CFM key terms

Scheduled servicing performed on equipment according to time or usage intervals to reduce breakdowns and extend asset life, rather than waiting for a failure to occur.

Maintenance triggered by measured indicators such as vibration, temperature, or oil analysis that show equipment is degrading, so intervention happens just before functional failure.

Use of trend data, sensors, and analytical models to forecast when a component will fail so maintenance can be planned before the failure occurs.

A formal authorization document that describes a maintenance task, assigns labor and materials, records time and cost, and closes out with completion notes for the asset history.

Software that stores asset inventories, schedules work orders, tracks spare parts, and reports maintenance labor and cost data for facility operations.

The average operating time between consecutive breakdowns of a repairable asset, used to benchmark reliability and justify maintenance or replacement decisions.

The average elapsed time needed to restore an asset to working condition after a failure, including diagnosis, parts, and labor, reflecting maintainability and spares readiness.

A structured analysis that identifies asset functions, failure modes, and consequences to select the most cost-effective maintenance strategy for each failure mode.

A team-based method that lists how a process or asset can fail, rates severity, likelihood, and detectability, and prioritizes actions to reduce the highest-risk failure modes.

A structured investigation that traces an incident or repeated failure back to its underlying system causes so corrective actions prevent recurrence rather than just treating symptoms.

A controlled inventory listing each maintained asset with identifiers, location, criticality, expected life, and replacement value, forming the basis for capital planning and maintenance scheduling.

The approved project scope statement plus its work breakdown structure and dictionary, used to measure whether requested changes are inside or outside agreed project boundaries.

A hierarchical decomposition of project deliverables into manageable work packages that supports estimating, scheduling, assignment of responsibility, and progress control.

A scheduling technique that identifies the longest dependent sequence of activities, showing which tasks have zero float and therefore determine the project completion date.

The amount of time an activity can be delayed without pushing the project finish date, used to decide where schedule pressure can be absorbed safely.

A formal process for requesting, evaluating, approving, and documenting modifications to scope, schedule, cost, or quality so approved baselines stay accurate and traceable.

Documented insights from project execution, captured at milestones and closure, that record what worked, what failed, and what should change on future projects.

An analysis that totals acquisition, operating, maintenance, and disposal costs over an asset's full service life so capital decisions compare true long-term cost rather than purchase price alone.

Planned replacement of building systems and components that have reached the end of useful life, funded through reserves or capital budgets to preserve asset performance and value.

A long-range assessment that inventories major components, estimates remaining useful life and replacement cost, and models funding contributions needed to meet future capital obligations.

A ratio comparing net financial benefit to the cost of an investment, used to rank competing facility projects and justify spending to owners or executives.

The annual plan of recurring revenue and expense for running a facility, covering utilities, labor, contracts, and supplies, against which actual spending is monitored.

Comparison of actual financial or operational results against budget or forecast, highlighting differences and their causes so managers can take corrective action.

A quantifiable measure tied to a strategic objective, such as cost per square foot or work order completion rate, used to track performance and guide improvement.

A written agreement defining the services a provider will deliver, the performance standards expected, and remedies if those standards are not met.

A procurement document that states requirements, evaluation criteria, and contract terms, inviting suppliers to submit priced technical and commercial proposals for selection.

The complete cost of acquiring, operating, maintaining, and eventually disposing of a purchased good or service, used to compare bids on more than headline price.

A document identifying who is affected by or can influence a project, their interests and influence, and how and when they will be communicated with.

The structured approach to preparing people for a process, technology, or workplace change, addressing resistance and building adoption so the intended benefits are realized.

A plan specifying what information will be shared with which audiences, in what format, at what frequency, and by whom, to keep stakeholders informed and aligned.

A leadership approach that adapts the amount of direction and support given to a person based on their competence and commitment for a specific task.

The study of how people's physical, cognitive, and behavioral limits interact with tools, tasks, and environments, applied to design work that reduces error and injury.

Designing workstations, tools, and tasks to fit human body dimensions and movement patterns, reducing musculoskeletal strain and improving comfort and productivity.

The shared values, attitudes, and behaviors of an organization toward risk and injury prevention, reflected in reporting, learning, and willingness to speak up.

A documented step taken to eliminate the cause of a detected nonconformity or incident so that it does not recur, tracked to completion and verified for effectiveness.

A repeating improvement cycle of planning a change, implementing it, checking results against expectations, and standardizing or adjusting based on what was learned.

Comparing an organization's performance metrics and practices against peers or best-in-class operations to identify gaps and set realistic improvement targets.

A digital three-dimensional model of a facility enriched with asset and systems data, used for design coordination, construction, and ongoing operations and maintenance.

A network of sensors and connected devices that collect and transmit real-time data on equipment and building conditions, enabling monitoring, automation, and predictive maintenance.

A networked control system that monitors and regulates heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, and other building equipment to maintain conditions and manage energy use.

A building's annual energy consumption divided by its floor area, allowing comparison of energy performance across buildings and tracking of efficiency improvements over time.

Documented procedures for keeping or restoring critical operations during and after a disruption, covering roles, alternate resources, and recovery priorities.

A study identifying critical business functions, their dependencies, and the financial and operational consequences of disruption over time, used to set recovery priorities and targets.

The maximum acceptable time a process or system can be unavailable after a disruption before consequences become unacceptable, guiding recovery resource planning.

A facility plan defining response actions, evacuation routes, roles, and communication for emergencies such as fire, severe weather, or medical incidents.

A discussion-based drill in which participants walk through a simulated emergency scenario to test plans, clarify roles, and reveal gaps without disrupting operations.

The proportion of scheduled time that a system or facility is available and functioning, a common measure of operational reliability and service performance.