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 and it is also referring to the 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 Newly commissioned facilities may have control systems and software that become obsolete, superseded, or require updates even before the plant is commissioned.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.
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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
Assets
Inventory
Classifications
Procedures
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.
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.
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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There are two problems maintenance managers can face;
Not enough information to keep the business powering along at optimum performance. Without adequate reporting, you are basically flying blind.
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.
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.
Risk Work Orders – Overdue
Delayed Work Orders
Audit Reports
Work Order Assignments by Labour
Work Orders Issued but not Completed
Asset List by Location
Asset List by Classification
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.
Can your powerful CMMS/EAM system do more for you?
CMMS systems are a bit like our brains. We know it’s incredible. We know it can do amazing stuff, and yet we only use 10% of it. What if you could unlock that extra 90% of your CMMS/EAM system?
Imagine the difference to your workplace if you could unlock the other 90% not being utilised… or perhaps not utilised very well… and ensure you are implementing best practices every step of the way.
No more putting out those daily fires. No more Post-It note ‘must do’ (when you have the time) and no more frustrated inter-department emails because something slipped through the cracks and in some cases, created (predictable in hindsight) downstream issues.
Learn new ways to use your CMMS/EAM software
Your role as an operations manager is complex, and it is difficult to find the time to learn how to get the most out of your investment in a computerised maintenance management system. Or to figure out whether you could be using it better to implement best practice strategies and take more of the load off your shoulders.
See if these questions start you nodding…
Do you and your department get blamed for constant breakdowns?
Have inefficiencies started to creep into your CMMS/EAM system?
Have your preventative maintenance schedules become too complex?
Is your asset data incomplete?
Are you missing opportunities because the system just isn’t coping?
Are there complaints, tantrums, walkouts, picket lines, news reporters, and lawyers??? Ok, ok. So things haven’t become THAT drastic!
The good news is you are not alone. It’s more common than you might think for operation and maintenance managers at a large facility to have a powerful CMMS at their fingertips — but not have the time to make the most of its functionality.
It could be time for a CMMS health check
Without your CMMS/EAM system running at optimum efficiency, things start to fall apart. So, it might just be time for a full review of your CMMS/EAM system.
A CMMS health check scan will identify:
What percentage you’re effectively implementing and
What is yet to be ‘switched on’ or integrated.
Regardless of whether you are using a CMMS, or a manual system, there’s nothing like a fresh pair of expert eyes to help you see where and how you could be saving time, and getting more done in an easier manner. For example:
It could be appropriate naming protocols haven’t been used or adhered to.
Or classifications are too general — or haven’t been assigned correctly.
Maybe incremental errors have occurred as a result of scheduled PMs not being set correctly.
Or if labour records are not being kept up to date, there might be discrepancies in staff and contractor’s licenses, qualifications and competencies.
All small things, but all with potentially serious ramifications.
A health check of your system enables a CMMS/EAM consultant to take a good look into:
How your daily workflow operates,
Review your current methods and procedures, and
Identify opportunities for future improvements.
Valuable insights can be gained from an ‘outside’ professional analysing your system.
A health check analysis can quickly identify:
Deficiencies,
Improve efficiencies,
Help to optimise your CMMS/ EAM and
Make your job a lot easier, by simply discovering what’s working, what’s not and what to do about it!
A fresh set of expert eyes from a professional consultant can pinpoint errors, detect problems waiting to happen and help prevent future issues.
What should be included in a maintenance management system health check?
It must examine your current processes and study your present management systems within the CMMS/EAM.
It should be non-obtrusive. You can’t afford downtime, so consider conducting a health check in your quiet(er) period.
While some preliminary work can be carried out offsite, it’s best to conduct the assessment with the system administrator, supervisors and maintenance staff in attendance to ensure input is received from all involved.
A thorough system health check should generally take 2-3 days for medium-sized customers with CMMS/EAM systems. This can vary depending on the size and complexity of your system.
A comprehensive, in-depth report should be included. It would provide a full appraisal of your current situation, as well as recommendations for improvement, plus details of benefits you’ll enjoy as a result of implementation if required.
IMPORTANT: The health check should be conducted by a consultant from a technical background… not a salesperson!
Your CMMS/EAM health check report
The report is back from the ‘doctor’ on the health of your CMMS/EAS. It might require a little minor surgery, or it may just be given the all-clear. If there are a large number of potential safety and efficiency gains identified, it could be time to look at the business case for an upgrade to a more capable system.
Whatever the outcome, at least you will know where the opportunities are, and what you can do to capitalise on them.
We’d love to help you make the most of your EAM/CMMS
Like you, we care about managing preventive maintenance. Let us run a full System Health Check on your CMMS/EAM system.
With the report in hand, you can implement any or all recommendations yourself, or engage MC Global to do it all for you if you prefer.
Your health check will streamline your system and make it more efficient than ever. You’ll have peace of mind, and you’ll know that you are making the most of your investment in your EAM/CMMS.
For more information about Enterprise Asset Management systems, or advice on specific problems and challenges you are facing, please call MC Global on (07) 3303 0177or click here to contact us.
