Uptime Magazine - October/November 2008 - (Page 24)

resistance” from the users. This is a vast improvement over the acceptance rate normally experienced with a traditional EAM system user interface. • The application is very “web like”. Because it’s so similar to the web capabilities they all use in their personal lives, it helps them adapt to it almost immediately and learn very quickly. • The new solution has actually given them more functionality than they had with the previous screens. For example, when creating a parts requisition for a work order, the technicians will see an embedded picture of the part they need to order on the requisition screen, so they can be sure they are ordering the right item. They did not have this capability previously. • The screens are very easy to customize. Each screen can be easily tailored to each division’s, or even to each individual’s specific requirements. Screen customization in the existing legacy system was difficult and time consuming. And if customizations were done, maintenance support implications had to be considered. However, eMESA screens are designed for easy customization, so support implications are not a concern. • The legacy ERP/EAM system was difficult to integrate with other external applications, such as an external time keeping solution that Vale Inco intends to use with the eMESA advanced scheduling module. Vale Inco found eMESA is easy to integrate with external systems. So the company can easily do the integration to external applications using eMESA, and then use the eMESA front-end to update the back office ERP system, which is a more expeditious approach. Perhaps most importantly, the effort maintenance technicians and managers expend working with the EAM system has been simplified, so the amount of time they spend on the system has genuinely been slashed. Trevor reports that technicians now access all the tables they need via drop down menus, whereas before they had to navigate to different tabs or different screens, sometimes they would even have to open up different modules. Most data entry today is done on one screen; prior to the eMESA implementation a technician had to navigate to four or five screens to complete one process (Example, Figure 1). And today, they have more relevant information available to them on that one screen. Bottom Line – maintenance technicians are spending 50% less time on the system. Moreover, because the system is intuitive, the user interface is something they’re already attuned to, and it’s easy to learn. The training time required to learn the system has been cut to ¼ or less than what it was prior to the eMESA implementation. And since the system is easy to grasp, technicians retain what they’ve learned, so retraining time and costs have been virtually eliminated. All of which means that maintenance technicians can devote more time to their core responsibility: maintaining the equipment! As Vale Inco continues to implement standard maintenance processes across its various plants, eMESA will facilitate that as well. The built in customization capabilities will allow Vale Inco to design and enforce the use of 24 october/november 2008 http://www.mikroninfrared.com http://www.mikroninfrared.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Uptime Magazine - October/November 2008

Uptime Magazine - October/November 2008 Contents Upfront Upclose: An Asset Management Oasis in the Desert Information Technology: Streamlining Through Simplicity Lubrication: Phases for Framing a Solid Foundation Infrared: Do Your Homework Before You Buy Maintenance Management: Get It Together by Getting Together Motor Testing: Key Elements in Motor Decision Making Precision Maintenance: Shedding Some Light on Tolerances Reliability: RCM & the Mortgage Meltdown Ultrasound: A Multidimensional Tool Vibration: The Whirling Pump Mystery, Solved with ODS Upgrade: Are You Looking in the Right Place for Your Wear Debris?

Uptime Magazine - October/November 2008

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