Enterprise Asset Management (EAM Software)
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM Software) can help track the lifecycle of different physical assets and is also useful in scheduling preventive maintenance. This software is slightly different than computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS), and both are frequently used by companies with numerous assets to track.
What Is Enterprise Asset Management Software?
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Software) includes the way that different assets are managed and maintained within a business or organization. This software can often track highly complex amounts of data and is useful for organizing, optimizing, and planning related to assets used by the business.
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM Software) can also be used to track maintenance activities and prioritize needs that might require the use of specific tools, information, materials, or skills. If you run a plant, factory, or other manufacturing style business, you may find that this software can help save you money and better track how useful your assets are over time.
This software, named “enterprise” software because it includes assets from all departments in a company and:
- All locations and facilities
- Supporting businesses owned by the same company
- Fixed assets like plants, manufacturing equipment, and buildings
- Non-fixed assets like ships, cars, planes
- Moving equipment like forklifts, trucks, and storage containers
Enterprise Asset Management (EAM Software) helps to track all of these assets and more. Many companies use this type of software to follow office furniture, supplies with a defined lifespan and supporting equipment that helps companies function.
Lifecycle management for these assets helps a company plan in advance from a financial standpoint, and also allows for swift execution of work. This software can also help locate problem areas and cost savings in a timely manner.
How Enterprise Asset Management Software Works
Many of the items that a company needs to operate have a defined asset lifecycle so that companies can understand when they’ll need to replace specific tools and supplies. Some assets also require preventive maintenance, and EAM software often includes issuing work orders.
Enterprise Asset Management does require taking inventory of all company assets for easy and prompt tracking. This inventory will also request more vital information about each asset, such as it’s age, the date it was purchased, what departments use it, and the planned date of obsolescence.
This software can also track warranties and may work with handheld mobile devices that get used in facilities by workers. EAM has changed since mobile devices became available, and now the software is compatible with many different kinds of units.
To use EAM software, you’ll need to have at least a computer, but this software installs on hardware like a server, and the information is available on a network where various machines have access. A good example is a city or county attempting to track assets for running their respective geographical regions.
This city or county may have several computers used by their employees to track assets, request assets, and report the condition and use case of assets in their care. EAM can also help all government employees access information about different city initiatives provided user access becomes granted. Permissions for each user using the software are the responsibility of an administrator.
Many employees that work outside of an office and away from a computer can also use EAM software, and they can use a variety of different mechanisms to access the software. For example, an employee may carry a laptop with them, or they may bring a handheld device where they can enter new data.
Often these devices need access to the internet to update information regarding assets, but that is not always the case, and some tools can work offline. Some EAM software comes with location data so that an exact geographical location records when the system receives data from an external device.
This geographical data can be useful for several reasons, but for employees out in the field, it can also act as a pivotal safety mechanism. As these employees log data out in the field, this data can be tracked in real-time by someone in an office or at another location using a computer.
If an employee should be logging data but suddenly stops, their last location is known. Also, if another employee needs to confirm some data entered at a specific location, they can easily navigate to that area without having to speak with the employee that entered the information directly.
Depending on how Enterprise Asset Management utilities are employed, location data can have a wide variety of uses, and often this location data uncovers information that would have otherwise remained hidden. This particular function of EAM makes it a valuable tool for companies who are intent on streamlining all of their tasks and cutting waste whenever possible.
Enterprise Asset Management can also incorporate feedback from local citizens using mobile devices of their computers. This action is standard in cities and areas where citizens can report problems on roadways or in public areas where a resolution from government officials is necessary.
This software may also include other features like the ability to submit requests for improvements or to report information to an appropriate department within the government or company. While many functions of EAM may seem more geared towards local government, they are often just as useful to large companies that have massive workforces.
How Is EAM Software Different Than CMMS Software?
EAM and CMMS software may seem like the same thing at first, but some subtle differences set them apart. For one, CMMS is mostly used for managing the maintenance required for different assets, and for recording maintenance-related accomplishments.
CMMS tracks this data during the part of an assets life where it’s in full operation and used like any other functional asset. EAM software is different as it tracks the entire asset lifecycle, and both include preventive maintenance.
EAM software is commonly used by companies that need to track the entire lifecycle of an asset from acquisition to disposal, and these companies are often large with a high number of users and multiple sites. This type of software also allows for strategic planning regarding how users manipulate these assets.
CMMS, or computerized maintenance management system, works best for tracking preventive maintenance activities, handling inventory, and creating work orders as needed. EAM allows an organization to see a bigger, overall picture of the assets they have and provides greater detail about assets so that planning can take place.
Creating A Strategy
Enterprise Asset Management is a great way to create a company strategy when it comes to your assets, and you can track a massive amount of data or specifically look at a smaller number of details. This software can help you see the bigger picture when it comes to assets and their lifecycle stages, and having a strategy so you can take advantage of that data is critical.
There are specialists designed to help with this kind of strategic planning, but it’s also possible to learn the software and create a plan with enough time and motivation to lea
