Enterprise asset management (EAM) is the activities businesses do to track and manage their physical assets and infrastructure used to produce goods or services. For example, EAM may include fleet vehicles, machinery and assembly lines, and IT hardware.
Managing these assets efficiently can reduce unplanned downtime and the costs associated with interrupted production or service. This guide explores EAM software's advantages and some common industry use cases.
What is enterprise asset management (EAM)?
Enterprise asset management (EAM) is the mix of software, systems and services you use to manage and maintain physical assets and equipment. The goal of EAM is to optimise how effectively you use these resources during their life cycle. Ultimately, you want to keep operational costs low and increase productive uptime.
Why is EAM important for businesses?
EAM is important for businesses for many reasons, including helping you track, assess, manage and optimise asset quality and reliability. The performance and efficiency of one asset can impact operations and the bottom line. So, for organisations juggling hundreds, even thousands of assets, EAM is critical.
How does an enterprise asset management system work?
An enterprise asset management system works best when you use EAM software. Traditionally, businesses installed EAM systems on-premise, but most modern systems are now cloud-based, which provides more data storage, and may offer better security and easier integrations with other applications like supply chain management systems.
What are the key features of EAM software?
Modern EAM software has key features that consolidate asset-related data into a centralised database. This helps businesses identify which areas of operation require more attention for better performance and make informed decisions about asset management and utilisation.
Work order management
Work order management refers to the efficient process and completion of maintenance work orders. The goal is to keep asset downtime to a minimum. EAM software helps you track, schedule and manage work order requests and all the assets, parts, people and expenses involved.
Asset life-cycle management
Asset life-cycle management is the strategic and analytical approach to managing assets and their life cycles. The aim is to maximise operational efficiency and generate the most ROI from each asset over time. EAM software lets you track how much you spend operating, maintaining and repairing assets. This information can help you make better procurement decisions and plan maintenance activities in a way that aids longevity.
Reporting and analytics
You can use the EAM's reporting and analytics features to analyse nearly any business area. That may be identifying where asset downtime compromises operational performance and scheduling predictive maintenance or evaluating your network of service providers and their work quality. You can add key performance indicators (KPIs) and track metrics most relevant to your operations using real-time dashboards and custom reports.
Maintenance, repair and operations (MRO)
Maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) inventory management is key to reducing the expense of unplanned asset downtime. While managing raw materials and finished goods usually takes priority because they generate revenue, MRO supplies – the materials, parts and equipment you need to maintain and repair assets – directly impact productivity. EAM software helps you automate MRO inventory tasks and reduce inventory costs.
Advantages of using EAM software
The advantages of using EAM software are varied, and include:
Improved asset life and performance
Improved asset life and performance is one benefit of utilising EAM software. Scheduling regular maintenance helps your team identify potential issues before they become major problems. This approach extends the life of assets by reducing wear and tear and preventing unexpected downtime. You can also avoid capital expenditure on prematurely replacing assets. For example, a manufacturer can monitor machine performance and take measures to reduce energy consumption or prevent the production of faulty products.
Reduced costs
Reduced costs occur because using EAM software helps standardise maintenance practices and significantly reduce downtime. By regularly maintaining assets, you can avoid the expenses of equipment failures, such as breakdown and repair costs and the loss of productivity and revenue from interrupted production. Additionally, EAM software provides insight into the most cost-effective time to replace or upgrade assets.
Improved asset tracking and efficiency
Improved asset tracking and efficiency are a result of real-time visibility. With EAM software, you can track and monitor performance metrics across every stage of an asset's life cycle. You can then use this data to identify inefficiency and underperformance and take proactive and corrective action.
Better scalability
Scalability is an essential factor for any growing business when choosing software. Good EAM software can grow with you and be tailored to meet the specific needs of your business – even as you scale and your business needs evolve.
Data-driven decision-making
Data-driven decision-making relies on real-time data and analytics. EAM software helps facilitate this by collecting all asset-related information in a centralised system. You can use this data to identify processes in your operations that need streamlining or optimising, where proactive maintenance strategies could help reduce costs and extend asset life, or where resource allocation could be more effective.
Enhanced safety and compliance
Enhanced safety and compliance come from using EAM software. By tracking and monitoring assets and their performance, your maintenance team can ensure that all equipment meets regulatory requirements and industry safety standards. This helps you avoid costly fines for non-compliance and, more importantly, lets you maintain a high level of safety in the workplace.
Real-world applications and use cases of EAM
The real-world applications and use cases of EAM are usually found in industries that rely on expensive and complex physical assets like factories, plants, industrial facilities, vehicles and heavy equipment.
Oil and gas
EAM helps oil and gas companies manage a complex mix of expensive assets with long life cycles, from drilling rigs and refineries to pipelines and storage facilities.
Utilities and energy
Utility and energy companies are another use case. In an ever-evolving regulatory environment, EAM software helps them operate efficiently while adhering to strict compliance regulations and keeping staff safe.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing companies are long-time users of EAM software. With the advancement of technology, systems like this enable manufacturers to increase the efficiency and productivity of their manufacturing equipment in a way that considers the life cycle of each asset. This means they can focus more on driving value from assets rather than just maintaining them.
Transportation
Transportation providers can also benefit from EAM software. Keeping track of their fleets and maintenance tasks is critical to business success. EAM helps automate that process and provides real-time visibility to effectively plan maintenance activities without interrupting services.
EAM vs CMMS
EAM is an asset life cycle management approach, whereas CMMS, or computerised maintenance management system, is one part of EAM.
EAM software addresses an asset's complete life cycle management, including budgeting, procurement, installation and performance, service contracts, compliance and disposal. On the other hand, CMMS primarily focuses on centralising asset information to help automate maintenance management processes like work order management to increase asset uptime.
Enterprise asset management (EAM) FAQs
What is the difference between ERP and EAM?
The difference between ERP and EAM is scope and functionality. EAM is designed specifically to manage the life cycle and maintain your assets. ERP solutions are much broader, bringing features of various systems – financial, payroll, supply chain and more – onto the same platform. While some ERPs offer asset management modules, these usually only cover the basic functions. With EAM, you can get into the nitty-gritty details of asset management.
What is the difference between EAM and APM?
The difference between EAM and APM is the word 'performance'. An enterprise asset management (EAM) solution is an information repository that makes tracking and managing maintenance work orders across an asset's life cycle easier. An asset performance management (APM) solution provides continuous insights into asset performance and optimising repair and maintenance activities. You can use the information stored in an EAM to inform these decisions, but APM drills down deeper.
Is an EAM system cloud-based?
Modern EAM systems are mostly cloud-based. Traditionally, EAM systems were installed on-site. These days, many EAM tools are run in the cloud using software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers.
Get the most from your assets
For many companies, assets are the lifeblood of operations – without them, production or service isn't possible. With EAM software, you can collect and track asset information in a centralised system and set up automated alerts when equipment or machines are due for maintenance. This proactive approach helps keep asset downtime to a minimum. It ensures you get the most from your assets over their lifetime.
MYOB Acumatica is an open and extensible enterprise resource planning system. Check out our App Marketplace to see what enterprise asset management software integrations are currently available. To find out more about how to use MYOB Acumatica with enterprise asset management software, speak to one of our ERP experts today.
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