Facility Maintenance Software: Top 12 Applications

Real estate is a business’s most expensive asset, so your job is to ensure that your buildings are functioning properly. It is also important to extend their lifespans as much as possible.

Each building has its own particular function within your organization. This means that each one will have different sets of requirements and challenges to keep it running effectively. For example, an office building will obviously not be run and maintained in the same way as a warehouse or a manufacturing facility.

Another thing to consider is the two broad types of facility management:

• Soft facility management focuses on the aspects performed by people and improving the workplace experience such as cleaning, groundskeeping, etc. Soft services include such things as landscaping, custodial maintenance, and other duties that impact the facility without being a physical part of the building.
• Hard facility management is concerned with managing a building’s physical assets such as lighting and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning). Hard services usually involve structural and physical aspects like door locks, fire alarms, windows, etc. To keep things running smoothly from a hard facility management perspective, a facility manager must regularly keep track of preventative maintenance, general maintenance, and compliance with building codes & regulations.

Having an effective facility management system is vital to your organization’s operations. Fortunately, there are many building maintenance software platforms out there designed to help. However, there are a lot of them, and it can be difficult to choose which one is best for your specific needs.

Facilities maintenance software helps facility managers efficiently manage building repairs, upkeep, cleaning, and preventative maintenance. Centralizing building maintenance records and operations make it easier for users to carry out maintenance efficiently. Crews can accept, assign, and complete work orders, organizing them by building, equipment asset, customer, etc.

Building maintenance software also provides dedicated features that strengthen safety, compliance, accounting, and inventory management.

Benefits of facility/building maintenance software:

• You can consolidate maintenance operations on a digital platform.
• You can create reports that describe facility department operations.
• You can show compliance with regulations and industry best practices.

Typical features of facility/building maintenance software:

• Asset tracking
• Maintenance scheduling
• Preventative maintenance
• Work order management
• Inventory management
• Billing and invoicing
• Inspection management

 

What You Should Consider Before Purchasing Facility / Building Maintenance Software

• Is it scalable? It’s important to know if it can be scaled up to meet current and future needs.
• Can it integrate with other applications that your company uses?
• Does it have a built-in reporting tool? You’ll want to track and analyze your data so that you can make informed decisions.
• Does it have mobile device access? Crews prefer to have access to building maintenance software in any location.
• Does it come with technical support?
• Are there hidden charges? Some building maintenance software solutions involve additional fees for employee training, customer support, software upgrades, platform integrations, or on-premises configuration.
• Does it have facility-specific solutions? You should seek out and take advantage of software that is designed with an organization’s unique operations in mind.
• Is there a trial version? Try before you buy.

Types of Building Maintenance Software ( Facility Management Systems )

Here are some common types of facility management and building maintenance software:

Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS)

A CMMS automates and digitizes every step of the building maintenance process. It is mostly used by maintenance managers, custodial workers, maintenance technicians, and other facilities staff. It can be used to manage buildings, spaces, equipment, and assets. It helps to manage maintenance and repair programs. It centralizes maintenance information, maintenance processes, and process automation.

CMMS acts as a database that tracks inventory, maintenance requirements, asset lifecycles, team availability, work order scheduling, and costs. It is used most often in manufacturing or any industry relying on lots of machinery. CMMS software can prolong the lifespan of the equipment.

Typical features:

• Asset tracking and lifecycle management
• Planned preventative maintenance (PPM)
• Inventory tracking
• Work order scheduling
• Contractor management

Computer-aided Facility Management ( CAFM )

CAFM integrates facility management and corporate real estate processes into a single solution. It is an ideal choice for operations teams that want to improve the utilization and management of areas in their buildings. It helps you to get a bigger picture of what’s happening throughout all your properties. It allows users to plan, execute and monitor activities in their buildings as they relate to maintenance. It allows its users to optimize asset management, space management, facilities services, room reservations, and other services.

CAFM might be a good fit for you if you’re looking to improve long-term planning of maintenance, space, facilities, and budgets to ensure an ideal arrangement with your business needs.

It utilizes a concept called strategic space planning (SSP). SSP helps you understand who uses what space and where so that you can charge departments. It also involves forecasting future space needs.

Typical features:

• Space management
• Moves
• Asset Tracking
• Room Reservations
• Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM)
• Strategic Planning
• Space Surveying
• Space Booking

Integrated Workplace Management Systems ( IWMS )

IWMS is a collection of tools that typically perform all the CAFM and CMMS roles in one. Its main focus is on the management of an organization’s workplace resources and optimizing usage. It aims to enhance the user experience when interacting and moving through a building. IWMS is appealing to larger organizations because it provides multiple tools in one.

