CMMS – Computerized Maintenance Management Software EAM – Enterprise Asset Management These two terms are often used interchangeably, and although modern maintenance management systems are often said to implement both, the approach and emphasis differ. As a maintenance management system, CMMS handles the electronic databases of assets and operations within the maintenance department. CMMS is traditionally used for planning and managing work, increasing efficiency and availability. This system places greater emphasis on direct work by technicians in the application and real-time progress reporting. A CMMS does not require the entire company to use the application; it is often limited to the maintenance and production departments. EAM is a tool for managing the lifecycle of equipment within an organization. The primary focus of an EAM system includes aspects such as operating, maintaining, or retiring assets. It also supports project management, creation, and procurement of new equipment. EAM is designed for the entire enterprise, and all departments should utilize the software to take advantage of its capabilities. SimplyMobile’s system is a CMMS maintenance management system and is dedicated to supporting maintenance personnel and management staff.

The core metrics of a CMMS maintenance management system that are key in most industries and maintenance departments: MTTF – Mean Time to Fail MTTR – Mean Time to Repair MTBF – Mean Time Between Failures OEE – Overall Equipment Efficiency Auxiliary metrics tracked by most CMMS maintenance management systems: Average response time to a request Time spent on breakdowns versus preventive maintenance Learn more about SimplyMobile CMMS maintenance metrics

ML – Machine Learning AI – Artificial Intelligence In the context of CMMS maintenance management systems, these two terms most often appear in relation to equipment behavior prediction. Predicting machine parameters or performance enables forecasting potential failures and taking preventive action. Various prediction methods are used to build models responsible for forecasting behavior. Regarding meaning and comparison, AI and ML are often used interchangeably, but they differ: ML is a subset of AI where a system or model is developed to automatically infer within a narrow scope based on data. AI is a broader term encompassing many techniques and models, including ML. Read more about Simply ML

TPM – Total Productive Maintenance

A lean management method aimed at ensuring maximum efficiency of machines and equipment. This method strives to achieve three KPIs: 0 failures 0 defects 0 accidents Of course, aiming for zero in every category can be disproportionate to the cost. Sometimes the optimal approach is to reduce failures within reasonable cost constraints. Read more about TPM

The concept of Industry 4.0 refers to the next stage of the industrial revolution. Historically, the industrial revolutions are as follows: Steam Age When: late 18th century Description: mechanical production powered by steam and water Electric Age When: early 20th century Description: mass production powered by electricity Computer Age When: 1970s Description: industrial production automation Age of Human–Machine Convergence When: early 21st century Description: smart production Each age brought significant changes in production methods and required adaptation to new trends. The current “revolution” is smart production, which is variously understood but, in manufacturing and maintenance, is defined as: The Fourth Industrial Revolution – a broad concept referring to the term “industrial revolution” in connection with the modern interconnected use of automation, data processing and exchange, and manufacturing technologies. By definition, it is a collective term for the techniques and principles that operate the value chain organization, employing cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, and cloud computing. From this perspective, it represents the realization of the smart factory, where cyber-physical systems control physical processes, create virtual (digital) copies of the real world, and make decentralized decisions while communicating and collaborating with each other and with humans in real time via the Internet of Things, and where services are offered and consumed internally and inter-operationally via cloud computing. (source: Wikipedia) In relation to CMMS maintenance management systems, the most important elements are: Internet of Things (IoT) Cloud computing Intelligent computing Smart factory The SimplyMobile system was built from the ground up to support these elements. To enable support for these capabilities, the system was built on the Azure cloud.

