Technologies Supporting Manufacturing: CMMS / EAM Software Spotlight

Software Equity Group recently published its Manufacturing Software Report, in partnership with Industry Expert Paul Lachance, a seasoned manufacturing and industrial technology specialist and established SaaS entrepreneur.

We’ve included a brief snapshot from the report below discussing the technologies supporting manufacturing and a brief overview of CMMS / EAM SaaS solutions. 

Technologies Supporting Manufacturing

Manufacturing and similar “asset-centric” industrial industries are supported by various technologies – hardware and software. SaaS solutions have been around for nearly 2+ decades (even before the SaaS title existed) but have gained more serious traction in the last ten years.

The ISA 95 model below breaks up the categories logically from high to low level. SaaS solutions found on Levels 3+ have relationships with lower levels. For example, an ERP solution will manage sales orders for customers and production. Those orders are physically processed in a combination of solutions, including MES and WHS, all now in the cloud. The MES system will physically connect (now often in the cloud) with the assets via physical sensors. There are specialists within all of these SaaS categories – by industry vertical, organization size, and other variables. For example, “Life Sciences” related manufacturing often demands specialized MES, CMMS / EAM, etc., due to the industry’s need for validated software and other compliance factors. Likewise, there are tiered solutions that satisfy organizations from very small to global/enterprise.

The report focuses on SaaS-friendly Levels 3+, where CMMS / EAM SaaS solutions are critical in supporting manufacturing.

CMMS / EAM in Manufacturing

CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Systems) & EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) is software that centralizes maintenance information and facilitates the processes of maintenance operations. It helps optimize the utilization and availability of physical equipment like vehicles, machinery, communications, plant infrastructures, and other assets. There are direct and indirect users of CMMS and EAM:

• Direct: Plant Manager, Director of Operations, Maintenance Supervisor/Foreman/Technician, Parts Manager
• Indirect: Production, Engineering, Calibration, Safety, IT

Benefits:

• Improve profitability by intelligently reducing maintenance costs
  (labor, parts, etc.)
• Improve profitability by reducing downtime (improve uptime)
• Stretch the life of your assets
• Improve the quality of your production
• Reduce waste – good for reducing costs and environmentally friendly
• Identify “bad actors” – spotlight good/bad trends and improve
• Reduce maintenance/work order back-logs
• Assist in regulatory compliance
• Manage and improve your health & safety track record

Main Features:

• Asset lifecycle management: cradle-to-grave
• Preventive maintenance
• Work orders/team management
• Spare-parts and procurement management
• Safety (LOTO, safety-data sheets, JSAs, etc.)
• Scheduling/team optimization
• Workflow and notification
• Analytics (KPIs, BI, reporting, etc.)

Today’s CMMS

Today’s CMMS is a mission-critical solution that empowers the modern factory maintenance team to help their organization be lean, efficient, and profitable. 

CMMS and EAM (now interchangeable terms) have their roots back to the 1960s, automating maintenance for large manufacturers and the military – the only organizations that could afford and maintain early generation computers.

Today’s CMMS is a mission-critical solution that empowers the modern factory maintenance team to help their organization be lean, efficient, and profitable. No longer stand-alone software, CMMS is integrated with many teams beyond maintenance. It shares data from numerous sources – MES and ERP being common relationships. CMMS is a natural landing place for IIoT – automating assets & facilities’ ability to tell you when they need preventive or corrective maintenance.

CMMS helps move from an unprofitable reactive-maintenance culture to a highly efficient risk-based/PDM environment. “Pushing up the [P]robability-[F]ailure curve”⁽¹⁾ is the goal of all maintenance organizations. CMMS, especially aided by IoT, gets this done. Watch this webinar to see how CMMS benefits manufacturers.

Download the Manufacturing Software Report here to learn more. The report includes a detailed analysis of the current state of manufacturing, industry tailwinds, drivers of software M&A in manufacturing, a deep dive into the technologies supporting manufacturing, a list of related software M&A transactions, key players within the space, notable transactions, and more.

Please let us know if you have any questions regarding the report, and don’t hesitate to reach out to Paul Lachance to discuss his market insights, manufacturing experience, or consulting services.