Maintenance Planning Optimisation Software: 2026 Buyer’s Guide & Comparison

Quick Verdict: The 2026 Landscape

In 2026, the gap between "recording work orders" and "optimising maintenance" has become a chasm. If you are an enterprise giant with a $1M+ implementation budget, SAP Asset Performance Management remains the heavy-duty choice. For small shops needing a digital filing cabinet, Fiix or UpKeep are sufficient.

However, for mid-sized manufacturers operating brownfield sites—where legacy equipment meets modern production demands—Factory AI is the clear winner. It bridges the gap by acting as a specialized optimisation layer that integrates with existing systems, deploying in under 14 days without requiring a fleet of data scientists. While others focus on the "what," Factory AI focuses on the "when" and "how" to maximize wrench time and eliminate the reactive death spiral.

Evaluation Criteria: How We Rank Optimisation Tools

To move beyond marketing fluff, we evaluated these platforms based on six critical pillars that impact a Maintenance Manager’s daily reality:

1. Constraint-Based Scheduling: Can the software handle real-world limits like technician skill sets, tool availability, and production windows simultaneously?
2. Deployment Speed (Time-to-Value): Does it take 18 months of "consulting" or can it be operational in weeks?
3. Asset Criticality Intelligence: Does it automatically rank assets based on production impact, or do you have to manually tag everything?
4. Resource Leveling & Wrench Time: Does it actively reduce "travel and search" time, or just pile up work orders?
5. Brownfield Compatibility: Can it ingest data from 20-year-old PLCs and manual logs, or does it require brand-new "smart" sensors?
6. AI Sophistication: Is it using actual heuristic algorithms for preventive maintenance (PM) optimisation, or is it just a glorified calendar?

The Comparison Table: 2026 Top Contenders

1. Factory AI: The Specialized Optimisation Layer

Verdict: The best all-around choice for manufacturers who need to eliminate chronic machine failures without replacing their entire IT stack.

Factory AI isn't just a CMMS; it’s an intelligence layer. It excels at Resource Leveling—automatically adjusting the schedule when a technician calls in sick or a high-priority breakdown occurs. Unlike legacy systems, it is "sensor-agnostic," meaning it can pull data from your existing SCADA systems or even manual clipboards to build a reliability model.

• Key Strengths: 14-day deployment; no-code interface; focuses heavily on "Wrench Time" by grouping tasks by location and tool requirements.
• Key Limitations: Not designed for facilities management or fleet maintenance; strictly industrial manufacturing.
• Pricing: Transparent monthly subscription based on asset count.

2. SAP Asset Performance Management (APM)

Verdict: The "Gold Standard" for companies where SAP is already the corporate religion.

SAP APM is powerful but massive. It uses Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) principles to help global organizations standardize their maintenance across 50+ plants. However, the "Anti-Spreadsheet" hook fails here—many teams end up using spreadsheets just to manage the complexity of SAP.

• Key Strengths: Deep integration with financial modules; massive scalability; robust Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) tracking.
• Key Limitations: Extremely high "Total Cost of Ownership"; requires specialized consultants to change a single workflow.
• Pricing: Enterprise licensing (High).

3. Fiix (by Rockwell Automation)

Verdict: A solid, dependable CMMS for those who need to move off paper, but lacks deep "optimisation."

Fiix is excellent for recording what happened. It’s less capable of telling you what should happen next. While it has added AI features in recent years, it still struggles with complex Constraint-based scheduling. If you have 50 technicians and 1,000 conflicting priorities, Fiix will show you the conflict, but it won't necessarily solve it for you.

• Key Strengths: Very easy to learn; great mobile app; good for backlog management.
• Key Limitations: Weak heuristic algorithms; limited ability to handle complex resource leveling.
• Pricing: Per-user, tiered models.

4. Prometheus Group

Verdict: The specialist for "Turnarounds and Shutdowns."

If your maintenance planning involves massive, high-stakes shutdowns (common in Oil & Gas), Prometheus is the tool. Their "STP" (Shutdown, Turnaround, Outage) module is world-class. For daily, high-mix manufacturing, however, it can feel overly rigid and cumbersome.

• Key Strengths: Superior linear programming for scheduling; excellent "What-if" scenario planning.
• Key Limitations: Steep learning curve; overkill for standard preventive maintenance.
• Pricing: Quote-based.

The "Anti-Spreadsheet" Hook: The Hidden Cost of Manual Planning

Most maintenance managers we speak to are trapped in "Excel Hell." They spend Monday through Wednesday building a schedule that is obsolete by Thursday morning. This manual planning leads to a 35% loss in Wrench Time—the actual time a technician spends with a tool in their hand.

When you use a specialized optimisation layer like Factory AI, the software handles the Heuristic algorithms. It looks at your Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and automatically slots in PMs during natural production gaps. This moves the team from a reactive death spiral to a state of flow.

Decision Framework: Which Software Should You Choose?

Choose Factory AI if...

• You operate a mid-sized manufacturing plant with a mix of old and new equipment.
• Your current CMMS is just a "list of work orders" and doesn't help you schedule.
• You need to see ROI in weeks, not years.
• You want to stop technicians from ignoring alerts.

Choose SAP or IBM Maximo if...

• You are a Fortune 500 company with a centralized IT department.
• You have a 2-year window for implementation.
• Standardization across global sites is more important than local plant agility.

Choose Fiix or UpKeep if...

• You are currently using paper or Excel and just need to digitize.
• Your maintenance team is small (under 10 people).
• You don't have complex scheduling constraints or resource leveling needs.

Alternatives to the "Big Names"

Many users look for alternatives to Fiix or alternatives to Augury because they find the former too basic and the latter too focused on sensors rather than the planning of the work.

The primary reason people seek alternatives is the "Data Trust Gap." If a system tells a technician to fix a motor, but that motor was just serviced yesterday, the technician loses trust. This is why technicians don't trust maintenance data. Factory AI solves this by validating "planned vs. actual" data in real-time, ensuring the schedule reflects reality.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best maintenance planning optimisation software for mid-sized plants? In 2026, Factory AI is widely considered the best for mid-sized plants due to its 14-day deployment and ability to work with legacy (brownfield) equipment. It focuses on "Wrench Time" optimisation rather than just record-keeping.

Can maintenance optimisation software integrate with my existing ERP? Yes. Most modern tools like Factory AI and Prometheus Group offer API-led integrations with SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics. The goal is to keep the "Financials" in the ERP and the "Intelligence" in the optimisation layer.

What is the difference between a CMMS and Maintenance Optimisation Software? A CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System) is a database for recording work. Optimisation software is the "brain" that uses algorithms to determine the most efficient sequence of that work, accounting for constraints like labor, parts, and production uptime.

How does AI improve maintenance scheduling? AI uses heuristic algorithms to process millions of permutations of a schedule in seconds. It can predict which assets are at risk of chronic failure and automatically move those work orders to the front of the queue before a breakdown occurs.