Moving from another CMMS or maintenance tool is mostly a records job. Bring the asset register, its components, every preventive maintenance (PM) plan with its last-done date, meter readings and past work orders across, and the maintenance calendar carries on where it stopped.
FieldEx is field service management and maintenance management (CMMS) in one system. A CMMS migration to FieldEx brings your asset register with its parent and component structure, PM plans that continue from their last-done dates, meter readings and past work orders, all uploaded. Both systems can run side by side while your team checks the results.
Most maintenance teams switch CMMS because the old one stopped keeping up: plans that need nudging by hand, a mobile app technicians avoid, reports that take a day to build. The worry is what the old system does hold. FieldEx is set up around those records first.
The UK National Archives' guidance on transferring digital records sets out the order for any system move. Back up the records first. Agree the minimum fields every record must carry and map each old field to its new one. Confirm the export format is one the receiving system supports.
The same guidance says not to destroy any data until it has loaded into the new system and been quality checked. For a CMMS, that means the old system stays readable until the asset count, plan count and open work in FieldEx match it.
In practice, teams move six groups of records: the asset register and its hierarchy, PM plans with their last-done dates, meter readings, open and overdue work orders, completed work history, and the documents attached to each asset.
Many maintenance intervals legally run from the last time the work was done. Under the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule on portable fire extinguishers (29 CFR 1910.157), each extinguisher needs an annual maintenance check, and the date must be recorded.
Stored-pressure dry chemical units need emptying and full maintenance every 6 years, counted from the last recharge or hydrostatic test.
UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance on the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER, leaflet INDG422) sets in-service thorough examinations at 6-monthly, 12-monthly or examination-scheme intervals. A plan that restarts on go-live day would push every one of those dates out of line.
Bring the last completed date for every plan. Without it, a new CMMS can only guess the next due date.
Regulators often expect records at component level. The OSHA rule for overhead and gantry cranes (29 CFR 1910.179) requires a monthly inspection of hooks with a certification record. That record must include the inspection date, the inspector's signature and the serial number or other identifier of the hook inspected. Running ropes need a monthly inspection recorded the same way.
If the migration flattens the hierarchy, those records lose the item they refer to. Load the parent assets first, then each component with its own identifier, then the work history that names them.
If the component structure is lost in the move, that history no longer points at the item it describes.
UK HSE guidance sets different periods for different records:
| Record | Keep it for |
|---|---|
| LOLER thorough examination before first use | Until the equipment is no longer used |
| LOLER in-service thorough examination | Until the next report, or 2 years |
| Work equipment inspection (PUWER) | At least until the next inspection |
| Legionella monitoring results | At least 5 years |
Sources: UK HSE leaflet INDG422, HSE inspection of work equipment guidance, HSE Legionnaires' disease record-keeping guidance.
HSE also says inspection records under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER) can be held on a computer if they are held securely and made available to an enforcing authority on request. UK limited companies must keep company and accounting records for 6 years from the end of the financial year they relate to, according to GOV.UK.
The UK Government Data Quality Framework names the checks that matter for a register. Uniqueness means no duplicate records. Validity means values sit in the expected range and format. Completeness means the records and fields you need are present. Consistency means two values for the same asset don't contradict each other.
For a maintenance register, that usually means one record per physical asset, one naming pattern for asset types and locations, a status for every asset, and a meter reading where a plan depends on one.
The National Archives guidance is direct: don't delete source records until their receipt and accessibility in the new system are confirmed. Where an EU customer is switching cloud providers, the EU Data Act (Regulation 2023/2854, Article 25) sets the default transition: once notice is given, the data must be ported within 30 calendar days.
A practical pattern is to move one site or team first, run both systems for a few weeks, compare counts, then move the rest.
The EU Data Act (Article 29) removes switching charges, including data egress charges, from 12 January 2027. Until then, a provider may only charge reduced fees that do not exceed the costs directly linked to switching.
The European Commission's Data Act guidance adds that software-as-a-service providers must at least export data in a commonly used, machine-readable format, covering input data, output data and metadata.
Notice periods are capped too: Article 25 says the notice period to start switching can't exceed 2 months. Outside the EU, the contract decides, so ask for a full export in CSV or Excel before you give notice.
Ask your current vendor for a test export of assets, plans and work history before you sign anything new.
Under the UK Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, HSE says a written scheme of examination must be in place, and an examination done, before any qualifying pressure equipment is used.
The competent person must produce a written report for each examination. For hired or leased equipment, the user should check the scheme is in place and the examination certificate is current.
A CMMS migration that drops the scheme or the last report leaves the next examination without its evidence. Treat statutory items as their own load: scheme, last report, next due date, competent person.
An American integrated facility services company with a regional presence in Singapore found its existing mechanical and electrical (M&E) and cleaning systems could not meet internal needs and customer reporting requirements.
It moved more than 100 technicians and contractors onto FieldEx, which now schedules equipment maintenance grouped by type and location alongside its cleaning rosters.
DKSM, a Malaysian mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) and fire safety contractor serving 300+ client sites, needed separate checklists for sprinklers, hose reels, fire alarms and hydrants, and schedules that ran monthly, every 2 months, quarterly and every 6 months.
With FieldEx, each hydrant's record links to its site, and automatic reminders cover every schedule.
Yes. Past completed work orders can be uploaded alongside your assets, sites and customers. Each work order lands against its asset, so technicians see the full history on the phone from the first day.
No. Each plan can follow a floating schedule counted from the last completed visit, or a fixed calendar date. Carry the last-done date across and the next work order falls when it should. Overdue visits can be raised by hand on the day you switch.
Yes. Extra identifier fields on every asset can be renamed to your own terms, and any field or label can be renamed too, for example calling a work order a "service ticket". The names show on web and mobile.
Yes. A plan can trigger on calendar intervals, on meter usage, or on whichever is reached first. Meter readings are recorded against each asset and kept as a history, and an inspection on the phone can update the reading.
Yes. Start with one team or one site, then add the rest when they're ready, or move everyone at once. Plans can be applied to more sites later, and permission profiles decide who works in FieldEx from day one.
Yes. Export your data at any time, free of charge, including when you leave. FieldEx bills monthly or annually with no minimum term and no notice period: you simply don't renew when your term ends.
FieldEx can connect to any open system through REST APIs and has connectors for QuickBooks and Xero.
Once we know your requirements and your data is ready, FieldEx can be implemented in as little as a week with standard features for small businesses. Larger setups and custom work take longer.
Most implementations take 1 to 3 months, depending mainly on how long it takes to prepare your data. Setup, data upload and training are included in the subscription, with no setup fee. See FieldEx implementation.
