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CMMS Vs CAFM: Making the Right Choice for The Right Reason

Bhupendra Choudhary By Bhupendra Choudhary
CMMS Vs CAFM

CAFM and CMMS software applications cater to two different business functions – the first, CAFM serving facilities management and the second CMMS, maintenance operations management. Below, we help enterprises decipher this distinction by offering a detailed comparison between CAFM and CMMS, and uncovering the facets of both.

In a study by McKinsey, 99 percent of participants confirmed that their enterprises had undertaken a maintenance transformation within the last five years. Majority of respondents expressed a desire to leverage emerging technologies for further improvement. Implementing a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is one big step in this transformation journey.

On the other side, growing societal awareness and the urgent climate crisis are compelling businesses to reassess operational strategies. In this process, a pivotal area under scrutiny is facilities management (FM), where incorporating sustainable practices can yield significant environmental advantages and cost efficiencies.

Roughly 40% of global carbon emissions originate from buildings and construction, and facilities management has begun playing a significant role in adopting sustainable practices like energy and water conservation, waste reduction, and indoor environmental quality enhancement. Driven by these reasons, organizations have realized the need for implementing a computer-aided facilities management (CAFM) system.

The surge in the adoption of CMMS and CAFM is justified by the soaring market sizes of both. The global Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) market size is projected to grow to around $2.6 billion by 2030, at a (CAGR) of approximately 9.5%. And the global Computer-Aided Facility Management (CAFM) market is projected to reach $2.081 billion by 2032, at a CAGR of 7.1%.

So, we interpret that enterprises are attentively looking to implement both these tools. However, where do CMMS and CAFM differ? Where do each of them fit? And when should enterprises consider each of them? Let’s get the answers for these questions.

What is CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System)?

A Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is a software platform engineered to simplify maintenance management, which it does by automating the maintenance management process. As a digital platform, CMMS is focused on maintenance and provides a variety of features and functionalities revolving around equipment maintenance, facility upkeep, scheduling, work order management, inventory management, and safety compliance.

Centralizing maintenance activities, a CMMS software plays a crucial role in managing critical assets by ensuring they operate within optimal parameters and comply with industry standards. So, with the help of the tool, organizations can take proactive action and act in time, which prolongs the lifespan of assets and helps the organization avoid costly downtime. In this manner, CMMS contributes to improvement in productivity and profitability.

Features of CMMS

A computerized maintenance management system offers maintenance managers a plethora of features with which they can bring a significant improvement in the maintenance process. The notable features include:

  • Work Order Management

It is quite easy to create, assign, track, and close work orders in real time using a CMMS software. The feature integrates various functionalities such as task creation, assignment to maintenance technicians, progress tracking, and closure confirmation. You can generate work orders either manually or automatically based on triggers such as equipment failures or preventive maintenance schedules.

  • Preventive Maintenance Scheduling

You can set up regular maintenance tasks based on predefined schedules, usage thresholds, or condition-based triggers. The system then automatically generates and assigns maintenance tasks at specified intervals to prevent equipment breakdowns and extend asset lifespan. In this way, the CMMS software proactively helps the maintenance team in addressing potential issues before they escalate and improves equipment reliability.

  • Inventory and Spare Parts Management

Tracking various inventories such as spare parts and tools required for maintenance activities is much easier with a CMMS. The maintenance management system provides a dashboard that helps in inventory tracking, stock level monitoring, setting reorder point setting, and vendor management. Through effective inventory management, the tool thus helps optimize inventory levels, brings down carrying costs, and prevent stock outs and overstock situations.

  • Compliance and Safety Management

With a CMMS, you can take actions based on predefined criteria or thresholds for compliance. For instance, in environmental compliance, a CMMS can trigger alerts when certain waste disposal thresholds are reached, and you can take timely disposal actions to prevent regulatory violations. Similarly, in equipment safety compliance, the system can monitor equipment usage metrics and schedule preventive maintenance tasks before reaching critical thresholds.

What is CAFM (Computer-Aided Facility Management)?

Computer-Aided Facility Management (CAFM) is a software system offering functionalities that help you make the right FM decisions by managing various facets of your facility. It maintains information on floor plans, property descriptions, space utilization, energy consumption, equipment locations, and other critical infrastructure data. So, using the software you can plan, execute, and monitor various activities related to space and workplace management, while also keeping an eye on employee schedules, energy usage, and tenant satisfaction.