Typical features:

• Space Planning & Optimization
• Move management
• Asset management
• Desk/Meeting room booking & reservation
• Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM)
• Lease management
• Capital project management
• Energy usage management
• Environmental sustainability
• Employee experience

Enterprise Asset Management ( EAM )

“Enterprise” refers to the scope of assets across an organization’s departments, locations, buildings, and business functions (like Human Resources, Procurements, and Inventory). While a CMMS will focus primarily on maintenance, an EAM software system also incorporates the above-mentioned business areas and functions. A CMMS will begin tracking asset information and performance once it has been purchased and installed. By contrast, an EAM system will track the whole asset lifecycle, beginning with planning and installation.

An EAM aims to manage the entire lifecycle of physical assets and equipment to maximize useful life, reduce costs, improve quality, and promote efficiency. It integrates maintenance activity information with the associated labor, inventory, materials, tools, and other information from facilities and other departments.

 

The Top 10 Facility / Building Maintenance Software Applications

Here is our list of the best facilities maintenance software / best building maintenance software. These are listed in no particular order.

Limble CMMS

Limble CMMS is a simple to use, mobile-first building maintenance management software that helps you manage maintenance work, automate work scheduling, monitor work history, generate reports, and organize assets. Limble makes it easy to create, update, track and complete all maintenance tasks.

Notable Features: Maintenance Scheduling, Work Order Management, Reporting/Analytics, Asset Lifecycle Management

Recommended for: Manufacturing, Facilities, Equipment, Hospitality, Small Businesses, Fleet, Property, Building, Churches, Non-Profits, Schools, Gymnasiums, and more.

Free version? No

Upkeep

UpKeep’s Building Maintenance CMMS & EAM is an effective maintenance and asset management solution for facility management teams. It is easily accessible from anywhere at any time via desktop, phone, and tablet. UpKeep creates work orders, sends notifications when tasks are updated, and receives alerts from its app when assets go down which helps to make your business run more efficiently.

Notable Features: Inspection Management, Maintenance Scheduling, Technician Management, Asset Lifecycle Management

Recommended for: Manufacturing, Warehousing, Construction, Fleet Management, Healthcare, Food Processing, Agriculture, Hotels, Oil & Gas, Distribution, Packaging, Utilities

Free version? Yes

Fiix CMMS

Fiix’s cloud-based CMMS software is the easiest way to plan, track, and optimize maintenance. It helps teams run equipment maintenance, connect to business systems, and make data-driven decisions.

Notable Features: Activity Tracking, Reporting/Analytics, Service History, Equipment Management

Recommended for: Utilities, Oil and Gas, Warehousing, Construction, Distribution

Free version? Yes

Maintainx

MaintainX is a mobile-first workflow management platform for industrial and frontline workers. It is a modern cloud-based tool for upkeep, safety, and controls on facilities and equipment. MaintainX aids businesses in tracking preventive and reactive maintenance. It also helps control daily operations, like quality inspections, safety inspections, and operating checklists. It does this using a digital audit trail.

Notable Features: Activity Tracking, Audit Trail, Asset Lifecycle Management, Business Process Automation

Recommended for: Operational Teams, Facility Managers, Fleet Managers, Warehouses, Manufacturing, Industrial, Schools, Government, Hospitality, Restaurants, Safety/EHS leaders, Retail.

Free version? Yes

eWorkOrders CMMS & EAM

eWorkOrders CMMS & EAM is easy to use, affordable, powerful, and web-based. Manage & report on daily operations, extend asset life, and plan for future requirements. eWorkOrders’ Enterprise Asset Management System offers a broader and more comprehensive CMMS set of features.

Notable Features: Inventory Management, Preventative Maintenance, Billing & Invoicing, Inspection Management

Recommended for: eWorkOrders serves almost any industry. Anyone that requires Preventive/Scheduled Maintenance, Asset Management, Work Order Management, Materials Tracking, Employee Time Tracking.

Free version? No

Field Promax

Field Promax is a leading SaaS-based facility maintenance and end-to-end field service management software designed for service businesses. You can take care of all of your business operations, leverage a vast range of features and the high touch customer support.

