Up Time Magazine- June/July 2008

information technology upload Embracing Future Perfect Technological Advances Streamline, Optimize Maintenance Practices by Scott Weiland F rom boom boxes to iPods, contact lenses to laser vision surgery, work management driven by tribal knowledge to predictive maintenance driven by asset sensors, technological advancements are ever in our midst. In today’s asset intensive industries, maintenance technicians possess a unique knowledge and sophistication (much like highly-talented surgeons) crucial in keeping operations healthy. Unfortunately, Maintenance is quite often kept separate from the rest of the business. There is a compelling need for Maintenance, Operations and Information Technology (IT) to align together and develop a unified information and asset utilization strategy for the corporate structure. and timely fashion to executives – a task which proved to be rather daunting due to the fact that all the information stood as separate islands of data. Paper based systems were no longer viable in this industrial age. New tools were needed so firms could survive. Most companies had a wide variety of point solutions across their enterprise - and in many cases, different applications running the same functional discipline from one location to the next (Figure 1). IT departments were spending an enormous amount of time and money managing, maintaining and updating these applications, the integrations and the vendors. Several software vendors recognized this problem and began developing and integrating applications written in the same language, leveraging similar technology. Enter stage right: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions. ERP solutions emerged from an amalgamation of financial, human recourse management and manufacturing applications. The main challenge during this era was speed, bandwidth and functional maturity. Systems in outlying locations could not communicate with oneanother on-line, which created an environment where databases would be uploaded to corporate servers, and synchronized during non-peak hours. It was this advancement in communication networks and the Internet that opened the door to global communication. Once companies were able to communicate freely, data could be available instantaneously and companies were able to successfully implement ERP solutions across their enterprise. During the 1990s, ERP vendors continued to develop additional core modules in Sales Management, Distribution Management and Purchasing Management. Supply Chain, Customer Relations, Advanced Planning & Scheduling, Transportation, and yes, Maintenance followed shortly thereafter. These systems offered tremendous enterprise value, a seamlessly integrated data model designed in modules to address different business requirements (Figure 2). The technology is available now and evolving every day. For example, modern mobile solutions for data collection, embedded sensors in equipment and advanced reporting and analytical capabilities are just a few of the innovations available today to improve and evaluate the health of your operations, and increase the profitability of your organization. Embracing new technologies and processes help to advance organizations one step closer to a Future Perfect. From Islands of Data to Global Views – A Brief History of Maintenance & Operational Systems For the past few decades, maintenance departments typically held the reins to select their enterprise asset management (EAM) application, often referred to as computerized maintenance management solutions (CMMS) that would manage their company’s assets. EAM vendors enjoyed a profitable decade selling “point solutions” into maintenance, with little or no resistance from IT or senior management. Historically, maintenance departments (among many functional disciplines) were allowed to choose the best application for their operations – and ran autonomously, ignoring interrelationships with the rest of the organization. This paradigm has now shifted. Why has this philosophy changed, and how has maintenance become a critical path for corporate initiatives? Understanding this transformation begins with understanding the shift which took place in IT departments. Knowledge has always been power to organizations. The domain expertise resides with the employees and unique operation processes is what gave organizations their unique competitive advantage. In the late 1970s, companies realized the impact and power the that sharing of this knowledge, through technology, could have on their organization’s bottom line - and they were investing millions of dollars to gain this competitive edge. Thus began an era often referred to as the “modern information age”. The challenge to IT departments was getting this data disseminated in an accurate, useful 18 june/july 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Up Time Magazine- June/July 2008

Up Time Magazine- June/July 2008 Contents Upfront Upclose: The True Cause of Most Machine Failures Information Technology: Finding Future Perfect Lubrication: Building an Oil Analysis Winner Maintenance Management: Hidden Ways to Increase Safety Infrared: Air Barriers Lower Energy Costs, Increase Profits Motor Testing: Efficient Motor Repair, Part Deux Precision Maintenance: Good Maintenance, Smart Maintenance Reliability: Common Errors in Root Cause Analysis Ultrasound: Avoid the Baghouse Blues Vibration: Don't Let Your Sensors Get Eaten Alive Upgrade: Lining It All Up

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