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How Asset Maintenance Software Enhances Manufacturing Efficiency

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For manufacturing businesses, keeping operations smooth and efficient is a top priority. Unplanned equipment failures and maintenance issues can lead to costly downtime, which affects productivity and profitability. As preventive maintenance becomes more crucial in a competitive industry, solutions like Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) offer a lifeline.

CMMS helps manufacturers manage their assets more effectively. These systems keep track of schedules, equipment status, and inventory levels. They ensure that maintenance tasks are carried out on time, reducing the risk of unexpected breakdowns. By incorporating CMMS, companies can improve overall plant efficiency and uptime, which directly impacts production lines and workflows.

Integrating advanced solutions such as IoT remote monitoring and AI-driven predictive maintenance further optimises operations. These technologies provide real-time data and insights, allowing businesses to make informed decisions quickly. By embracing these tools, manufacturers can stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market, ensuring their operations remain robust and productive.

How CMMS Solves Manufacturing Plant Challenges

Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) address various challenges that manufacturing plants face. One major challenge is keeping track of numerous assets, including machinery, tools, and inventory. A CMMS logs specific asset classifications and failure codes, allowing operators to quickly identify and address issues. This reduces downtime and enhances productivity.

Another significant issue is the organisation of the asset structure to reflect production lines or workflow processes. CMMS allows operators to set up the asset structure according to production requirements, streamlining operations. By tailoring workflows and detailing preventive maintenance processes, the system ensures timely servicing of assets.

Preventive maintenance becomes more manageable with scheduled tasks based on time or usage metrics like run hours, cycles, or throughput. CMMS can integrate calibration routines and automatically create work orders when equipment is out of tolerance. This proactive approach maintains equipment reliability and reduces sudden failures, keeping production running smoothly.

Comprehensive inventory management modules in a CMMS help track spare parts efficiently. The system can generate a Bill of Materials (BOM) and record warranty details, ensuring that necessary parts are always at hand and ready for use. CMMS also captures training and certification data, aiding staff and contractor management. Notifications for new work order requirements are sent directly to the responsible parties, ensuring that everyone is informed and tasks are completed on time.

Key Features of Asset Maintenance Software

Asset maintenance software comes packed with features designed to enhance manufacturing efficiency. One essential feature is the extensive and customisable dashboard that displays Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This visual approach allows managers to quickly grasp the current status of operations and make informed decisions.

Another crucial feature is the complete reporting suite, offering hundreds of configurable reports. These reports provide insights into various aspects of the plant’s operations, from maintenance schedules to equipment performance. Such detailed reporting helps identify areas for improvement and ensures that maintenance activities align with overall business goals.

Asset maintenance software also includes the ability to log detailed asset classifications and failure codes. This feature helps track the performance and reliability of each asset, making it easier to predict when maintenance is needed. The integration of calibration routines ensures that all equipment remains precise and functional, further reducing the likelihood of breakdowns.

The comprehensive inventory module keeps track of spare parts and can create Bills of Materials (BOM). This ensures that all necessary components are available when needed, reducing delays in maintenance activities. Additionally, the software records warranty information for all assets, helping manage claims and repairs efficiently.

Notifications and alerts are another critical feature, ensuring that staff and contractors are promptly informed about new work orders. This improves communication and collaboration, making sure that maintenance tasks are completed on schedule. The software’s ability to capture training and certifications further supports this, ensuring that only qualified personnel handle essential maintenance activities.

Benefits of IoT Remote Monitoring and Online Mobility

IoT remote monitoring offers numerous advantages for manufacturing operations. Firstly, it allows real-time tracking of equipment performance and facility conditions. This means managers can prevent issues before they escalate into major problems. By avoiding unnecessary service and reducing the frequency of replacing consumables, IoT helps save time and money.

Remote monitoring also optimises energy consumption. It tracks how much energy equipment and facilities use, allowing for more efficient resource management. Additionally, IoT solutions decrease the time-to-fix for malfunctioning assets, ensuring quicker repairs and less downtime. This means production lines run smoother, meeting performance goals more consistently.

Online mobility further enhances operational efficiency. Technicians can access up-to-date work orders from their desks or job sites using mobile applications integrated with CMMS. This flexibility increases productivity because technicians can complete tasks anytime, anywhere. The mobile platform allows easy access to work orders, instant task completion, and real-time inventory adjustments.

