{"id":3023,"date":"2012-02-08T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-02-08T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mpulse.cloud.fruitionqa.com\/what-is-a-cmms-blog\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T06:30:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T06:30:53","slug":"what-is-a-cmms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/","title":{"rendered":"What is (a) CMMS?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I was reading a discussion group dialog from an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groupItem?view=&amp;srchtype=discussedNews&amp;gid=2063205&amp;item=66658473&amp;type=member&amp;trk=eml-anet_dig-b_pd-ttl-cn&amp;ut=3jceawE4mcTR41.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">EAM\/CMMS sub-group on LinkedIn today<\/a>. The question of the day was, \u201cWhat is your definition of a CMMS?\u201d There were many responses and the question seemed to be drawing quite a few diverse comments. I thought I\u2019d weigh in on the topic in my blog.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the respondents defined the acronym CMMS to represent \u201cComputerized Maintenance Management System.\u201d Others claimed the acronym represents \u201cComputerized Maintenance Management Software.\u201d As you can see, in either case, the acronym is still CMMS.<\/p>\n<p>I cannot argue as to which definition is correct. The acronym has been around for many years. Marketing slants, usage, and other claims tend to change the meaning and origin of acronyms over time. It is really not important which is correct. Some even imply these definitions mean one in the same. I disagree.<\/p>\n<p>These two definitions are not synonymous. Break it down. Use a simple <em>if\/then<\/em> statement to show the folly in assuming that the two definitions are the same. \u201c<em>If<\/em> Computerized Maintenance Management System = Computerized Maintenance Management Software <em>then<\/em> System = Software.\u201d Most would agree this is definitely NOT a true statement. (And you thought you\u2019d never use algebra!) Systems <em>define<\/em> process. Software <em>supports<\/em> process. Systems are dynamic, and software is static. Bad things happen when software is confused with system. Worse things happen when software defines process.<\/p>\n<p>I have seen too many organizations purchase a CMMS <em>software<\/em> package thinking it will fix, or define, their broken or non-existent maintenance management <em>system<\/em>. A company wouldn\u2019t think of buying a set of tools to fix a broken compressor if they didn\u2019t have a mechanic on staff with the knowledge and skills to use them. You don\u2019t need the tools if you don\u2019t have the knowledge and skills. In fact, purchasing tools and giving them to someone without the knowledge and skills to use them could cause someone to get hurt!<\/p>\n<p>CMMS software packages schedule, track, and report on how well a maintenance management system is performing. It is amazing how many companies buy software without defining what they want the software to schedule, track, and report on. A maintenance management system defines the goals and the processes used to attain those goals. A CMMS software package reports on the progress towards the goals, helps administer the process, and validates the attainment of the goals. Be sure you have the correct expectation for a CMMS software system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was reading a discussion group dialog from an EAM\/CMMS sub-group on LinkedIn today. The question of the day was, \u201cWhat is your definition of a CMMS?\u201d There were many responses and the question seemed to be drawing quite a few diverse comments. I thought I\u2019d weigh in on the topic in my blog. Many of the respondents defined the acronym CMMS to represent \u201cComputerized Maintenance Management System.\u201d Others claimed the acronym represents \u201cComputerized Maintenance Management Software.\u201d As you can see, in either case, the acronym is still CMMS. I cannot argue as to which definition is correct. The acronym has been around for many years. Marketing slants, usage, and other claims tend to change the meaning and origin of acronyms over time. It is really not important which is correct. Some even imply these definitions mean one in the same. I disagree. These two definitions are not synonymous. Break it down. Use a simple if\/then statement to show the folly in assuming that the two definitions are the same. \u201cIf Computerized Maintenance Management System = Computerized Maintenance Management Software then System = Software.\u201d Most would agree this is definitely NOT a true statement. (And you thought you\u2019d never use algebra!) Systems define process. Software supports process. Systems are dynamic, and software is static. Bad things happen when software is confused with system. Worse things happen when software defines process. I have seen too many organizations purchase a CMMS software package thinking it will fix, or define, their broken or non-existent maintenance management system. A company wouldn\u2019t think of buying a set of tools to fix a broken compressor if they didn\u2019t have a mechanic on staff with the knowledge and skills to use them. You don\u2019t need the tools if you don\u2019t have the knowledge and skills. In fact, purchasing tools and giving them to someone without the knowledge and skills to use them could cause someone to get hurt! CMMS software packages schedule, track, and report on how well a maintenance management system is performing. It is amazing how many companies buy software without defining what they want the software to schedule, track, and report on. A maintenance management system defines the goals and the processes used to attain those goals. A CMMS software package reports on the progress towards the goals, helps administer the process, and validates the attainment of the goals. Be sure you have the correct expectation for a CMMS software system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cmms"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is (a) CMMS? | MPulse Software<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is a CMMS? Learn about the diverse definitions and interpretations of CMMS in the world of maintenance management.