Free CMMS App You Install Right On the Shop Floor
A free CMMS that installs on a shop-floor tablet or phone like a real app, no app store, no IT ticket, and no account to start.
The short answer
- Open the tracker on any tablet or phone browser, tap "Add to Home Screen," and it behaves like an installed app with its own icon.
- It runs a full light CMMS: work orders board, preventive maintenance schedule, and asset register, alongside OEE and downtime tracking.
- Data stays in that device's browser, so it is genuinely free and fast to set up, no server, no login wall, no credit card.
- When you outgrow one tablet and need this synced plant-wide with PLC data feeding it automatically, that is where Fabrico picks up.
Most "free CMMS app" searches lead to a native app store listing that wants an account, a company code, and eventually a seat-based bill. This is different: it is a Progressive Web App (PWA), meaning you open it once in a mobile or tablet browser and install it straight to the home screen, no app store review, no download, no sign-up gate. It works like an app because on your device, it is one.
Under the hood it is the same free engine as the OEE tracker, so you are not choosing between OEE tracking and maintenance management, you get both: log a shift in about 2 minutes, work the maintenance board, and keep an asset register, all on the tablet bolted next to the line.
If you want to see how this compares to other free options before installing anything, the free CMMS guide and the how to choose OEE/CMMS software page walk through the tradeoffs.
What you get, free
Installs like a real app
Open it in Chrome or Safari on the shop-floor tablet or your phone, tap Add to Home Screen, and it launches full-screen with its own icon, no browser bar, no app store.
Work orders board on the tablet
Raise, assign, and close work orders right where the downtime happened, without walking back to a shared office PC.
Preventive maintenance schedule
Set recurring PM tasks per asset so the tablet reminds the line or maintenance tech what is due, not just what already broke.
Asset register in your pocket
Keep a list of machines, lines, and equipment with basic details, viewable from the same device that is tracking OEE.
Local sign-in with roles
Add people to that one device with roles, so an operator and a maintenance lead see the app differently, without an org-wide account system.
No account, no server, data stays put
Everything lives in that tablet's browser storage. Nothing to provision, nothing to wait on IT for, export to CSV/JSON whenever you want a copy.
Log one shift and the free tracker shows your OEE, your loss Pareto and how you compare to world-class. Add work orders and preventive-maintenance reminders in the same place.
Where free stops, and Fabrico begins
The free tracker is built for getting started fast and for one plant on one device. When a site gets serious about its losses, the manual steps start to cost more than they save. This is exactly where Fabrico takes over.
| Capability | Free OEE Lab tracker | Fabrico |
|---|---|---|
| Data capture | Log each shift by hand in about 2 minutes on the installed tablet app, data stays in that browser. | Reads OEE automatically off your PLCs, no manual entry, no tablet dependency. |
| Micro-stop cause | You investigate sub-5-minute stops yourself and note the reason on the app. | Computer vision identifies the true cause of each micro-stop, with video evidence. |
| Loss-to-fix loop | You spot the loss on the tablet, then raise the work order yourself on the board. | A detected loss becomes an auto-routed work order, assigned automatically. |
| Scope and multi-site | One installed app on one tablet or phone, best for a single line or shift. | Plant-wide and multi-site from one central cloud view. |
| Integrations | Standalone on that device, run it on its own, export data when you need it elsewhere. | Integrates with PLCs, MES, and ERP so OEE flows with your stack. |
| Access and roles | Local device sign-in with people and roles on that one installed app. | Org SSO with roles across the plant and a full audit trail. |
| Data residency | Your data lives in that tablet's own browser storage, on that device. | EU-built with EU data residency, outside the reach of the US CLOUD Act. |
| Reporting | Instant OEE, a downtime Pareto, and CSV/JSON export you run yourself from the tablet. | Live plant-wide dashboards plus scheduled reports delivered automatically. |
| Support and scale | Self-serve, the best genuinely free way to get a maintenance app running on the floor today. | Guided onboarding and support, plus ISO 27001/20000-1/9001 that supports audit-readiness, the platform you graduate to as the plant gets serious. |
Frequently asked questions
Is this a real app or just a website?
It is a Progressive Web App (PWA). You open it in a mobile browser once, then use "Add to Home Screen" so it installs with its own icon and opens full-screen like any other app, without going through an app store.
Does it need an internet connection on the shop floor?
Once installed, the app and your data load from that device's browser storage, so it is well suited to a tablet that stays near the line. It is not a networked, multi-device sync tool, that is the one-plant-on-one-device limit of the free version.
Can more than one person use the tablet?
Yes. You can add people to that one installed device with roles, so an operator and a maintenance lead can each sign in locally and see the right view.
What happens if I lose the tablet or clear the browser?
Because data lives in that device's browser, export to CSV or JSON regularly if the data matters, especially before a browser update, device swap, or storage clear.
Is there a paid version of this exact app?
The free tracker stands on its own with no upgrade prompts. When a plant needs automatic PLC data capture, computer-vision cause detection, and multi-site cloud dashboards instead of one tablet's local storage, that is a different tier of platform, which is what Fabrico is built for.
How is this different from MaintainX or UpKeep's free tiers?
MaintainX and UpKeep both offer mobile-first free tiers primarily built around lightweight work-order coordination and technician entry, generally tied to an account and a hosted backend. This tool installs straight from the browser with no account to start and keeps data on-device, and it pairs a work orders board with a built-in OEE tracker in the same free app.
When free is not enough, Fabrico is the upgrade
The free installed app is the fastest honest way to get OEE and maintenance tracking onto a shop-floor tablet today, no account, no IT project, no waiting. It genuinely works for one line on one device. Once you need that data flowing automatically off your PLCs, computer vision catching the real cause behind every micro-stop with video proof, work orders auto-routed instead of raised by hand, and all of it rolled up plant-wide or across sites with EU data residency and audit trails, that is the point to book a Fabrico demo and see the platform this app graduates into.
Book a Fabrico demoMore free software: All free software · Free CMMS + OEE Software: the Loss and the Work Order in One Tool · Free downtime tracking software: log stops by reason, get a downtime Pareto instantly · Free maintenance management software: work orders, PM, and assets, no cost · Free maintenance scheduling software
Open the free OEE tracker · Free CMMS software guide · Free maintenance management software · CMMS ROI calculator · Maintenance KPIs and metrics · How to choose OEE/CMMS software