS Return on Investment (ROI)?

Let’s say you know your team needs a CMMS, and you even found the right one for your team.  The next step is convincing management to make the purchase.

You can calculate your CMMS ROI with this simple equation:

You really only need to answer a couple of questions.

1. How much money can you save after implementing a CMMS?
2. What is the total cost of implementing and running your chosen CMMS software?

When you know those numbers, you simply subtract the costs from savings and divide what is left with the costs.  This gives you a percentage. But if you want just the dollar amount, simply don’t divide and just do CMMS savings – CMMS costs.

Make sure to include case studies, testimonials, or even a customer reference from your CMMS vendor to see their results.

Lastly it is worth noting that if for some unforeseen reason you only object 1/4th of the projected ROI it is still a huge win for you and your team.

“With Limble, I can track all of our supplies that come in, how they are getting used, look at the usage rates, and then also be able to forecast budgets for next year. It has dropped my budget tremendously; I was actually able to hire another guy because of what we were able to save.”
— Benjamin Scott, Facilities Supervisor, Intercontinental Hotels Group

For a more detailed breakdown, read our guide on how to calculate your CMMS ROI.

Why CMMS implementations fail

Implementing a CMMS takes planning, time, and buy-in from your team and management to be successful.

To put it in perspective, ReliablePlant.com recently did a study showing that almost 80% of CMMS implementations fail.

This is why at Limble, our customers can start to see the ROI in as little as 1 to 2 weeks and have a 98% implementation success rate versus an 80% failure rate.

With that being said, you may be forced to use a different CMMS so it is worth going over the main failure points in detail.

The CMMS software is too difficult to use

Simply put, you spend too much time at work to have to put up with something you hate using. This is the number 1 reason why most CMMS implementations fail.

Here is a breakdown of how to test a CMMS’s ease of use:

• Track how long it takes to complete tasks. Ask for a demo of the CMMS you’re considering. During the demo, you can then measure how long it takes to perform a specific action.  For example, inside Limble, it only takes 21 seconds to complete a work request (we tested it).
• Test the software with real data. If you want to see how the CMMS will perform in real life, test the software with your actual data. Ask the CMMS provider to import your assets during a demo. If a sales rep — who spends literally all day every day showing the CMMS software — can’t quickly import your spreadsheet, then you are probably going to have problems with that CMMS.
• Test the user experience. This can be tricky to test because it is more of a gut feeling than anything else, but here are a few questions to ask yourself. Does the organization of the menus make sense? Is it easy to find what you are looking for? Is it easy to build a report? If your experience is without too much difficulty, then you will probably enjoy using the software.
• Test the technical support.  No matter what CMMS software you pick you will want an expert’s help at some point. Give the CMMS vendor a call, shoot them an email or chat a question.  If they respond quickly with a good answer, great.  If they don’t maybe you shouldn’t use that CMMS.  At Limble, we have a chat system built directly into our CMMS which we pride ourselves on answering within under 60 seconds on average.
• Do a free trial.  Most modern CMMS’s offer a free trial, allowing you to play around with the software for a given period of time.  This is a great way to test firsthand if it is going to be easy to use.

Unwillingness to put in the time to get it going

From helping thousands of customers, we’ve seen firsthand what works best when it comes to managing your limited time.  Here are a couple of time management tips to help you get your CMMS up and running:

• Mentally commit the time.  With this approach, you can have a CMMS set up in as little as a few days. Management and your team must understand that you’ll be doing little else for the next 3 to 14 days. If all are on board mentally first, you’ll have a much easier time getting it done.
• Commit to one hour a day.  This is the “slow and steady wins the race” approach. Instead, have them spend one hour a day coordinating what needs to be done and then have a lead technician do the leg work.  If you take this approach make sure to block out the time on the calendar.
• Hire your CMMS provider to set it up.  This is the quickest option, but there are some drawbacks.  First, it costs more money.  Second, it may not be set up in the best way for you because you know your facility and your team’s work best. This option will still take some time from you, however, not as much as the first two options.

