Maintworld Magazine 4/2020

ASSET MANAGEMENT
need to learn to work with a different
system and everything would be solved.
But the reason this was not chosen was
simple. There was already an ERP system
implemented, and why not use the
maintenance part of that current system
to cover the relevant processes in plant
maintenance. The already implemented
purchasing and warehouse system can
be used to track the movement of spare
parts in the company and the system can
already be operated by the personnel in
that company. The second point was that
from time to time, it was required to perform
maintenance activities for external
partners that needed to be billed, and the
ERP system was already also set up to
allow this functionality. And the last, but
not least point, is that all other systems
were designed to support maintenance,
but they could not precisely track the
cost part of the planned and performed
maintenance activities. And this is one
of the main benefits of a well set up ERP
system – a process cost evaluation with
minimal effort. So, the decision was to
use the existing ERP system.
Change is life and life is change
After some struggle to get the relevant
process information of the performed
maintenances from the past, the system
implementation started. The struggle I
mentioned was caused by the decision
not only to implement a system, but
to also have a look at the maintenance
process effectivity. This was not only
from the maintenance point of view, but
also to to try to decrease the duration of
the performed maintenance activities
directly in production, and to reduce production
downtimes. A simple implementation
of a system would not be such an
improvement. At the start of the project
it was necessary to decide on a relevant
implementation partner that had knowledge
on how to implement maintenance
processes in the ERP system, and what
are the current technical possibilities
supporting the maintenance personnel.
A few companies were evaluated, and
the decision was made on a partner that
already had experience in this area, not
just from previous projects, but also from
the user point of view. In the first project
phase, it was required to collect a lot data
about the currently-performed maintenance
activities. A lot of interesting
issues have already been found there. But
the most important thing that the maintenance
people realized was that life
really could get easier, if they started to
use a system that supported their work.
Everyone would have the same information
and sharing would become simple,
because the data is tracked down, and
can be viewed historically in seconds, no
need to search in the old records.
The implementation itself was
expected to be the main part, but the
chosen consulting company already had
a lot of experience from previous implementations.
The recommendation was
to support the process also using mobile
AN EFFECTIVE SYSTEM HAS
BECOME INDISPENSABLE
OVER THE PAST FEW
DECADES IN THE
MAINTENANCE AREA.
devices, so the technicians could have
use of the ERP system directly during the
performed maintenance activity, no need
to write down any relevant information
and have them typed up later on a PC.
The company was also offering its own
solution. The implemented solution was
of a simple design, so the only operator
is able to see relevant data for the
performed activity. Using a simple user
Fig.1. – Maintenance process BEFORE.
interface also enabled people who are not
used to operating complicated programs
on a PC, to start using the program more
quickly. A second benefit was that the
system was designed in the same way, as
already implemented solutions directly
in production. The production was already
using an MES system, to track the
production process. So, this was slightly
extended to also track down downtimes,
evaluate them and trigger maintenance
actions directly.
In the end, the work of the maintenance
person has not changed in the
relevant areas. The person is still performing
maintenance actions where required.
What has changed significantly is
the way the maintenance is planned and
evaluated. And this has also influenced a
significant reduction of downtime caused
by maintenance in the production. Due to
the collected data, it was found that multiple
parts of the production line do not
require daily maintenance, because no
maintenance activities were performed
at all. Additionally, because the maintenance
is performed in the used ERP
system, the produced quantities are also
known directly in the maintenance par;
the main part of maintenance is triggered
based on the produced quantity and not
just by looking at the calendar. Using one
system there was no additional effort at
all to achieve this, because the production
quantities have been already collected.
44 maintworld 4/2020