Online mobility also simplifies logging wrench time with start/stop clock functionality, making it easy to track how long a job takes. It eliminates the need for print-outs, reducing waste and making processes more eco-friendly. Together, IoT remote monitoring and online mobility create a responsive, adaptable work environment, boosting overall plant efficiency.

AI Machine Learning for Predictive Maintenance

AI machine learning brings a new level of efficiency to predictive maintenance in manufacturing. This technology analyses data to predict equipment failures before they happen, allowing for timely interventions. By identifying patterns and trends in machine performance, AI helps schedule maintenance activities precisely when needed, avoiding unnecessary downtime.

Predictive maintenance supported by AI reduces breakdowns and extends the lifespan of equipment. This lowers repair costs and increases overall operational reliability. AI-driven solutions also ensure that maintenance tasks are data-driven, improving the accuracy and effectiveness of interventions. This leads to better resource allocation and more efficient use of manpower.

Implementing AI for predictive maintenance does not require in-house data scientists or condition monitoring engineers. The process is managed seamlessly, ensuring a hassle-free experience for manufacturers. By leveraging AI technologies, manufacturing plants can achieve a significant return on investment, benefiting from reduced maintenance costs and enhanced productivity.

AI machine learning also supports continuous improvement. As the system learns from ongoing data, it continuously refines its predictions, making maintenance processes even more efficient over time. This dynamic capability transforms how maintenance is managed, ensuring that plants operate with maximum efficiency and minimum disruption.

Conclusion

Asset maintenance software is a valuable tool for enhancing manufacturing efficiency. By solving common challenges and offering key features like detailed asset classifications, customisable dashboards, and comprehensive reporting, this software strengthens operational workflows. The benefits of IoT remote monitoring and online mobility further streamline maintenance activities, providing real-time insights and mobile access to crucial tasks.

AI machine learning takes predictive maintenance to the next level, ensuring that equipment operates at peak efficiency. This proactive approach minimises downtime and reduces repair costs, leading to smoother and more reliable production processes. Together, these technologies offer a comprehensive solution to maintenance management, empowering manufacturers to meet performance objectives and stay competitive.

For manufacturers looking to optimise their asset management, integrating advanced maintenance software is a strategic move. It aligns maintenance activities with overall business goals, ensuring that operations run smoothly and efficiently. To explore how MCGlobal Solutions can help you implement these cutting-edge asset maintenance software solutions, contact us today and take the first step towards transforming your maintenance management.

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How to calculate the life cycle cost of equipment & the benefits of requesting new equipment to avoid costly unscheduled downtime

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Life cycle cost (LCC) is an extremely useful analytical tool to help minimise waste and optimise energy efficiency, especially when incorporated into a fully customised computerised maintenance management system (CMMS).

Background: life cycle cost calculation

The US military devised the concept of life cycle cost. It was so logical and accountable, that it was adopted by other government departments and eventually adopted by big business. The U.S. Department of Energy’s definition of LCC,

“the sum of all direct, indirect, recurring, nonrecurring, and other related costs incurred in the planning, design, development, procurement, production, operations and maintenance, support, recapitalisation and final disposition of real property over its anticipated life span for every aspect of the program, regardless of funding source.”

Why you need to calculate the life cycle cost of equipment

As modern businesses have substantial operational plants and large pieces of equipment, it’s imperative to manage all your assets correctly in terms of productivity and safety.

Life cycle management is an important part of the tendering process. It helps determine how to get the best value from a new piece of equipment.

For example, your experience tells you a new widget would make the factory more productive. However, senior management won’t sign off on the request.

You instinctively know retaining and maintaining the old equipment is not worth the expense, but you need concise information and facts to present to them. A detailed life cycle cost analysis will be able to show management the benefits of the upgrade. This will enable management to make decisions with confidence, with all the figures visible.

Benefits of a life cycle cost analysis

When pitching to management, you will be able to provide detailed pros and cons of upgrading compared with the costs of retaining, based on the life cycle cost analysis of:

  • Age
  • Condition
  • Frequency of breakdowns, and
  • Cost of breakdowns

If the production line is breaking down, you’ll be able to explain to management why.

You can confidently outline recommended solutions, present projected costs and show long-term return on investment – management will see the value in your recommendations.

A life cycle cost analysis will help you make sound buying decisions, and avoid making mistakes twice.

3 life cycle cost considerations

When calculating equipment life cycle costs, three areas need to be analysed:

  1. Past scheduled work
  2. Reactive maintenance costs
  3. Forward projections

Each data set gives you important insights and takes the guesswork out of decision-making.