However you choose to set up your CMMS, it will require a time investment from you. But unlike most normal investments you will see the impact in as little as a few weeks.  At Limble, each customer has a dedicated Customer Success team that helps them develop a plan to ensure the implementation goes well.

Lack of planning

A CMMS is just a tool — not a magic wand.  If you don’t have a basic understanding of the problems your facility has, the equipment you own, or the maintenance tasks you should be doing, then a CMMS can’t help you.

If you have no idea what you want to accomplish here with your CMMS, here are a few questions to ask yourself to figure it out:

• What is costing us the most money and why?  Is it frequent breakdowns, unhappy users of the facility, replacing equipment, etc?
• Does my team feel these same problems? If the problem is only affecting you and not your team or company overall, maybe it isn’t worth solving.
• Are there ways to solve those problems?  Consider implementing a PM plan which can drastically lower breakdowns and reactive maintenance.
• Why haven’t we solved those problems already? Identify the obstacle(s) that have kept you from solving these problems. Is it because you don’t have a CMMS? Then you’re on the right track!
• Do we know what assets we currently have and what work needs to be done? Knowing where you are at allows you to plan the appropriate resources to get to the finish line.

No buy-in from management

Sadly, there have been too many times when we are about to help a maintenance manager drastically improve their life, but then we hear the dreaded “my manager killed the project”.

Unfortunately, the maintenance manager didn’t spend any time or effort trying to show their boss the potential ROI.

If you can prove ROI, then management won’t get in your way (usually).  Read our guide on how to calculate your CMMS ROI to help you prepare for these discussions.

No buy-in from the team

Lastly, if your maintenance techs are not on board with a new CMMS system, you will likely run into problems.

Additionally, it is important to get emotional buy-in from your team.

If you are migrating to a different system, block out time to train your technicians on how to use it so they aren’t frustrated from the get-go.

Explain why the new system will help them improve their day-to-day life.

• No more paper
• No more manual data entry
• Instant access to manuals and other information from their phone
• Real-time communication
• More reliable equipment

Also, include them during the CMMS selection process.  Getting their feedback and insight helps them take ownership of the project.  If they take ownership of course they will want it to succeed.

Why CMMS reports matter

There are many benefits to using a CMMS, but reporting is arguably the largest.

Here are the most beneficial reports we see our customers make and explain how it helps them better run their maintenance shop.

Total cost of ownership reports

This report allows you to see exactly how much it is costing you to maintain a specific piece of equipment or even an entire group of equipment.  This gives you the data you need to make important decisions about replacing a specific piece of equipment.

Asset uptime/downtime reports

This report allows you to see how often your equipment is breaking down.  This is an important factor in determining if this piece of equipment needs more PMs or other attention to make sure that it runs effectively.

PM completion rates

Being able to track if your team is actually completing the PMs helps ensure that you get the benefits of a well-run preventative maintenance plan.

Employee time spent

Managing a team is nearly impossible if you don’t know how or where your team’s time is being spent. Since a technician will be logging most of their work throughout the day, you will be able to easily see what is happening in your team.

Tasks completed on time vs overdue

Tasks completed past their due date result in longer downtime, less satisfied users of the facility, and production interruptions.  These reports allow you to see what is not getting done on time and why.

Total parts spend

Parts spend can eat into your budget.  Knowing where and how your parts are being consumed allows you to find ways to lower costs.

Total vendor spend

Just like parts, spending on a vendor’s services can drastically eat into your budget. Knowing where and how you are spending money with vendors is incredibly useful.

Work Request (Ticket) open to completion time

Depending on your industry, response times are incredibly important. For example, our customers in the hospitality industry must respond quickly to problems to ensure that their customers stay happy and that the business’s reputation does not suffer.

Other reports

The reports above are just the start of the thousands of different reports you can build. Be careful though, most CMMS force you to use only their pre-defined reports which can be very limiting.  Look for software that allows you to build your own reports, like Limble’s custom reports and dashboards.

