All industry segments today are in a fight to survive. Competition is found, not just on domestic levels, but also on international levels. In an effort to survive, all forms of competitive improvement programs are undergoing scrutiny by virtually every company. They are investigating any way to improve their key business processes.

One key business process on which many industries are now focusing their attention is the maintenance business function. Although this business function is often viewed as a necessary evil, with a continual focus on cost reduction; it is now being seen as an untapped opportunity for increased revenue generation.

Cost reduction in maintenance does not mean a reduction in the level of service or in the quality of service. It means a better control of the maintenance organization and the related areas. The concept of lean maintenance is to drive the waste out of the maintenance process. To properly control the maintenance of any facility, information is required about what is occurring. Manually gathering and analyzing this information requires a tremendous amount of effort and time.

In recognition of this, many of the progressive companies are developing and using computer programs geared toward control of the maintenance organization. These systems are referred to as computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) or enterprise asset management systems (EAM). The CMMS / EAM system is designed to focus on gathering all maintenance-related data and filing it in the history of the proper asset, whether it is a piece of equipment, location, or...