Across industries, CAFM empowers decision-makers with data-driven insights, and brings visible improvement in operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. It serves as a versatile solution with applicability across various industries, aiding in efficient facility management and decision-making processes. For instance, in the healthcare sector, CAFM helps in optimizing space allocation for patient care, managing medical equipment, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. While in manufacturing, using the tool you can manage facility layouts, and optimize energy usage for cost savings.

Features of CAFM

A computer-aided facility management (CAFM) software offers a range of features to keep the facility running smoothly and sustain its peak performance. These features center on:

  • Space Planning and Management

CAFM systems offer tools for creating, editing, and managing floor plans. Using them, Facility managers can designate specific areas for different functions, allocate space to departments or individuals, and adjust layouts as needed. Additionally, you can also track occupancy rates, utilization patterns, and spatial data to optimize space efficiency.

  • Energy Management and Sustainability

Using a CAFM software application, you can effortlessly monitor and analyze energy consumption within facilities. The system integrates with building management systems and collects data on energy usage from various sources such as lighting, HVAC systems, and equipment. Using the analytics of the tool, users can identify areas for energy savings, set benchmarks for efficiency, and implement strategies to reduce environmental impact.

  • Real Estate and Lease Management

A computer-aided facility management software centralizes information related to real estate portfolios and lease agreements. They store details about properties, lease terms, rental payments, and compliance requirements. Users can also track lease expirations, generate reports for financial analysis, and make sure that they are compliant with regulatory standards.

  • Workplace Services and User Experience

Essential services, including cleaning and security, are provided through various features by a CAFM software to help the facility management staff schedule tasks, assign responsibilities to staff, and track service delivery most effectively. Using features ranging from amenity management to user satisfaction surveys, users initiate maintenance requests through the system, monitor service levels, and ensure a conducive environment for occupants.

Difference between CMMS and CAFM

Prima facie, CMMS and CAFM differ from each other due the nature of tasks they are built for. Both serve different purposes, and are meant to address different issues. We go further to dissect this difference between CAFM and CMMS by examining how the two tools differ across various parameters.

Primary Focus and Objectives

One of the key differences between CAFM and CMMS is the intent for having each. The main function of a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is primarily to serve as a comprehensive package for maintenance management. As we saw, it helps achieve this through its various features such as preventive and reactive maintenance management, asset lifecycle management, inventory and spare parts management, and maintenance analytics and reporting.

Conversely, a Computer-Aided Facility Management (CAFM) has a broader focus on comprehensive facility management, encompassing aspects such as space, real estate, and asset management. It is a tool that is primarily focussed on optimizing facility operations and support strategic facility planning. As discussed earlier, CAFM offers functionalities revolving around space planning and management, real estate and lease management, and environmental sustainability for pragmatic facilities management.

Departments Using the System

In an organization different departments use and interact with a CMMS in a different way. The primary department that is involved in the use of a CMMS is the Maintenance and Operations department, which leverages the tool for a range of functions. The IT department implements and integrates the CMMS with other software solutions to facilitate seamless data exchange and workflow integration. Furthermore, the Finance department uses relevant features for budgeting and cost tracking of maintenance activities.

On the other hand, a CAFM is utilized by departments with a broader scope of responsibilities related to facility management. First and foremost, it is used by the facility management department. Then real estate and corporate services departments use it for managing lease agreements and optimizing space utilization. Also, HR and Administration departments use the relevant features of CAFM to plan and manage workspace configurations according to employee needs.

Core Functionalities

The core functionalities of a CMMS are tailored towards maintenance management and operational efficiency. These functionalities include preventive and reactive maintenance management, using which you can schedule and track maintenance tasks to prevent equipment breakdowns and minimize downtime. Asset lifecycle management is another key feature that helps in monitoring the condition of assets and plan for replacements or upgrades.

Additionally, CMMS includes inventory and spare parts management capabilities so that necessary materials are available for maintenance activities. All these capabilities are supplemented with extensive maintenance analytics and reporting functionalities to help obtain insights into maintenance performance, allowing for data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.

In contrast, the core functionalities of a CAFM are geared towards comprehensive facility management. These functionalities include space planning and management meant for optimizing space allocation, layout, and utilization. Using the real estate and lease management functionalities you can effectively manage lease agreements and track occupancy rates.

Next, environmental sustainability and compliance features also make the core of CAFM that help organizations easily adopt eco-friendly practices so that they can minimize their environmental footprint.

Benefits

Implementing a CMMS is shown to have brought 20% improvement in operational efficiency. Benefits of CMMS will vary from business to business, though a CMMS will always bring positive changes across certain areas. For instance, in a manufacturing facility, scheduling regular equipment maintenance using a CMMS will help in preventing unexpected breakdowns.