How to get the most out of your CMMS software

To get the most out of your CMMS there is one main concept you need to follow:

The more CMMS features you use, the more likely you will increase your ROI from the CMMS software.

Obviously, not every company will need the exact same CMMS features. To determine which features you need most, test each feature over a period of 4 weeks.  At the end of the 4 weeks, measure if it made a measurable impact.  If it did, you just found a new way to do more with less.  If it didn’t, simply don’t use that CMMS feature anymore.

Here are a couple of tips to help you get the most out of the CMMS features you are currently using:

• Ensure proper training. Some CMMS’s are more complex than others. Some technicians may need more time to get the hang of the software. A modern CMMS will have a knowledge base, video tutorials, or even a customer success manager that will do training.
• Correct mistakes early on. It is crucial to watch how people are using the software for the first couple of months. Watch for those who are skipping steps or cutting corners. Heading off these bad habits early can result in big results.
• Measure and improve.  Utilize the CMMS reporting functions so you can see how you are doing month to month.  This will help you know where or who can improve.
• Utilize customer support.  Most modern CMMS will offer this for free. At Limble, we give every customer a customer success manager to help customers utilize the software in the best possible way.

Industries that need CMMS software

A CMMS can be a benefit to every business that has equipment to maintain. As you can imagine, some organizations depend much more on the functionality of their assets (and the environment they work in) than others.

We can roughly split the most common CMMS users into 4 groups.

CMMS for heavy industries

When we talk about heavy industries, we talk about mining, construction, manufacturing, energy, aircraft industry, and similar.

These industries spend a lot on maintenance management because if the equipment is broken, no work is being done that day, which is devastating to their bottom line. They have large and expensive assets, have long asset lifecycles, struggle with very high downtime costs, and have to satisfy strict safety regulations.

CMMS for facilities management

An integral part of facility management is building maintenance. Its goal is to make sure that all building systems work properly, and that building occupants are comfortable. That means taking care of the building infrastructure, electrical, plumbing, and lighting systems, HVACs, and other building assets and equipment.

It is used by a wide variety of different businesses like hotels, casinos, churches, fitness facilities, commercial buildings, museums, aqua parks, and so on.

CMMS for fleet management

As its name suggests, fleet maintenance is here to make sure that the vehicles your organization relies on are in top condition. It is used by trucking companies, businesses offering car rental services, certain government organizations, farming businesses, businesses that offer delivery services, and more.

What is specific about fleet management is that it places a lot of importance on things like asset tracking and fuel management as those are two things that have a huge impact on vehicle performance and maintenance costs.

CMMS for field maintenance

Field maintenance aims to take care of widespread assets that function independently of each other.

It can be used in most of the industries mentioned above to carry out specific maintenance tasks in the field. Some common examples include:

• managing telecommunication infrastructure like cellphone towers
• maintaining different parts of an electrical grid
• going out to fix HVACs in residential and commercial properties
• performing landscaping as a part of grounds maintenance
• going to people’s homes to maintain and repair medical equipment

All of these examples have one thing in common: the CMMS supports their maintenance team, their maintenance team supports their assets, and their assets support their bottom line.

The history behind CMMS

The history of CMMS goes back to the mid 20th century.

The 1960s

Punch cards were fed into large IBM mainframe computers via card readers. The purpose? To remind technicians to perform routine tasks like oil changes.

As technology evolved, so did CMMS systems.

The 1970s and 80s

Punch cards turned into paper forms, and mainframes were slowly replaced with mini computers. Technicians used a central terminal in the plant to enter data about completed work orders.

The 1990s

With the introduction of personal computers, CMMS solutions started to take a recognizable shape. Many organizations made custom internal solutions in Microsoft Access. While this brought new features and improvements in efficiency, there were still a lot of bugs and these programs were very expensive.

The 2000s

CMMS vendors started offering browser-based, on-premise solutions that ran on the company’s local server. Now, you could access the software from any PC that was connected to the local network and not just from specific terminals. However, updating the software to the latest version remained complicated and expensive. Today, these types of solutions are mostly obsolete.