PM – Preventive Maintenance

The concept of PM involves preventive work that extends equipment lifespan. PM tasks arise from various sources such as: Regulatory requirements Manufacturer’s instructions Best practices Operational experience PM tasks are most often performed periodically, at specified intervals of operation time—ranging from days to months or even years. For a single piece of equipment, multiple PM plans are typically implemented to schedule tasks at different time intervals, since not all maintenance activities need to be performed at the same frequency. Read more…

RCM – Reliability Centered Maintenance

RCM is a structured process that helps identify issues which, if resolved, improve equipment utilization and reduce maintenance costs. RCM is not a comprehensive maintenance approach but rather a methodology for analyzing the root causes of failures and problems. The RCM analysis methodology is described in the JA1011 standard, which outlines a process of asking seven successive questions. Select the equipment subject to RCM and determine its functions and requirements in the context of its operation. Identify potential failure modes or issues that would prevent the equipment from fulfilling its functions. Determine the causes of these potential failures. Assess the consequences of failures in terms of cost and production loss. Define actions to predict and prevent each identified problem. Evaluate if any proactive measures exist to prevent failures; if not, determine alternative strategies. RCM is based on three types of maintenance activities related to potential failures: Reactive maintenance – in response to a failure Preventive maintenance – routine scheduled inspections Predictive maintenance – forecasting when a failure might occur

Production Routes in the context of CMMS focus on daily or “per-shift” activities to prevent unwanted incidents. These tasks aim to extend machine runtime, quickly detect issues, and perform essential routine work. Learn more about production routes in SimplyMobile CMMS

CMMS / EAM and MES knowledge base

A guide to maintenance concepts — from CMMS, EAM and MES, through KPIs and prevention, to IoT, cloud and artificial intelligence — with examples of how SimplyMobile delivers them.

What CMMS is (and how it differs from EAM and MES)

CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) is a maintenance system — an electronic database of the maintenance department's assets and work. It is used to plan and carry out work orders, prevention, spare-parts management and reporting. The emphasis is on technicians' work in the app and real-time progress reporting.

EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) covers the entire asset lifecycle more broadly — from purchase, through operation, to retirement — and involves the whole organization. MES (Manufacturing Execution System) concerns production execution on the shop floor. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but they differ in scope and focus. SimplyMobile is a CMMS that integrates with EAM/ERP and MES.

CMMS is the layer that links technicians' daily work with operational decisions.

Guide to the knowledge base

Choose a topic that interests you:

CMMS metrics — MTTF, MTTR, MTBF, OEE: definitions, formulas and worked examples.
Preventive Maintenance (PM) — preventive maintenance and maintenance strategies.
Internet of Things (IoT) — sensors and machine-condition data.
Artificial intelligence and ML — failure prediction and the SaMi AI assistant.
Cloud computing — the cloud, the SaaS model and security.
Intelligent data processing — real-time data analysis.
Smart factory — Industry 4.0 and production digitalization.

Core maintenance concepts

About CMMS and EAM

CMMS – Computerized Maintenance Management Software
EAM – Enterprise Asset Management
These two terms are often used interchangeably, and although modern maintenance management systems are often said to implement both, the approach and emphasis differ.
As a maintenance management system, CMMS handles the electronic databases of assets and operations within the maintenance department. CMMS is traditionally used for planning and managing work, increasing efficiency and availability. This system places greater emphasis on direct work by technicians in the application and real-time progress reporting. A CMMS does not require the entire company to use the application; it is often limited to the maintenance and production departments.
EAM is a tool for managing the lifecycle of equipment within an organization. The primary focus of an EAM system includes aspects such as operating, maintaining, or retiring assets. It also supports project management, creation, and procurement of new equipment. EAM is designed for the entire enterprise, and all departments should utilize the software to take advantage of its capabilities.
SimplyMobile’s system is a CMMS maintenance management system and is dedicated to supporting maintenance personnel and management staff.
CMMS Metrics
The core metrics of a CMMS maintenance management system that are key in most industries and maintenance departments:
- MTTF – Mean Time to Fail
- MTTR – Mean Time to Repair
- MTBF – Mean Time Between Failures
- OEE – Overall Equipment Efficiency
Auxiliary metrics tracked by most CMMS maintenance management systems:
- Average response time to a request
- Time spent on breakdowns versus preventive maintenance
Learn more about SimplyMobile CMMS maintenance metrics
AI and ML

