EAM (enterprise asset management) is a combination of software, systems and services used to maintain and control operational equipment and assets. The goal is to optimize the quality and utilization of assets throughout their life cycle, increase production uptime and reduce operating costs.
EAM (enterprise asset management) involves work management, maintenance, asset planning and scheduling, supply chain management and environmental, health and safety (EHS) initiatives.
In the age of IoT (Internet of Things) where everything from valves to vehicles is connected by sensors and systems, professionals are incorporating advanced analytics and AI (artificial intelligence) into EAM. The data collected by the instrumented assets are analyzed using AI techniques. The resulting insights help maintenance teams make better decisions, improve efficiency, perform preventative maintenance, and maximize investments in their physical assets.
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What is the difference between EAM and CMMS?
EAM is often associated with a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), but a closer look at the EAM than the CMMS reveals that they are different. A CMMS can be an aspect of EAM. It focuses on centralizing information to facilitate and automate maintenance management processes. EAM is an approach to asset lifecycle management that supports asset performance from acquisition to disposal.
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Why is Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) important?
EAM is important because it helps organizations track, evaluate, manage and optimize asset quality and reliability. Organizations of all kinds have hundreds, thousands, and even millions of assets. They are asset-intensive.
Assets come in many shapes and sizes – railways, pipelines, manufacturing plants, transportation fleets, windmills – and include virtually any tool needed to support manufacturing, services and operations. EAM best practices help maintenance teams gain greater control of complex environments for:
Centralize asset information: A CMMS, as part of EAM, tells maintenance managers where an asset is, what it needs, who should work on it, and when. Automate critical asset management workflows and make them accessible and controllable.
Solve problems before they happen: Asset management software supports preventative capabilities to keep equipment for stable and continuous operations. Helps ensure warranty compliance and prevent problems that stop production.
Monitor assets smarter: AI-powered remote monitoring provides actionable insight into current and predicted asset states. Aggregate data across departments and information sectors, enabling fewer more accurate alerts and better decision making.
Maximize Asset Utilization: Historical and real-time data collected from IoT devices and analytical and diagnostic tools help extend the availability, reliability and useful life of physical assets.
Manage Aging Assets and Infrastructure: Equipment life cycles are extended through more informed maintenance strategies and incorporating risk management into business processes to improve return on investment.
Increase maintenance management: IoT, AI and analytics improve equipment maintenance practices. Asset tracking and tracing meet increasingly complex environmental, health and safety requirements.
Consolidate operational applications: EAM helps establish a single technology system to manage virtually all types of assets. Processes are unified and standardized for wide-ranging asset functions across the enterprise.