eAM

Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) is a set of practices and software systems for managing the entire lifecycle of physical assets, such as plants, equipment, facilities, and infrastructure. EAM aims to maximize asset performance and safety while reducing total cost of ownership by integrating planning, procurement, operation, maintenance, and disposal across an organization.

Core capabilities typically include an asset registry and hierarchical structure, work order and maintenance management, preventive and predictive maintenance, inventory and spare parts management, procurement and supplier management, asset health analytics, regulatory compliance, financial integration, and mobility for field workers. Modern EAM solutions often provide dashboards, reporting, and integrations with ERP, manufacturing execution systems, and IoT data streams.

Applications span manufacturing, energy and utilities, transportation, facilities management, and public sector operations, where reliable assets and regulated environments are critical.

Benefits include reduced downtime and maintenance costs, longer asset life, improved compliance and safety, better capital planning, and more accurate budgeting and forecasting.

Implementation considerations include data quality and migration, selecting cloud versus on-premises deployments, integration with existing ERP/SCADA systems, change management, and evaluating total cost of ownership.

ISO 55000 family provides an international framework for asset management, and many organizations align EAM initiatives with ISO standards and corporate governance. EAM is commonly integrated with ERP and may complement CMMS by extending lifecycle management beyond maintenance alone.