This comparison is for maintenance managers, QA/compliance officers, and reliability engineers in regulated industries who need a CMMS that guarantees audit readiness and operational excellence. See the verdict below, a full feature matrix, compliance checklist, and migration guide follow.
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Which CMMS is Best for Regulated Operations?
Choosing the right Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) is critical for organisations facing strict regulatory oversight. The ideal system must not only streamline maintenance but also provide robust documentation, audit trails, and compliance controls.
- Makula CMMS: Offers strong multi-site inventory and calibration tracking, making it well-suited for organisations focused on audit readiness and developing deep preventive maintenance programs.
- eMaint: Features a mature asset hierarchy, highly configurable compliance workflows, and is a well-established name within regulated sectors.
The verdict: Your choice will likely depend on your primary needs. Prioritise Makula for superior mobile-first workflows, calibration management, and audit preparedness. Opt for eMaint if you need deep integration with existing enterprise stacks and established, configurable asset hierarchies.
Talk to a compliance specialist.
Quick Side-by-Side Comparison
Who Should Read This Comparison?
This guide is designed for key decision makers who manage assets and compliance in regulated environments.
- Maintenance Manager: You need to ensure uptime while proving every action was completed according to standard operating procedures (SOPs).
- QA / Compliance Officer: Your focus is on audit readiness, data integrity, and having irrefutable evidence for regulatory inspections.
- Reliability Engineer: You are responsible for designing and optimising PM programs, especially for calibrated and critical equipment.
- IT/CIO: You oversee system security, data integrity, and seamless integration with your existing enterprise technology stack.
- Procurement / Ops Excellence: You are looking for a solution that delivers measurable ROI while meeting stringent operational requirements.
Feature by Feature Comparison
Let's explore how eMaint and Makula handle the specific challenges of regulated asset management.
Mobile & Technician Workflows
- eMaint: Provides a mobile app for managing work orders, attaching photos, and scanning barcodes. It allows technicians to complete tasks in the field.
- Makula: Built with a mobile-first approach, featuring guided SOP checklists that walk technicians through complex tasks. Its offline capability ensures that data capture, evidence collection, and electronic signatures are possible even without an internet connection.
- Verdict: Makula offers a more structured mobile experience, better minimising technician errors and enforcing SOPs directly at the point of work.
Planned Maintenance (PM) & Calibration Scheduling
- eMaint: Includes templates for creating PMs and supports scheduling for calibration items through recurring jobs.
- Makula CMMS: Supports calendar, meter, and condition-based PMs, with a dedicated module for calibration scheduling. Technicians can directly attach calibration certificates to work records, creating a closed-loop system.
- Verdict: Makula provides more robust support for regulated calibration cadence and traceability, directly linking certificates to maintenance history.
Work Order Lifecycle & SOP Enforcement
- eMaint: Allows for configurable workflows with required sign-offs and task-level checklists to guide maintenance activities.
- Makula CMMS: Enforces compliance through structured checklists with conditional steps, mandatory evidence capture, and formal approval gates. This ensures no step is missed and every action is documented.
- Verdict: Makula makes it easier to enforce SOPs and create audit-ready work order records automatically.
Inventory, Spare Parts & Calibration Stock Management
- eMaint: Features a parts catalogue with reorder alerts and offers lot/batch tracking to manage component traceability.
- Makula CMMS: Delivers advanced inventory control with multi-bin management, lot/batch support, and specific tracking for calibration supplies. Transfer logs provide a clear chain of custody.
- Verdict: Makula can better reduce the risk of using incorrect or expired calibration supplies, a critical requirement in regulated settings.
Reporting, Dashboards & Audit Trails
- eMaint: Offers a library of standard reports, exportable logs, and event history to track system activity.
- Makula CMMS: Provides configurable dashboards for real-time visibility and allows users to schedule compliance-specific reports. Its detailed audit trails capture every action with user info, timestamps, and before/after values.
- Verdict: Makula provides easier access to the precise evidence needed for audits and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) workflows.
Integrations & APIs
- eMaint: Has prebuilt connectors for some common enterprise systems and an API for custom integrations.