Present day

The final significant evolution of CMMS was the jump from on-premise browser-based solutions to cloud-based solutions that offered a wide range of benefits:

• Reduced implementation costs
• Easy access to the software from any device with internet access
• Automatic updates from the vendor
• 24/7 availability of the software that doesn’t have a single point of failure like on-premise solutions

In other words, CMMS solutions have become way more practical, scalable, and affordable, which is why they are seeing widespread adoption among small and big businesses alike.

The difference between a CMMS, ERP/EAM, CAFM, and fleet management software

We often get asked about the difference between a CMMS and ERP and how CMMS fairs when compared to CAFM and fleet management software.

The confusion is justifiable as all of those solutions offer a similar set of features that have a lot of overlap.

CMMS vs EAM/ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a robust software solution that helps manage main business processes across different departments. Depending on the available modules for the type of ERP system they use, a company might use an ERP solution to track everything from asset information, raw materials, and production output to things like cash, purchase orders, and payroll.

EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) is one of those ERP modules. It is used to manage assets and maintenance work. Roughly speaking, a standard EAM module will have half of the functionality that a standard CMMS offers, like basic asset management features with very limited customization options. Organizations can hire developers to adjust and expand their EAM module, but that is a costly and risky maneuver with a poor track record.

Since a CMMS is designed specifically for maintenance management, it offers a broader range of features that are more customizable and suitable for a maintenance team.

Another difference is that a CMMS is suitable for both small teams and big businesses, while EAM is predominantly used by big corporations as an upgrade to their existing ERP system.

Last but not least, businesses can decide to integrate CMMS with their ERP system instead of the EAM module. It is a viable strategy, but it does come with its own set of pros and cons.

CMMS vs CAFM

CAFM stands for Computer Aided Facility Management, most often used for facility management. The main difference between CMMS and CAFM is in their scope and purpose.

While CMMS “only” helps you to manage maintenance work and assets, CAFM software supports everything from space planning and asset management to room reservations and administrative support. As such, CAFM is best suited for businesses that have to manage large office spaces.

CAFM providers sometimes offer their version of a CMMS as a part of their package. In a sense, you can think of a CMMS as one of the modules inside a CAFM solution. That being said, a standalone CMMS usually provides stronger asset management features than when it comes as a part of the CAFM package. There are some situations when CMMS software is worth implementing alongside CAFM.

CMMS vs fleet management software

Fleet management software is similar to a CMMS platform, but is modified to serve the specific needs of fleet managers. At its core, it offers the same set of features like a maintenance calendar, work order management, maintenance history, and so on.

What makes it stand out is the addition of specific features like fuel cards, the ability to connect to GPS hardware and telematics for asset tracking, and the ability to provide deep insight into different fleet utilization and performance metrics.

You can manage fleets with a regular CMMS as they have many of the same features, but a dedicated fleet management software might provide you with a few additional options.

So, if you are a manufacturing company, an obvious choice is a CMMS. If you are a trucking company or any other business where your core assets are vehicles, you are better off using fleet management software. If you manage construction equipment, it’s a toss-up.

One important thing to note is that a lot of CMMS vendors will have a page on their website to market their software as fleet management software, even though they do not have those asset tracking and fuel management options (or have it poorly implemented). If you need those features, be sure to double-check with your preferred vendor before you make any purchases.

How to get started with Limble CMMS?

If you are interested in testing Limble CMMS, you have three options:

• Start a free trial
• Request a demo
• Try a self demo (leads you to a simulated environment where you can test Limble’s features)

“Limble CMMS is very easy to use. All CMMS suppliers say that, but I found this one to be exactly that. This software, in my opinion, is the best value out there in the CMMS world. My team of maintenance techs got onboard quickly and loves the app. Anytime you can get 8 of 8 maintenance techs to get on board, you have a winner.“
— Mark Quillin, VP of Operations, Roplast Industries (Click here to listen to the interview)

How To

CMMS Resources

Industries that use CMMS