1. Past scheduled work

This determines the criticality of an asset. Even if it is an inexpensive part that no one notices, if it stops everything else, it is critical.

The criticality of past scheduled work covers:
  • Cost of parts
  • Labour
  • Consumables, and
  • Downtime

2. Reactive maintenance life cycle costs

When you react to a breakdown, in addition to the cost of lost productivity (particularly if it is a critical piece of equipment), you also have to account for the hard costs of parts, labour, and consumables.

It’s important to keep an up-to-date log of work orders/ work requests because if there is no system, there is no knowledge.

Downtime is even more important in terms of reactive maintenance; because it is unplanned, it has an even more significant impact.

You cannot project ‘Murphy’s Law’ forward, but a failure analysis, such as reporting on two similar but different pieces of equipment can provide invaluable insights.

For example, a manufacturer will say a piece of equipment has a two-year MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) rate, but what is the ACTUAL rate in your particular environment looking backwards, as a result of your specific conditions (eg dusty, hot, humid, etc)?

Knowing this can make a tremendous difference in decision-making, and take out much of the guesswork.

3. Projecting life cycle costs forward

It is difficult to project forward manually, as it is very labour-intensive, which is no doubt why maintenance managers keep putting it off.

A proven CMMS such as the one offered by MCGlobal Solutions lets you define maintenance schedules in the system and project annual maintenance years in advance.

In terms of reporting, it will give you a clear, concise summary and help you put forward a compelling business case – complete with any up-spec or superior performance figures the proposed new equipment will bring.

For more information and advice about calculating the life cycle costs of equipment, please contact our highly experienced team at MCGlobal Solutions, simply click here to contact us.

 

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Investing in a Computerised Maintenance Management Systems Health Check Regularly is Important for Operational Efficiency.

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Many MCGlobal Solutions customers have taken the opportunity to use our Consultants to have a look under the bonnet of their CMMS to find out how well they are running.

Whether it’s a matter of finding the time, committing resources or the cost involved, many people treat getting an expert in to look at their Asset Maintenance Management the same as booking their car in for a service.

MCGlobal Solutions Consultants have been carrying out CMMS Health Checks for many of our long-term customers over the last few months. It has brought to light both minor and major changes that can be made to bring their systems back to best practice and enhance business operations.

Three factors were consistently identified as influencing system usability.

 

1. Staff changes

When trained staff leave the company, or their role changes, a knowledge gap is often created. New staff are not trained in, or made aware of the importance of system operation and as a result, will try to teach themselves or avoid using the software completely.

While Maintenance Connection (MC) is one of the most user-friendly Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) packages to learn, with printed and online tutorials available, there is always the fear of the unknown which will hold people back.

2. Unclear workflow process.

As businesses grow and people’s roles change, there should be regular reviews of how the current workflow process is operating and whether it can be improved.

New staff roles, advances in the MC software and the addition of new hardware may result in a more efficient method of operation.

There is also the need to ensure that ALL technicians and administration staff are entering ALL the required data to maintain the data integrity of the CMMS.

3. Poor identification of assets, classifications, PMs and procedures.

During the initial implementation process, an identification and naming convention is created by the Consultant to ensure consistency, reliability and predictability. When new data is added to the various modules, adhering to these protocols will maintain consistency in reporting and identification.

As with all staff capabilities and proficiencies, the administration needs to ensure the understanding of the operation and modules within the CMMS is kept up-to-date. This can be either through regular, annual refresher courses by the MCGlobal Consultants or targeted training when new key staff are employed.

Benefits of a CMMS Health Check

The benefits of a CMMS Health Check are to ensure best practices are being followed, all staff are correctly trained and your business operations are running at peak efficiency.

Ready for a professional assessment of your CMMS operating health?

Contact MCGlobal Solutions for more information about what this process might involve for your company.

Remove the pain points of Maintenance Work Requests

Remove the Pain Points of Maintenance Work Requests

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One of the best and worst things about being a Maintenance Manager is being so ‘popular’. Everyone wants a piece of you and, as you know, everything is urgent- at least to their way of thinking. When was the last time someone called you and said “No hurry on that work order request, take as long as you like.”

Of course, what might seem ‘red hot urgent’ to the person with the problem, may not be quite as urgent in the scheme of things as they might think.

Everyone has their own agenda and being the person in charge of maintenance issues, you play a key role in managing expectations.

Pain points associated with Work Order requests:

  1. Time lost in searching for unrelated information, and sifting through mountains of paperwork
  2. A loss of momentum, as one job comes straight over the top of another, and
  3. The feeling of being totally overwhelmed by the volume of work requests.