- Makula CMMS is built on an API first architecture, simplifying connections to ERPs, LIMS, MES, and SCADA systems. It provides recommended integration patterns to ensure data flows smoothly.
- Verdict: Makula's modern, API first approach reduces integration friction, especially within complex regulated IT stacks.
Security, Access Control & Regulatory Readiness
- eMaint: Employs role-based access control and offers SSO options to manage user permissions alongside standard audit logs.
- Makula CMMS: Features granular user roles, comprehensive audit logging of all data changes, and data export controls. This ensures sensitive compliance data is protected and accessible only to authorised personnel.
- Verdict: Makula offers a higher degree of security and evidence readiness tailored for auditors and enterprise InfoSec teams.
Scalability & Enterprise / Multi-Site Management
- eMaint: Supports large asset catalogues and hierarchical site structures, making it suitable for enterprises with multiple locations.
- Makula CMMS: Excels in multi-site operations with centralised rollup views for corporate oversight, easy inventory reconciliation between sites, and tools for managing phased rollouts.
- Verdict: Makula scales more effectively for regulated enterprises that need both site-level autonomy and centralised compliance reporting.
Implementation, Migration & Onboarding
It takes careful planning to ensure success when introducing CMMS software into a regulated environment. A pilot extension of 3 to 5 weeks and 14 weeks for the entire plant, depending on both the number of assets and the level of integration. Modification is comprised of major steps: exporting Assets/Calibration Records, mapping main fields like Lot Numbers, and staging import data with reconciliation sign-offs. To comply, all SOP documents and historical Certificates of Performance must be added to the new machine PMs. Also, the audit log should be reviewed at the sign-off within UAT (User Acceptance Testing). We advise that the pilot cover one area of a facility, 3 to 5 calibrated assets, and 3 maintenance personnel to adequately test workflow countries.
Integrations & Ecosystem
For regulated industries, your CMMS must connect with systems like ERPs (SAP, Dynamics), LIMS, MES, SCADA, and dedicated calibration management tools. eMaint offers several prebuilt connectors, while Makula’s API first design often makes custom connections simpler. A recommended integration sequence is: sync assets and BOMs, then calibration data, then PM rules, and finally, live work orders.
Real World Use Cases: Who Should Pick Which?
Make an informed decision based on your organisation's top priorities.
Choose eMaint if:
- You require a proven enterprise asset hierarchy for a large, single-site operation.
- You need highly configurable workflows and have the resources to build them.
- You have existing integrations with Fluke tools or other EAM systems.
Choose Makula CMMS if:
- You need offline first mobile evidence capture and guided SOPs for technicians.
- You manage inventory and calibration across multiple sites and need strong central oversight.
- You prioritise fast implementation and lighter training requirements for on-site teams.
ROI Example for Regulated Industries
A modern CMMS delivers savings by reducing downtime, cutting emergency repairs, and avoiding audit-related costs. Here is an example of gross annual savings:
- Downtime Reduced: 40 hours/year
- Cost of Downtime: $1,000/hour
- Emergency Repairs Reduced: 8/year
- Avg. Labour Cost per Emergency: $350
- Audit & Non Compliance Cost Avoidance: $25,000/year (estimate)
Calculations:
- Downtime Savings: 40 hours × $1,000/hour = $40,000
- Emergency Labor Savings: 8 repairs × $350/repair = $2,800
- Audit Cost Avoidance: $25,000
- Total Annual Gross Savings: $40,000 + $2,800 + $25,000 = $67,800
This calculation does not include implementation or subscription costs.
Request a compliance-focused ROI review using your actual costs.
Final Recommendation & Next Steps
For organisations in regulated industries, the choice between eMaint and Makula comes down to control and evidence. While both are capable systems, Makula is purpose-built with the controls, traceability, and mobile-first workflows that directly address the needs of auditors and compliance officers. Its focus on structured SOP enforcement and multi-site calibration management provides a clear advantage for life sciences, pharma, and food & beverage companies.
Ready to move forward? We recommend these next steps:
- Schedule a compliance-focused demo to see the features in action.
- Prepare for a compliance audit of your current maintenance processes.
- Begin an integration discovery session to map your existing systems.
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