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is (a) CMMS?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is a CMMS? Learn about the diverse definitions and interpretations of CMMS in the world of maintenance management.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MPulse Software\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-02-08T05:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-30T06:30:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/MPulse-Home-Featured-Image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michelle Nicolson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michelle Nicolson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michelle Nicolson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bd92353973a29542ef16cd8c623465cd\"},\"headline\":\"What is (a) CMMS?\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-02-08T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-30T06:30:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/\"},\"wordCount\":417,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"CMMS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/\",\"name\":\"What is (a) CMMS? | MPulse Software\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-02-08T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-30T06:30:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"What is a CMMS? Learn about the diverse definitions and interpretations of CMMS in the world of maintenance management.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"CMMS\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/category\/cmms\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"What is (a) CMMS?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/\",\"name\":\"MPulse Software\",\"description\":\"CMMS Software\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MPulse Software\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-5.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-5.png\",\"width\":315,\"height\":105,\"caption\":\"MPulse Software\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bd92353973a29542ef16cd8c623465cd\",\"name\":\"Michelle Nicolson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7eb32c3d99be5e0ef8f1f8ec2f47b343d5da4b73a9f77565490e135fc9939d8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7eb32c3d99be5e0ef8f1f8ec2f47b343d5da4b73a9f77565490e135fc9939d8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7eb32c3d99be5e0ef8f1f8ec2f47b343d5da4b73a9f77565490e135fc9939d8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michelle Nicolson\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/author\/michelleblackcatcommunications-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is (a) CMMS? | MPulse Software","description":"What is a CMMS? Learn about the diverse definitions and interpretations of CMMS in the world of maintenance management.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What is (a) CMMS?","og_description":"What is a CMMS? Learn about the diverse definitions and interpretations of CMMS in the world of maintenance management.","og_url":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/","og_site_name":"MPulse Software","article_published_time":"2012-02-08T05:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-30T06:30:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/MPulse-Home-Featured-Image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michelle Nicolson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michelle Nicolson","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/"},"author":{"name":"Michelle Nicolson","@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bd92353973a29542ef16cd8c623465cd"},"headline":"What is (a) CMMS?","datePublished":"2012-02-08T05:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-30T06:30:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/"},"wordCount":417,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["CMMS"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/","url":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/","name":"What is (a) CMMS? | MPulse Software","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-02-08T05:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-30T06:30:53+00:00","description":"What is a CMMS? Learn about the diverse definitions and interpretations of CMMS in the world of maintenance management.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/cmms\/what-is-a-cmms\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"CMMS","item":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/category\/cmms\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"What is (a) CMMS?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/","name":"MPulse Software","description":"CMMS Software","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#organization","name":"MPulse Software","url":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-5.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/image-5.png","width":315,"height":105,"caption":"MPulse Software"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/#\/schema\/person\/bd92353973a29542ef16cd8c623465cd","name":"Michelle Nicolson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7eb32c3d99be5e0ef8f1f8ec2f47b343d5da4b73a9f77565490e135fc9939d8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7eb32c3d99be5e0ef8f1f8ec2f47b343d5da4b73a9f77565490e135fc9939d8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7eb32c3d99be5e0ef8f1f8ec2f47b343d5da4b73a9f77565490e135fc9939d8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Michelle Nicolson"},"url":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/blog\/author\/michelleblackcatcommunications-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3023\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mpulsesoftware.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}