CMMS vs EAM: What's the Difference?

Companies commonly use a few different tools to manage equipment, such as a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) or an Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) platform. Your exact operational “toolbox” of software, systems, and processes will depend on your organization’s structure, size, goals, strategy, and budget. Let’s look at the difference between a CMMS vs EAM, and what system is right for your unique organization.

Why a centralized solution?

First things first: before diving into which system will work best for you, clarify the why. Why invest in a centralized facilities and equipment management solution?

Your operations may have started with spreadsheets, email, and paper stuffed in someone’s desk. However, as your organization grows and becomes more complex, fragmented information and processes can’t keep up with new demands.

Your operations strategy needs to accomplish multiple goals:

• Empower facilities management, maintenance, or operations teams to manage equipment, avoid unnecessary disruptions, and make informed budget decisions

• Create efficiencies in workflows, processes, and communication

• Centralize information about an asset during its full lifecycle, helping you get the most out of every piece of equipment

• Ensure accurate and up-to-date asset information for use in everything from accounting to O&M work orders

Similarities between a CMMS and EAM

As you sophisticate your operations and equipment management, you may hear a lot of recommendations for a CMMS or an EAM system.

From afar, these two systems may look almost interchangeable. On a high level, both tools help organizations manage maintenance and equipment performance. Both have a goal to create efficiencies and optimize asset usage. To make matters more confusing, over time the line between a CMMS and an EAM is becoming less defined—some modern CMMS solutions are starting to offer functionality provided in EAM systems.

However, in general there are some nuanced differences. A CMMS is a tool for maintenance and operations, while an EAM is a tool for the entire asset lifecycle. Generally, the core functionality of a CMMS is for equipment performance during maintenance and operations, while an EAM focuses on everything from procurement to disposal, and everything in between.

Why choose a CMMS?

A Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) focuses on maintenance and operations for assets and equipment. Simply put, the goal of a CMMS is to help your maintenance and operations teams do their jobs better and faster.

A CMMS is a maintenance-centric tool for collaboration across multiple teams, from facilities and operations supervisors to field technicians and location-level managers. A CMMS may also be accessible for external parties like service providers and contractors. With the CMMS as the central “source of truth”, teams are working off the same information and keeping relevant records in one place.

Because a CMMS is intended to be used by all levels of your company, these platforms have a user-friendly focus. Workflows are designed to be integrated with everything from what’s going on in the field to what is needed for executive reports. A CMMS may be a particularly good solution for organizations that need facilities management and day-to-day support in service-focused operations.

A CMMS can support maintenance activities like the following:

• Ensure efficient work order management, inspection checklists, and auditable workflows

• Record equipment history

• Automate scheduling of preventive and predictive maintenance

• Monitor warranty periods and equipment data

• Track inventory and parts

• Inform repair vs replace decisions based on cost histories

• Integrate with accounting and invoicing systems to support budget administration

• Streamline coordination with service providers and vendors

• Provide up to date report for operations insights and analysis

• Scale across locations and teams

When is a CMMS not a good fit? A CMMS may not be a robust enough solution for all cross-functional needs, especially for very large organizations that require asset information for high-level accounting or compliance. And depending on the platform, it may also not support everything needed in design and procurement stages or decommissioning.

Why choose an EAM?

Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) is a high-level system that manages assets and equipment over an entire lifecycle, not just the maintenance period. The goal is not just efficient operations, but optimized lifetime performance of an asset, from when it is first purchased to end-of-life removal.

If you are managing a high number of assets, strategic asset planning needs to integrate with other business functions and departments. An EAM is a particularly good fit for industries that have heavy reliance on asset uptime or depend on complex equipment infrastructure.

EAM can support activities like the following:

• Facilitate many of the same maintenance, operations, and scheduling tasks as a CMMS, including work order and inventory management, preventive maintenance, and reporting and monitoring functionality

• Track long-term and lifetime costs, understanding cost of ownership from procurement and servicing to disposal

• Connect with enterprise-level systems like enterprise resource planning (ERP), accounting and finance, supply chain, and human resources

• Facilitate business functions in addition to asset management, such as energy monitoring or risk and compliance tracking

• Scale with enterprise-size organizations that need to manage assets across departments and subsidiaries

When is EAM not a good fit? Because an EAM tends to be a robust system with complex functionality, one of its biggest challenges is that it can be costly to set up, integrate with existing systems, and pay for ongoing support. Setup also requires buy-in with other business functions. For small and mid-sized organizations, EAM may offer more complexity than your teams need, adding overhead.

Making the right choice for your organization

Whether your organization is considering a CMMS or EAM, carefully evaluate your needs before investing in either tool. Both can come with advantages and disadvantages, and the right fit depends on your unique organization’s needs.

Today’s modern CMMS platforms offer robust functionality that can help you optimize growing operations, without overcomplicating systems. If you’re ready to explore how deploying a CMMS can improve your operations, Ecotrak is ready to help you get started.