Quick answer
CAFM (computer-aided facility management) software keeps a register of a facility's assets, schedules planned preventive maintenance, manages reactive work orders from request to close, tracks spare parts, and records inspections and safety permits. It gives facility teams and their clients a clear record of what was maintained, when, by whom, and at what cost.
- The asset register is the foundation: every other feature depends on it.
- Planned preventive maintenance reduces reactive call-outs over time.
- For FM contractors, evidence of completed work supports service level reporting to clients.
What does CAFM software do?
- Asset register
- Every asset (chillers, AHUs, lifts, pumps, fire systems) with location, hierarchy, criticality, and history.
- Planned preventive maintenance
- Schedules by time or usage, generating work orders automatically.
- Reactive work orders
- Requests logged, prioritised, assigned, completed, and closed with notes and photos.
- Spare parts
- Stock of spares linked to assets and work orders.
- Inspections and permits
- Inspection rounds and permits to work recorded for safety.
- Reporting
- Completion against schedule, response times, and cost by asset or building.
What should UAE facility teams look for?
- A mobile app technicians use on site, including in plant rooms with weak signal
- Strong planned maintenance for cooling plant, which works hard through the UAE summer
- Inspection records for fire and life safety systems, which civil defence authorities in each emirate regulate
- Multi-site and multi-client views for FM contractors
- Cost tracking that links to finance and procurement
How Hudace handles facility management
Hudace covers CAFM needs through Enterprise Asset Management: asset register and hierarchy, asset criticality and performance, spare parts and inventory, preventive and predictive maintenance, work order management and scheduling, inspections and rounds, safety and permits to work, and mobile maintenance. Because it sits on Hudace ERP, maintenance costs, purchasing, and finance share one record, and Xenon AI helps flag assets that need attention.
For background on why condition-led maintenance pays off, read our insight on preventative maintenance.
Frequently asked questions
What does CAFM stand for?
CAFM stands for computer-aided facility management.
What is the difference between CAFM and CMMS?
A CMMS focuses on maintenance of assets. CAFM usually also covers space, buildings, and service delivery for occupants. The terms overlap heavily in practice.
Can technicians close work orders on a phone?
Yes. Hudace includes mobile maintenance for technicians.
Can CAFM software help with predictive maintenance?
Hudace Enterprise Asset Management includes predictive maintenance, using asset data to flag problems before failure.
Is CAFM suitable for FM service contractors?
Yes, as long as it supports multiple sites and clients and produces completion and response reports for each contract.
What data do we need to start with CAFM?
An asset list with locations, the planned maintenance schedules you follow today, and your open work orders. You can enrich asset data as technicians visit each asset.