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Faulty equipment is the bane of any operations manager.
While some breakdowns are just headaches to be dealt with during the course of a day, glitches in key operational equipment could shut down operations entirely. And the result is more than just thousands of dollars in repairs, you could also be looking at paying thousands in wages for workers standing around doing nothing and even more for lost business if your customer loses faith your ability to deliver or decides to go elsewhere waiting for equipment to be fixed. Even worse would be a lawsuit if the breakdown causes injury when it occurs or if repeated breakdowns cause fines for non-compliance.
Developing an effective maintenance plan using manual means is a real challenge. Sure you can create a spreadsheet to record when equipment is put into service, establish standards for performance, gauge maintenance according to usage, and then schedule upkeep according to recommendations of the equipment’s vendor. But if you’re able to manage that much information on your own, imagine trying to get everyone else’s buy-in on using your recording methods on a regular basis.
A better solution is to automate the process with enterprise asset management (EAM) software like IBM Maximo Asset Management. Maximo provides you the data and insights you need to schedule maintenance activities that keep your equipment in peak condition and help prevent breakdowns and operations failure.
Get the data and insights needed to keep your equipment in peak condition, help prevent breakdowns and operations failure
Maximo automates all aspects of maintenance operations, recording data such as equipment history, procurement information, preventive maintenance records, labor costs, parts expenses, work orders and scheduling. The software gives you better control over equipment downtime by recording equipment data, including usage, which gives you more insight into the status of your equipment and allows you to be more proactive in scheduling regular service, repairs or replacement. And, of course, better upkeep typically results in longer, more productive equipment lifespan.
Implementation of Maximo begins by capturing performance data from the equipment and devices in your organization and importing that data into the software. For example, from a piece of equipment such as centrifugal pump, data collected would likely include engine speed, temperature, vibration and pressure. Any condition indicating a potential failure would then trigger an alert followed by a work order containing everything from historical and anatomic details about the piece of equipment to information about parts used in past repairs and inventory currently available for this service. Maximo would also have available the steps needed to address the current issue along with the skill set needed by the technician for this service call.
Track maintenance expenses and other details in real-time
As part of the service, repair time, measures and parts required to get the equipment back on track are recorded in Maximo, providing feedback to be used in ongoing operations improvements, such as better efficiency in purchasing and requisitions. For example, data in Maximo lets you track maintenance expenses and other details by supplying you with a real-time record about parts inventories, costs and usages across your organization, and letting you see when and where you need equipment, parts, personnel and other resources.
All of these factors — greater efficiency, less breakage, reduced risk, more uptime — all equates to a more profitable bottom line.
Maximo is ideal for lowering your maintenance costs and concerns by automating the process of tracking performance and giving you a tool to help you proactively perform preventive maintenance throughout your organization.