With this in mind, MCGlobal Solutions can provide proven ways to take the chaos out of maintenance work order requests.

Managing Maintenance Work Requests in 3 Steps:

Operations Management and Asset Maintenance

1) Conduct an Asset Criticality Assessment

Of the 200 or so work order requests that could be on your radar, not all of them will be critical.

The first thing to do is conduct a Criticality Assessment of the assets, prioritising all work requests.

Only those items requiring Statutory Compliance and/or impacting health and safety– such as checking for Legionella in a commercial HVAC system – are truly critical.

If it impacts a client experience, for example, a tap dripping at night in a hotel guest’s room or air conditioning not working in a shopping centre, its criticality is slightly lower.

The main advantage of a criticality assessment:

  1. It uses an established filter
  2. With predetermined criteria

It saves you from having to agonise over what risk level a task falls under by having criteria set. And it prevents you from going through the same process a few weeks later with a similar project.

If it ticks the box as critical, based on the predetermined criteria, then it automatically gets priority.

This will reduce the daily influx of work orders that must be dealt with immediately down to a more manageable figure.

2) Determine available resources

Once you have ascertained the criticality of work orders in descending order from “must do” to “wish list”, it is then a case of working out if you have the right resources on hand to confidently and competently do the work.

As you know, these resources are often interdependent.

For example, having the LABOUR to complete the task, in terms of supervisory staff and trades staff.

If the workforce is available, do you have the parts to complete the work?

If certain PART are not on hand, what is the timing for supply so the work order can be re-scheduled?

Also, you must consider the TOOLS and EQUIPMENT required for the task. You might have access to labour and parts, but if your team is on a mining site a piece of equipment might be 100kms away.

3) Consider physical access

This is where you need to look at the big picture, such as:

  • Is it safe?
  • Is it in use?
  • Is there other work going on that would prevent getting access? (Eg you need to paint, but earthworks are making the site too dusty)
  • Do other jobs require the same resources?
  • Can we schedule around regular maintenance?

This process can be stressful unless you have the right Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS) in place, one that will consider each and every facet of the job and give you a red or green light.

Our tailored CMMS will make short work of your work orders.

MCGlobal Solutions can configure the CMMS guaranteed to meet your specific industry challenges.

The system will be set up to effectively track, analyse and manage every component of your maintenance management operation, and;

  • give you an instant update on your real-time inventory,
  • increase efficiencies across the entire asset lifecycle
  • assist with better work scheduling,
  • improve the safety and reliability of your assets,
  • and much more.

Want professional advice about how to streamline work order requests?

Contact MCGlobal Solutions for more work order best practice information and professional advice tailored to your industry – Book a Demonstration

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3 Key Steps to Parts and Inventory Management Across Multiple Locations

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Parts and inventory management in one location is a hard enough task. Managing parts and inventory in multiple locations is infinitely more difficult.

If you’re like most companies, it’s a great feeling to add new locations; it’s a sure sign of successful growth.

However, with exuberant feelings also comes the downside – the growing pains associated with setting up new facilities complete with larger amounts of inventory management.

To ensure your company’s successful growth, MCGlobal Solution outlines three key steps to take to make sure all your locations – particularly the new ones – are efficiently managing their parts and equipment operations and will continue to do so for many years to come.

Step 1: Location and Layout of Warehouse and Inventory

As in real estate, it’s all about location.

Many businesses spend vast amounts of money to make sure the location of their storefronts are in highly visible areas to attract customers, but neglect to think about where their warehouses are located.

Warehouse location

Warehouses should be situated in highly accessible locations near main thoroughfares and major highways.

This connectivity not only reduces travel time and fuel but also saves on delivery charges made to and from warehouses.

Eg, opting for a location that is already on a main shipping route is a clever move because it will reduce cost and time in package delivery to your customers or affiliated companies.

As well as making sure your warehouse is located in the best possible location, the layout of inventory parts within your stockroom is of paramount importance when planning.

Stockroom layout

Think about the location, overall design and general theme of where parts are situated within your stockroom.

It pays to be consistent.

Even if your company houses stockrooms in multiple locations, parts and components should have basically the same layout and be in the same location as your other stockrooms- if possible and practical.

This will streamline part locating and make it easier for new employees to be trained.