Notable Features: SDigital solutions to automate almost all facility maintenance tasks such as scheduling, dispatching, estimates, reporting, and invoicing. The integrated mobile app is a standout feature, along with their Quickbooks integration.

Recommended for: SMBs to enterprise electrical, property management and other service industries searching for a turn key software solution.

Free version? No

WorkInSync

WorkInSync is a cloud-based IWMS platform that empowers organizations to transform their offices into hybrid workplaces. As a SaaS solution, it permits organizations to set up hybrid workplaces and employees’ safe return-to-office.

Notable Features: Space Management, Surveys & Feedback, Booking Management, Communication Management

Recommended for: Organizations with 100 or more employees throughout industries looking for a Space Management, Hot Desking, Hoteling, Employee Scheduling, or Conference Room management system.

Free version? No

Fms:Workplace

FMS:Workplace is a modular, flexible, easy-to-use Integrated Workplace Management Solution (IWMS) that enables organizations to manage, analyze and report on facilities and real estate operation and maintenance information. Access to accurate data means facilities and real estate professionals can deliver better customer service, reduce costs, and improve the performance of their facilities portfolio-wide.

Notable Features: Space Management, Fixed Asset Management, Room Scheduling, Room Booking

Recommended for: Finance, Technology, Government, Education, Healthcare, and more in the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific

Free version? No

iOffice

iOFFICE’s facility management software gives you the resources you need to facilitate more effective operations. You can better utilize space, lower costs, access relevant data, and increase transparency across your organization. It is modular, which allows you to price and implement IWMS solutions specifically designed for your company and its specific needs.

Notable Features: Lease Management, Reporting/Analytics, Occupancy Management, Asset Lifecycle Management

Recommended for: Organizations with 400 – 3,000 employees or building sizes from 100,000 to 3 Million sq. ft.

Free version? No

Asset Panda CMMS & EAM

Asset Panda’s customizable asset tracking platform and CMMS make it easy to plan and execute your maintenance management cycle. It also has a robust Mobile/Cloud app asset tracking platform. It can track, manage, and support assets during their life cycle.

Notable Features: Lease Management, Reporting/Analytics, Occupancy Management, Asset Lifecycle Management

Recommended for: Organizations with 400 – 3,000 employees or building sizes from 100,000 to 3 Million sq. ft.

Free version? No

eMaint CMMS & EAM

eMaint CMMS & EAM facility maintenance management software is cloud-based and can be used to configure to fit your organization’s unique needs. You can use it to access asset data remotely from anywhere using a PC, laptop, or mobile device.

Notable Features: Lease Management, Reporting/Analytics, Occupancy Management, Asset Lifecycle Management

Recommended for: Utilities, Manufacturing, Warehousing, Food Processing, Construction, Oil & Gas, Fleet Management, Education, Healthcare, Service Providers, Municipalities, Distribution, and Packaging

Free version? No

facilio

Facilio’s property operations platform is a comprehensive solution for operations and maintenance stakeholders. The platform is a no-code, IoT-powered, and machine learning-based platform built to analyze and drive portfolio-level optimizations.

Notable Features: Maintenance Management, Asset Lifecycle Management, Workplace Management, Energy Management, FDD, Alarms Management, Refrigerant Leak Detection & Compliance

Recommended for: Retail, Commercial Real Estate, Healthcare, Higher Education Institutions, Hotels, Airports, Public Sector, and other Asset-Intensive Organizations

Free version? No

NEXGEN Asset Management

NEXGEN Asset Management is a cloud-based computer maintenance management (CMMS) and asset management solution suitable for municipalities, facilities, and manufacturing industries. It provides inventory management, condition assessment, inspections, customer and service requests, preventive maintenance, asset planning and work order management
Notable Features: Maintenance Scheduling, Contractor Portal, Lifecycle Planning, Funding Forecasts, Risk Analysis, Support for multiple languages
Recommended for: Manufacturing, Facilities, Utilities, Public Works, Construction, Fleet Management, Healthcare, Hotels, Oil and gas, Utilities
Free version? No

Summary

Conclusion

Choosing the right facility/building maintenance software can be difficult. It’s important to consider the following things:

• The size of your organization (including the number of facilities that need to be managed).
• The specific needs and requirements of your buildings and their occupants. This includes the industry that you are in.
• The particular features of the software that will be of the most use to you.
• Pricing that will fit your budget.
• Reliability and ease of use.

Our recommendations above take into account all of these things and will hopefully simplify the decision process.