ML – Machine Learning
AI – Artificial Intelligence
In the context of CMMS maintenance management systems, these two terms most often appear in relation to equipment behavior prediction.
Predicting machine parameters or performance enables forecasting potential failures and taking preventive action. Various prediction methods are used to build models responsible for forecasting behavior.
Regarding meaning and comparison, AI and ML are often used interchangeably, but they differ: ML is a subset of AI where a system or model is developed to automatically infer within a narrow scope based on data. AI is a broader term encompassing many techniques and models, including ML.
Read more about Simply ML
TPM – Total Productive Maintenance
A lean management method aimed at ensuring maximum efficiency of machines and equipment. This method strives to achieve three KPIs:
- 0 failures
- 0 defects
- 0 accidents
Of course, aiming for zero in every category can be disproportionate to the cost. Sometimes the optimal approach is to reduce failures within reasonable cost constraints.
Read more about TPM
Industry 4.0
The concept of Industry 4.0 refers to the next stage of the industrial revolution. Historically, the industrial revolutions are as follows:
Steam Age
- When: late 18th century
- Description: mechanical production powered by steam and water
Electric Age
- When: early 20th century
- Description: mass production powered by electricity
Computer Age
- When: 1970s
- Description: industrial production automation
Age of Human–Machine Convergence
- When: early 21st century
- Description: smart production
Each age brought significant changes in production methods and required adaptation to new trends. The current “revolution” is smart production, which is variously understood but, in manufacturing and maintenance, is defined as:
The Fourth Industrial Revolution – a broad concept referring to the term “industrial revolution” in connection with the modern interconnected use of automation, data processing and exchange, and manufacturing technologies. By definition, it is a collective term for the techniques and principles that operate the value chain organization, employing cyber-physical systems, the Internet of Things, and cloud computing. From this perspective, it represents the realization of the smart factory, where cyber-physical systems control physical processes, create virtual (digital) copies of the real world, and make decentralized decisions while communicating and collaborating with each other and with humans in real time via the Internet of Things, and where services are offered and consumed internally and inter-operationally via cloud computing. (source: Wikipedia)
In relation to CMMS maintenance management systems, the most important elements are:
The SimplyMobile system was built from the ground up to support these elements. To enable support for these capabilities, the system was built on the Azure cloud.
PM – Preventive Maintenance
The concept of PM involves preventive work that extends equipment lifespan.
PM tasks arise from various sources such as:
- Regulatory requirements
- Manufacturer’s instructions
- Best practices
- Operational experience
PM tasks are most often performed periodically, at specified intervals of operation time—ranging from days to months or even years. For a single piece of equipment, multiple PM plans are typically implemented to schedule tasks at different time intervals, since not all maintenance activities need to be performed at the same frequency.
Read more…
RCM – Reliability Centered Maintenance
RCM is a structured process that helps identify issues which, if resolved, improve equipment utilization and reduce maintenance costs.
RCM is not a comprehensive maintenance approach but rather a methodology for analyzing the root causes of failures and problems.
The RCM analysis methodology is described in the JA1011 standard, which outlines a process of asking seven successive questions.
- Select the equipment subject to RCM and determine its functions and requirements in the context of its operation.
- Identify potential failure modes or issues that would prevent the equipment from fulfilling its functions.
- Determine the causes of these potential failures.
- Assess the consequences of failures in terms of cost and production loss.
- Define actions to predict and prevent each identified problem.
- Evaluate if any proactive measures exist to prevent failures; if not, determine alternative strategies.
RCM is based on three types of maintenance activities related to potential failures:
- Reactive maintenance – in response to a failure
- Preventive maintenance – routine scheduled inspections
- Predictive maintenance – forecasting when a failure might occur
Production Routes

Production Routes in the context of CMMS focus on daily or “per-shift” activities to prevent unwanted incidents.
These tasks aim to extend machine runtime, quickly detect issues, and perform essential routine work.
Learn more about production routes in SimplyMobile CMMS

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