For example, if Stockroom A at the Toowoomba warehouse looks exactly the same as Stockroom B at the Rocklea location, then training new staff or sending existing employees to other stockrooms will make things easier for them; they’ll be totally familiar with the layout and operations. MCGlobal Solutions Consultants can advise on how to standardise your warehouse operations.

Step 2: Streamline Multiple Inventory Locations

One of the best things you can do when expanding to multiple locations is to set processes in place for inventory activity.

Replenishing inventory stock

The first guideline you should establish is how to replenish inventory.

When a particular item becomes low in stock, your process may NOT be to rush out and purchase new items, but instead to look within your maintenance software to check whether your other stockrooms in close proximity have an overstock of this item. If they do, it makes sense to pull inventory from this stockroom first before purchasing new parts.

Benefits of maintenance software showing inventory across stockrooms

  • This not only saves on purchase costs and shipping but also allows for a Last in First Out replenishment of parts.
  • Having parts sitting on shelves that may be two, there or even five years old could be counter-productive according to inventory best practice.
  • Establishing maximum and minimum stock levels, reorder points and criticality on inventory is another great way to manage multiple locations.

To avoid manually keeping an eye on these levels, it’s a good idea to establish parameters and notifications within the CMMS software letting you know when parts run low, especially critical parts. You can identify parts technicians use on a frequent basis, plus parts they rarely use, so they can easily match parts with the equipment on which they are used.

Mobile scanners and barcodes for inventory stock

Another important key to streamlining your inventory is to make full use of mobile scanners and barcode parts.

The real-time usage of parts and inventory can save your business a lot of time and money. It keeps the company informed about lost inventory and notifies you about shortages of frequently used inventory.

Barcoding and scanning also helps to track parts and ensure correct part ID usage for billing.

Finally, having a great Return Material Authorisation (RMA) process in place will enable your organisation to manage and track returns efficiently.

You’ll also save money on items not used.

Step 3. Streamline Your Operations & Inventory with Maintenance Connection CMMS Integration

MCGlobal Solutions team believes that automation is crucial for any company that wants to streamline operations and inventory at multiple locations.

This automation is given when integrating Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software into a company’s processes.

Organisations are using Computerised Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) more and more on a daily basis to manage maintenance needs and to streamline their facilities and inventory needs.

Furthermore, they are turning to CMMS to help manage their operations, with many locations running together and communicating superbly, as it can be integrated with other internal systems.

Learn more about the benefits of inventory and equipment management and CMMS integration

Let MCGlobal Solutions demonstrate what we can do for you with a CMMS system – Book a Demonstration

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Why is it Beneficial to Implement an Enterprise Asset Management Plan for your Maintenance Teams + What to Consider When Formulating the Framework

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An Enterprise Asset Management Plan should be implemented regardless of how “aged” your assets are.  The Enterprise Asset Management Plan sets out what your desired level of service will be and provides this service level in the most cost-effective way.

The 5 major benefits of an Asset Management Plan

  1. Prolonging the asset life through efficient and focused operation and maintenance
  2. Meeting customer demands and expectations
  3. Budgeting and efficient use of resources
  4. Meeting service expectations
  5. Complying with regulatory requirements

What to consider in your Asset Management Plan

1. What is your current situation?

An extremely important first step to building the framework for your Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Plan is understanding our assets.

  • What assets do we own? (Do you have an asset register?)
  • Where are the assets located?
  • What condition is each asset in?
  • What is its useful life?
  • What is the value of each asset?

2. What is the required level of service?

  • What level of service do the stakeholders demand? (Is it ok for the asset to be “down” for a period of time or is the item a “critical” asset)
  • Are there regulatory requirements?
  • What is the current actual level of performance? (Not what we think the performance level is, what it actually is)
  • What is the asset capable of? (Is it running at optimal speed/performance or has it been slowed down to save it?)

3. What are my critical assets?

  • How can the asset fail?
  • How do the assets fail?
  • What are the likelihood and the consequences of the asset failing?
  • What does it cost to repair the asset?

4. What are my life cycle costs?

  • What strategies are suitable for my organisation? (Predictive, Preventative, Run-To-Fail)
  • What would the costs be to maintain, repair, refurbish or replace the asset over the expected life of the asset?

An Enterprise Asset Management Plan is not a static document. Once you have formulated your framework, the components must be reviewed as situations change over time, or new best practices are established.

Interested in unlocking the full potential of your EAM?

Let us demonstrate what we can do for you, as it is never too late to formulate a quality Enterprise Asset Management Plan. Book a Demonstration.

