Computerized maintenance management system (CMMS)
Software that plans, schedules, and records maintenance work and the assets it is done on.
How it works
A CMMS holds three kinds of records: the assets a team maintains, the work orders done on them, and the resources used, such as labor hours and spare parts. Around these it adds scheduling for preventive maintenance, a request intake for operators, and reports.
The typical cycle is: someone reports a problem or a schedule comes due, a planner creates a work order, a technician does the work and records what they found, and the order is closed.
Why it matters
Without a CMMS, maintenance history lives in paper binders, spreadsheets, and people's memories. That makes it hard to answer simple questions: when was this pump last serviced, how often does this conveyor fail, what did we spend on Line 2 last year. A CMMS makes those answers a lookup instead of a search.
It also supports audits. Regulated industries such as food and pharmaceuticals often need records that show maintenance was done as planned.
In practice
The value of a CMMS depends on what technicians actually record. A system with perfect schedules but work orders closed as "done, fixed" teaches the next person nothing. Teams that get the most out of a CMMS make recording fast at the machine and review closing notes as part of the job.
A CMMS is usually narrower than an EAM system, which also covers asset finance and lifecycle planning.