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Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) – Digital Maintenance, Calibration & Asset Control

This hub connects SG Systems Global glossary entries related to Computerized / Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS).

Updated December 2025 • computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), computerised maintenance management systems, asset care, calibration, utilities, TPM, OEE, predictive maintenance, digital work orders • Pharma, Medical Devices, Food & Beverage, Cosmetics, Supplements, Chemicals, Discrete & Hybrid Manufacturing

A Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) – sometimes spelled computerised maintenance management system – is software that centralises work orders, assets, preventive maintenance, calibration, spare parts and maintenance history. In regulated manufacturing it is the system of record for “Is this equipment fit to run, calibrated, qualified and maintained on time?” and increasingly the analytics engine behind uptime, OEE and capital planning.

“A CMMS is the memory of your plant’s assets: what each one is, what was done to it, when, by whom, with which parts, and what happens if you stop paying attention.”

1) Core Definition – What Is a Computerized Maintenance Management System?

The dedicated glossary entry for CMMS is here:
• Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS)

At its simplest, a computerized maintenance management system CMMS does four things:

• Maintains a structured asset registry – equipment, instruments, utilities, tooling, buildings, vehicles and supporting infrastructure.
• Schedules and records preventive and predictive maintenance, inspections and calibrations.
• Manages work orders and breakdowns – requests, approvals, assignments, labour, parts, completion and close-out.
• Provides evidence for regulators and customers that equipment and utilities are maintained, calibrated and fit for use.

In integrated operations, CMMS data feeds planning, OEE, TPM programmes and long-term capital decisions rather than sitting in a maintenance silo.

2) CMMS vs Spreadsheets & Paper – What Actually Changes?

Most plants start with paper logbooks, whiteboards and Excel. A CMMS formalises and enforces the disciplines that those tools can only approximate:

• Single source of truth. One asset list, one maintenance calendar, one set of work orders – not multiple conflicting copies.
• Automatic scheduling. Preventive maintenance and calibration triggered by time, usage, cycles or condition rather than ad-hoc reminders.
• Traceable work orders. Every job has an ID, requester, approver, assignee, timestamps, labour, parts and outcome.
• Integrated inventory. Spares and consumables are tied to assets and work orders; stockouts and over-buys are visible.
• Analytics by default. Backlogs, MTBF, MTTR, PM compliance and cost profiles become simple queries, not manual projects.
• Audit-ready evidence. Regulators and customers can see exactly what was done to a critical asset and when, without digging through binders.

For regulated sites, these differences often decide whether maintenance and calibration can be defended under GMP, ISO 9001/13485/17025 or FSMA expectations.

3) CMMS, TPM & OEE – Asset Care as a Production Strategy

Maintenance is not just “fixing breakdowns”; it is a core lever in overall equipment performance. Key related glossary entries:

• Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) – engaging operators in routine care and loss elimination.
• Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) – measuring availability, performance and quality losses.
• Predictive Maintenance (PdM) – using vibration, temperature and other condition data to anticipate failures.

A CMMS supports TPM/OEE by:

• Capturing and categorising downtime reasons (mechanical, changeover, quality, cleaning, no orders, etc.).
• Linking failures back to root causes and CAPA when problems repeat.
• Storing checklists for operator care (lubrication, inspection, cleaning) and tracking compliance.
• Integrating sensor and historian data to trigger PdM work orders rather than waiting for breakdowns.

Without this integration, TPM and OEE often degrade into Excel charts detached from the real maintenance system.

4) CMMS in Regulated Environments – Qualification, Calibration & Utilities

In GMP, medical devices, labs and regulated food environments, your CMMS is a key part of the validated state. Closely related glossary entries include:

• Equipment Qualification (IQ/OQ/PQ)
• Utilities Qualification (UQ)
• Asset Calibration Status
• Out-of-Service Tagging
• Temperature Mapping
• Validation Master Plan (VMP)

A well-governed CMMS helps you show that:

• Qualified equipment stays within its validated configuration and is maintained within defined intervals.
• Calibration status is clear at all times; out-of-tolerance events trigger impact assessments and deviations/NCs.
• Utilities (HVAC, compressed air, water systems, steam, gases) are maintained and qualified according to UQ and utilities standards.
• Critical assets cannot be used when maintenance or calibration is overdue or when they are tagged out of service.

Regulators routinely sample maintenance and calibration records for equipment used in failed or borderline batches. If your CMMS data are incomplete or inconsistent with batch records, credibility suffers quickly.

5) CMMS, IIoT & Analytics – From Work Orders to Real-Time Asset Insight

Modern “computerised maintenance management systems” increasingly sit on top of real-time data platforms. Relevant glossary entries:

• Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
• Manufacturing Data / Process Historian
• Digital Twin (Manufacturing)
• GxP Data Lake & Analytics Platform

When CMMS is integrated with these layers, you can:

• Trigger PdM work orders automatically based on vibration, temperature, power or process signals.
• Analyse failure modes and maintenance effectiveness against real utilisation and load profiles.
• Simulate downtime and maintenance strategies in a digital twin before changing real schedules.
• Correlate maintenance patterns with quality outcomes, scrap, energy use and operator safety incidents.

This is where CMMS moves from “record-keeping” to a genuine optimisation tool for the entire manufacturing system.

6) How to Use This CMMS Glossary Cluster

For readers wanting a structured path through CMMS and related topics:

• Start with the core definition: Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS).
• Add the asset-care layer: TPM and OEE.
• Explore regulated expectations: IQ/OQ/PQ, UQ, calibration status, out-of-service tagging.
• Layer in prediction & data: PdM, IIoT, historians, GxP data lakes.
• Connect back to the QMS: QMS, deviations, CAPA, PQR/APR.

Together, these glossary entries give a complete view of how computerised / computerized maintenance management systems fit into digital manufacturing: from basic asset lists and work orders through to fully integrated, data-driven reliability and compliance.

Related Reading (Glossary)
• CMMS & Asset Care: CMMS | TPM | OEE | Predictive Maintenance (PdM) | Asset Calibration Status | Out-of-Service Tagging
• Qualification & Validation: Equipment Qualification IQ/OQ/PQ | Utilities Qualification UQ | VMP
• Data & Industry 4.0: IIoT | Manufacturing Data Historian | Digital Twin | GxP Data Lake & Analytics
• QMS & Improvement: QMS | Deviation / NC | CAPA | PQR/APR