Enterprise Asset Management Series

Next in our Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) series, we discuss some common issues in the industry and some best practices to get your EAM/CMMS running up to speed – The System Health Check

 

 

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Effective Decision-Making Process for Asset Management to Determine which Maintenance Plan to Adopt

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In our previous blog, we covered the topic of ageing assets and their impact on facility management. Having determined an asset doesn’t necessarily need to be old to be “ageing”, all organisations need to look at a process to manage their assets regardless of the physical age of the equipment or facility.

Deciding how to maintain fixed assets or facilities

Regardless of the age or complexity of the facility, or the equipment, we need to make decisions as to how we are going to maintain (or not maintain) our assets.

The decisions made need to be what is best for our organisation and our processes. There is no “right or wrong” decision, however, there does need to be some sound reasoning behind the decisions we make. “Just because…” or “that’s the way they do it” is not sound reasoning.

As all assets age and deteriorate, wear or become obsolete, our decision-making process needs to look at a number of issues.

Determining an asset maintenance plan

A key issue we need to consider when determining the maintenance plan and how we are going to manage an asset, is what is the consequence of failure. Here are two examples:

1. High-risk asset management

If the asset we are considering is the drain valve at the base of a 100,000-litre tank containing sulphuric acid, the consequence of failure is extremely high. Not only would the business risk the financial loss of the value of 100,000 litres of acid, but it would also pose a high risk to the safety of staff, and neighbouring businesses as well as the potential environmental impact.

In the case of a high-risk asset, decision-making with regard to managing the asset will need to look at planning:

  1. rigorous testing
  2. inspections and
  3. monitoring so repair or replacement prior to any sign of wear and long before failure.

2. The low-risk asset management, and Run to Failure (RTF) method

On the other hand, if we are looking at the lighting in the admin office, what maintenance and asset management regime should be employed?

Again, our decision needs to consider what is the consequence of failure.

Should one of the fluorescent tubes fail, what would happen? As there are many light fittings in the office, the loss of one tube would have little to no effect on the operation of the business, there would be little safety impact and production would not be affected in any way.

When the fluorescent tube does fail, it is an easy job for the electrician to replace the tube and if there are no spare tubes on hand in the spare parts stockroom or service van, they are easily and quickly sourced from their supplier. Therefore, when we are making decisions regarding how we handle the ageing light fittings, we may decide that “Run to Failure” (RTF) is the appropriate method of managing the asset.

RTF means the assets maintenance strategy is that the assets are used until they break down, and require repair or replacement.

As shown by the example of the drain valve and the light fitting, there is no one solution that will suit all assets. RTF may in fact be the chosen management method but the decision process used to make this choice must be sound.

Adopt a rigorous & robust decision-making process

Regardless of what the asset is, there needs to be a rigorous and robust decision-making process in place to effectively and efficiently manage all assets as they age.

Contact MCGlobal Solutions for a review

MCGlobal Solutions are highly experienced to demonstrate how you can improve your asset and maintenance management decision-making process. Contact us to arrange a free consultation with our team to discuss a review your asset management and maintenance plan best practices.

Enterprise Asset Management Series

Next in our series, we discuss Why is it Beneficial to Implement an Enterprise Asset Management Plan for your Maintenance Teams + What to Consider When Formulating the Framework.

 

 

CMMS Asset Management Ageing Assets Blog

What are Ageing Assets + What is the Impact on Facility Management as Asset Deterioration and Obsolescence Occurs

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If a colleague makes the comment to you, “we’re working in an ageing facility full of ageing assets”, what do you immediately think?

If you’re like most of us, you’ll probably picture a facility built in the 1920s with run-down equipment and buildings almost collapsing under their own weight.

In some cases, you’d be right, however, the issue of ‘ageing assets’ also applies to those managing brand-new,  state-of-the-art facilities. “How can that be?” I hear you ask…

Defining the term ‘ageing asset’

The term ‘ageing assets’ can be misleading. The term does not necessarily mean the equipment or the facility is old in years.

Ageing is taking into account how old an asset is, its condition, and how the condition is changing over time.

Ageing is the effect whereby a component suffers some form of deterioration and/or damage (usually, but not necessarily, associated with time in service) with an increased likelihood of failure.

The impact of asset deterioration and obsolescence

Just because an item of equipment is old does not necessarily mean it’s significantly deteriorated and damaged. There are many examples of old equipment and facilities still remaining fit for purpose, yet newer equipment showing accelerated deterioration or obsolescence.

The significance of the deterioration and/or damage relates to the potential effect on the equipment’s functionality, availability, reliability and safety.

