# Maritime CMMS | Navatom Maritime Glossary
A maritime CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) is software that organizes, schedules and tracks the maintenance of shipboard equipment. Maritime versions add features for offline work, class surveys and ISM Code compliance.

URL: https://navatom.com/glossary/maritime-cmms

## Synonyms
- Computerized Maintenance Management System
- CMMS

## Definition
A Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is a software application designed to organize, schedule, and track maintenance activities for physical assets. In the maritime context, a CMMS manages the maintenance of all shipboard equipment — propulsion systems, auxiliary machinery, deck equipment, navigation electronics, safety appliances, and hull structures.
The system serves as the central repository for equipment records, maintenance procedures, work order history, and spare parts inventories.
## How Maritime CMMS Differs from Industrial CMMS
While the core principles of maintenance management are universal, maritime CMMS platforms must address challenges that land-based industrial systems do not face. Ships operate with intermittent or low-bandwidth internet connectivity, so a maritime CMMS must support robust offline operation and intelligent data synchronization when connectivity is restored.
The equipment hierarchy follows vessel-specific conventions rather than plant-floor layouts, typically organized by vessel, system, subsystem, and component. Integration with classification society survey schedules is essential — overdue class-related maintenance items can lead to vessel detentions.
And every maintenance activity must be traceable under the ISM Code, meaning the CMMS doubles as a compliance documentation tool.
## CMMS vs. PMS
In maritime terminology, the terms CMMS and PMS (Planned Maintenance System) are often used interchangeably, though there is a subtle distinction. A PMS traditionally focused narrowly on scheduling planned maintenance jobs at fixed intervals.
A CMMS encompasses a broader scope — including corrective (breakdown) maintenance, condition-based maintenance, spare parts management, purchasing integration, and analytics. In practice, modern maritime maintenance platforms combine both capabilities.
Typical features include hierarchical equipment trees, calendar-based and running-hour-based job triggers, work order workflows with approval chains, spare parts catalogs linked to equipment, and dashboards showing maintenance KPIs such as overdue job counts and mean time between failures.

## Related Terms
- [Planned Maintenance System](https://navatom.com/glossary/planned-maintenance-system) — A Planned Maintenance System (PMS) is software used on board and in shore offices to plan a vessel’s maintenance. It schedules, tracks and records all planned maintenance work. This supports compliance with the ISM Code and classification society rules.
- [Class Survey](https://navatom.com/glossary/class-survey) — Class surveys are regular inspections by classification societies. They check that a vessel still meets the structural, mechanical, electrical and safety standards of its class notation.
- [Ship Management Software](https://navatom.com/glossary/ship-management-software) — Ship management software is a digital platform that manages all aspects of vessel operations from one central system. It covers technical management, crew administration, procurement, safety and compliance, document control and operational reporting.