As the downtime will be minimized, production output will see improvement. Similarly, for healthcare business, tracking maintenance and compliance of medical devices through a CMMS will ensure patient safety and regulatory compliance..

CAFM, as we saw, handles different business processes, and organizations using it will derive benefits concerning facility management. For instance, in a corporate office environment, optimizing workspace for a growing team using CAFM functionalities can improve employee productivity, collaboration, and satisfaction.

In an educational establishment, managing classroom allocations and facility services through a CAFM will optimize space utilization, and thus offer conducive learning experiences that will support academic activities.

Uses

Since CMMS pertains purely to maintenance management, here is how it is used across industries:

  • Aviation Industry: CMMS helps schedule and track routine inspections, repairs, and overhauls of aircraft components, engines, and avionics systems.
  • Food Processing Sector: CMMS is employed in food processing facilities to manage maintenance tasks related to production equipment, refrigeration systems, and sanitation machinery.
  • Energy Sector: Within power generation plants, CMMS plays a crucial role in maintaining turbines, generators, and other critical assets.
  • Pharmaceutical Industry: CMMS is utilized in pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities to manage maintenance activities for production machinery, cleanrooms, and HVAC systems.
  • Public Transit Systems: Public transit agencies employ CMMS to maintain fleets of buses, trains, and other transit vehicles.

Now, let’s have a look at how a CAFM offers assistance across various industries and what differentiates it from a CMMS:

  • Retail Sector: Retail chains utilize CAFM to optimize store layouts, manage retail space allocations, and coordinate facilities maintenance.
  • Healthcare Facilities Management: In hospitals and healthcare facilities, CAFM is employed to track patient flow and optimize facility layouts.
  • Higher Education Institutions: Universities and colleges use CAFM to manage campus facilities, allocate classrooms, and coordinate facility services such as janitorial and security.
  • Hospitality: CAFM is utilized to manage hotel and resort facilities, including guest rooms, conference spaces, restaurants, and recreational amenities.
  • Government Facilities Management: Government agencies utilize CAFM to manage public buildings, civic infrastructure, and government-owned assets.

Choosing the Right System for Your Organization

Having understood the subtleties of both computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) and computer-aided facilities management (CAFM), you might be well-equipped to know the applications areas of each. Still, we dive further to offer you guiding factors for selecting each:

When to Choose CMMS

A computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is typically implemented in the following cases:

  • Maintenance-Centric organizations:Typically, industries with heavy reliance on machinery and equipment, such as manufacturing and logistics use CMMS.
  • Setting operational efficiency priorities: Organizations aiming to reduce downtime and operational costs will achieve the goal by using a CMMS and thus streamline maintenance operations.
  • Asset intensive facilities: Facilities with a significant investment in physical assets that require regular maintenance, such as hospitals or utility companies.
  • Meeting maintenance compliance: You need features to monitor entities that demand strict regulatory oversight regarding equipment maintenance and safety standards.

When to Choose CAFM

The need to choose a computer-aided facility management (CAFM) system is triggered by the following factors:

  • Space management needs: Businesses that are keen on strategic facility planning and assisting the ergonomics of interior designing should explore various features of a CAFM, such as space analytics that cover space utilization analysis, space allocation, and move management.
  • Comprehensive facility operations management: Large enterprises or multi-site organizations requiring a holistic approach to manage various facility-related tasks beyond maintenance implement a CAFM.
  • Sustainability and environmental management: Organizations committed to environmental stewardship and sustainability within their facilities operations use the sustainability features of a CAFM to achieve their green goals.
  • Meeting facilities compliances: CAFM will allow facilities to comply with specific standards such as WCAG and Section 508 for accessibility, FASB/GASB accounting standards FedRAMP-compliant hosting for federal agencies, the Life Safety Code (LSC) and Health Care Facilities Code (HCFC), and the Facilities Standards (P100).

CAFM or CMMS: What does your Business Need?

We drew a clear distinction between a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) and a computer-aided facility management (CAFM). Given that maintenance operations and facilities management are integral parts of most businesses, both these tools are indispensable for the successful functioning of the enterprise.

You cannot just implement a CMMS to revolutionize your maintenance function while managing your facility with a traditional approach and vice versa. Further, for building a high-performance business, you must make both the tools work in tandem.

Gladly FieldCircle offers both these products. Our AI-driven CMMS and AI-driven CAFM uses the latest innovations in the field of machine learning and deep learning. Using the capabilities of our products, you will witness a rapid improvement in your maintenance and facility management ROI.