Every facility or piece of equipment can begin ageing even before it’s commissioned. Newly commissioned facilities may have control systems and software that become obsolete, superseded, or require updates even before the plant is commissioned. Equipment poorly transported or stored prior to installation may have deteriorated or lost performance even before its first use.

Generally, the more hi-tech the equipment or facility is, the quicker obsolescence becomes an issue requiring management.

For example, how many times have you bought an electronic device such as a PC, laptop or television, only to find that before you have unboxed it, there is a better, faster, shinier model already released? …your brand-new device is no longer the current model.

All assets are required to be managed correctly to remain fit-for-purpose and to manage their obsolescence.

Book a free MCGlobal Solutions consultation

Contact us to arrange a consultation with our highly-experienced team to discuss a review your asset management and maintenance plan.

 

Enterprise Asset Management Series

Next in the series, we will discuss the decision-making process of maintaining assets and facilities.

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Best Practices to Establishing System Naming Conventions

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“A little forethought at the start can save a lot of time in the future.”

It is advised as a best practice to build a strong naming convention and protocols during the initial setup of the Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS). This will make it easier for workers to get used to using the Maintenance Connection modules. By employing a consistent and logical format, the explorer lists will naturally group listings to simplify the look-up and search process.

There are five modules where this is particularly relevant

  1. Assets
  2. Inventory
  3. Classifications
  4. Procedures
  5. Preventative Maintenance

1. Assets

As assets are often added, modified or moved within the asset tree, the ID and name need to contain sufficient information to make them identifiable without requiring them to be altered if modified or moved. The ID can often incorporate the classification or unique numbering associated with that asset. The name should start with a general description followed by increasing levels of refinement.

Asset ID and name example

Asset ID: GENDSL200-026

Asset Name:  Generator, Diesel Standby 200KVA Siemens

Always make allowances in the ID for future additions and larger sizes. In the given example, -026 was used in preference to -26 as there is the possibility that there may be more than 99 Generators in the future.

2. Inventory

Inventory/stock items can number into the thousands for many companies.

The ID and naming of these need to be standardised to allow

  • efficient searching for a part,
  • removal of duplication from non-standard descriptions,
  • sufficient descriptors to avoid ambiguity, and
  • new items to be added that match the existing naming convention.

Often the inventory ID is not related to the description of the item, but rather a simple indexed number matching a barcode. A defined number of numerals/letters is valuable in keeping inventory in order.

Inventory ID example

Inventory ID: FIX1003456

Inventory Name:  Bolt, M16 x 100 SST

Inventory ID: MTR040403F

Inventory Name:  Motor, 4KW 4Pole 3PH 415V Foot Mount

The name, however, should follow a noun-adjective protocol. It can also include manufacturer or model details in situations where this is relevant to the correct selection.

3. Classifications

In several major industries, some standards can help in creating a set of classifications. Reporting and analysis can be enhanced by having major classification groups, these can then be broken down further into more specific descriptions.

In the International Standard for the Petroleum, Petrochemical and Gas industry ISO 14224, they used a four-letter abbreviation to group and sort classifications

Classification naming convention example

COAX = Compressor (CO) – Axial (AX)

VESE = Vessel (VE) – Separator (SE)

A similar convention can be used by incorporating the same or more letters or numbers for other industries which do not have existing standards.

4. Procedures

Avoid creating duplicate procedures and easily identify all applicable procedures when updates are required by using the classifications in the procedure and preventative maintenance ID.

As the procedure can either relate to a time or meter-based interval, or an unscheduled type of repair, the ID and name need to be flexible enough to allow for all variables.

Procedure naming convention example

VESE-M48-M-30  = Vessel, Separator 48-Monthly Mechanical Internal & External Inspection

VESE-X01-M-01 = Vessel, Separator Recoating of Corrosion Protection

5. Preventative Maintenance

The classification can be incorporated into the preventative maintenance ID and the name. A similar protocol can be used, with the main variation being the inclusion of the asset within preventative maintenance.

Preventative maintenance ID example

PM-VESE-M-COMPSTN-01 = Vessel, Separator Mechanical Service Compression Station 01

Contact us for a free demonstration

For more information and advice about Maintenance Connection CMMS, please contact our friendly and highly-experienced team at MCGlobal Solutions. We can arrange a free demonstration of our asset management software based on your specific issues.

