By Peter Costanzo, Facilities Management Division Director
If you've worked in computer-aided design (CAD) for any length of time, you'll notice a propensity for those around you to acronym-ize pretty much anything. But there are some that become industry standards. Here are a few that are pertinent to the facilities management set:
(1) CMMS - Computerized Maintenance Management Systems are similar to, but not the same as, (2) CAFM - Computer-Aided Facilities Management, which focuses on tracking facilities, space, assets and maintenance. CMMS applications focus primarily on maintenance.
(3) IWMS - Integrated Workplace Management Solution takes it even further. This system provides a full suite of facilities applications which integrates with existing IT systems such as: human resources, construction/facilities, billing, etc.. An IWMS provides an enterprise facilities management solution that integrates with existing enterprise systems.
This, however, is not to be confused with (4) Enterprise Asset Management. EAM systems are typically the backbone of manufacturing facilities because they track both the assets as well as the maintenance issues. EAMs are built specifically to manage and maintain assets.
None of these should be confused with (5) BIM - Building Information Modeling. This is used more on the design and construction side of the house, but is becoming a mainstay term in facilities as well. BIM offers an intelligent model that (purportedly) can be used right away in any of the systems described above.
But, in order to use your BIM in CMMS, CAFM or IWMS, you'll probably need (6) COBie. This is the Construction-Operations Building Information Exchange put togeter by the National Institute of Building Sciences. You can read more on it here.
Finally, in order to keep abreast of the latest technology, you'll eventually (7) NAA - Need Another Acronym.
And, with that thought, we leave you with some fun IT-related acronyms you should know.
Our Facilities Management team focuses on the issues and needs of today's owners and facilities managers.
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