 

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How Maintenance Managers Can Successfully Achieve Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

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There are two problems maintenance managers can face;

  1. Not enough information to keep the business powering along at optimum performance. Without adequate reporting, you are basically flying blind.
  2. The second issue also has its own set of dilemmas – too much information.

There is an almost infinite number of maintenance reports you could get, however, unless the key performance indicators (KPIs) are relevant and meaningful, all they will do is bog you down, send you off on tangents and make your job even harder, and your working week longer than it already is.

Why are KPIs in maintenance management important to help streamline your operation?

Key performance indicators are used to measure the effectiveness of the maintenance management solution, that directly impacts asset/equipment performance and total maintenance costs.

Setting KPI targets and monitoring the performance will;

  • increases asset life
  • improves labour productivity
  • reduces costly downtime
  • minimises inventory investments, and
  • lowers the total cost of maintenance.

As you can see from this depiction of a KPI dashboard, a simple green, yellow and red system lets you see at a glance which areas are critical and need your urgent attention, and which are currently under control.

It’s important to know this. For example, some Service Level Agreements (SLAs) can incur penalties, so you need a clear picture of what’s going on.

With the right KPIs at your disposal, maintenance managers are able to see through the haze – and the maze – and make confident decisions, rather than educated guesses.

Examples of maintenance management KPIs

As you would expect, the KPIs you need could be totally different to those required by maintenance managers or facilities managers in other industries.

They could span across such aspects as;

  • the number of critical outstanding jobs
  • how many scheduled jobs are overdue
  • labour utilisation and availability
  • costs/budget analysis
  • response times, and more.

It’s simply a matter of working out what you and your team need. For example, your storeman may need KPIs about stock and lead times, while a manager will concentrate on the broad ‘big picture’ KPIs.

Setting KPI alerts

The first thing to do is to work out what your alert levels actually are. Some issues may be critical, while others may simply be something you have to keep your eye on for now. Once you decide what will trigger an alert, such as if a target is not being met, it’s a matter of working out what actions need to happen when an alert triggers.

These actions may take the form of Notifications or Job Escalations and from them, automatically-generated reports can be sent to specific people.

If you have a powerful computerised maintenance management system (CMMS) you can access all relevant data fast and have everything you need at your fingertips, including:

  • summary data
  • charts and graphs
  • highly configurable reports,
  • and much more.

KPI dashboards ensure real-time information is instantly available, allowing the data being collected to work for you. With quick access to key metrics, you’ll have all the data you need to make correct decisions at your fingertips.

Trend KPIs to reduce reactive maintenance

To avoid tasks unexpectedly becoming critical, MCGlobal Solutions recommends trending KPIs. By trending KPIs, you’ll know if your maintenance projects are improving or diverging from your target metric.

Client trend KPI example

One of our clients found this process particularly useful. They set up a trend to monitor the number of preventive maintenance jobs per month. Not wanting to swamp their team at the start, our client gradually started enabling them – and made an interesting discovery. As the preventative maintenance went up, the reactive maintenance went down. Not only that, but our client also achieved:

  • quantifiable cost savings
  • improved output, and
  • higher safety standards.

By utilising KPI trending, you may even see the point of diminishing returns, where stepping up preventative maintenance no longer has such a big impact on reactive maintenance.

Enterprise Asset Management Reporting

A cutting-edge Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) program gives you the tools to automatically generate reports, customised lists and schedules through predefined parameters. It will also display a list of report groups with their corresponding reports. Without switching applications, you can access, copy, set up and view all reports.

MCGlobal Solutions’ powerful, fully-integrated EAM/CMMS does all this and more. It also includes features designed to give you an added level of depth to analytics, such as:

  • pre-populated standard reports, sorted in folders by category
  • a simple report setup tool that makes creating new reports or modifying existing ones fast and painless
  • automated scheduling of reports and KPIs that can be emailed regularly to others (either from your address book or from the labour, requester or contact modules)
  • SMART reports allow data to be modified and viewed from within the report itself, making batch edits or quick status updates a breeze.

The top 8 maintenance management reports

The following is a list of the most run – and recently run – reports.

  1. Risk Work Orders – Overdue
  2. Delayed Work Orders
  3. Audit Reports
  4. Work Order Assignments by Labour
  5. Work Orders Issued but not Completed
  6. Asset List by Location
  7. Asset List by Classification
  8. Labour Cost Report

For more information and advice about how to get the KPIs you really need, please contact our friendly and highly-experienced team at MCGlobal Solutions, simply click here to contact us. We can arrange a free live demonstration of our asset management software based on your specific issues.