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As businesses grow the scheduled maintenance process becomes more complex, and it is exponentially harder to:
achieve maximum productivity;
contain operational and maintenance costs;
have clear, concise reporting of maintenance activities.
Our guide to maintenance scheduling will demonstrate how Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) software streamlines workflows and keeps facility managers in complete control.
With an ever-growing list of scheduled maintenance tasks to perform, and a growing number of reactive maintenance jobs coming in, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep all the balls in the air, and plates confidently spinning.
Even experienced facility managers sometimes struggle to prioritise problems that invariably arise, such as maintenance schedules, labour resources and use of equipment. Ask yourself:
Have I got the inventory to complete the job?
Will issues have a flow-on effect through the organisation?
Does this satisfy statutory compliance?
With this in mind, here are the three basic steps to scheduling a job to make your working life so much easier. Plus, it will help you get the best return on investment (ROI) from your assets.
Step 1: Step back and look at the big picture
Criticality assessment
Before you schedule a maintenance job, enterprise asset management best practice strongly recommends you conduct a thorough criticality assessment. If you do not perform a criticality assessment to identify your most critical assets, you will base your decisions on perception rather than risk. This may result in wasted time and money.
For example, if a production line stops, due to something relatively small that could have been avoided, then the downstream impacts of production, deadlines and deliverables can become significant.
The key is to look further than the actual equipment itself, and determine what is depending on this equipment.
Establish priorities
All businesses have their own terminology/criteria to rank priorities; some use a colour system (such as red, amber and green), and others a 0-10 numerical system (with a ranking of “10” deemed to be highly critical).
Basically, it comes down to this:
Is it critical
Urgent
Normal
Low
In a perfect world, everything would be low-to-normal, but unless you’re super-efficient (or very lucky) this is rarely the case.
Once you have conducted your criticality assessment, and determined priorities, it is then a matter of working out how to track all of these issues so you can handle work requests with confidence.
Rather than struggle with spreadsheets (or sticky notes), a proven asset management system will keep you up to speed with every stage of every job.
MCGlobal Solution’s CEO, Steve Martin says:
“If this type of activity isn’t systemised, then the risk to the business is very high. Information in people’s heads can so easily be lost.”
When setting priorities to make sure non-urgent, yet time-sensitive maintenance work is not pushed to the back. For example, if the air conditioning is due to be serviced within a fixed period, failure to do so will infringe on Code compliance. Therefore, this will need to be slotted into the priorities list in a timely manner.
Having automatic alerts in your asset management system is a valued resource. It means any important, time-sensitive maintenance tasks won’t be overlooked.
Step 2: Assign your procedures
After looking at the maintenance work to be done and determining its criticality, your next step is to assign your procedures list.
In this step, you assign who does what – with unambiguous information about how it needs to proceed, when it needs to be done and who to pass the ball to once each process is carried out.
When assigning procedures attach documents
Standing Operating Procedures (SOP)
Safety instructions
Photos (if necessary/available)
and anything else that may relate to the job.
This documentation is particularly important because it ensures everyone is on the same page and all procedures are covered off. For example, if there are safety factors to consider such as if and when the power needs to be turned off (and back on again) during a maintenance job.
A procedures list provides valuable intel, such as
determining if there are any site induction requirements;
ensuring the correct parts are being ordered;
deciding if risk assessments need to be undertaken;
and so forth.
Ideally, to avoid double handling, this would all be carried out on a ‘click and done’ basis, with EAM software that seamlessly integrates with your operations. With the right facility asset management system in place, you’ll know instantly when things should happen.
Avoid potential problems
Stakeholders must be totally clear on “what’s next”.
The right people must have access to information as they need it.
Approvals/checkpoints must take place before the next step is taken.
Step 3: Implementation
Provided you’ve followed the first two steps involved in scheduling a maintenance job, this final step should be simple to implement, especially if you have an Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) system to coordinate everything.
It involves checking job calendars to see what other work is happening concurrently; depending on the workload, this may dictate the assignment date and/or the labour chosen to complete the task.
With an EAM system in place, it will immediately show you which people with the right skills are available. Furthermore, it will then automatically send out notifications to:
The people doing the job
The job requester
Other stakeholders
Enterprise Asset Management System
Sectors from healthcare to hospitality, and from manufacturing to retail, that follow these three steps will be improving operating efficiencies.
A proven enterprise asset management system will show who is doing what work orders now, and what is scheduled in the coming months.
You’ll have a total asset register, a failsafe inventory system, access to accurate recordings, and enjoy measurable results from an EAM software system with the utmost functionality.
For more information about enterprise asset management systems, or advice on specific problems and challenges you are facing, please call MC Global on (07) 3303 0177or click here to contact us.
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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 (LCC). It was so logical and accountable, it was adopted by other government departments and eventually adopted by big business. The U.S. Department of Energy 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 clearly 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, there are three areas that need to be analysed.
Past scheduled work
Reactive maintenance costs
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.
Obviously, 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 Life Cycle Costs of equipment, please contact our friendly and highly-experienced team at MCGlobal Solutions, simply click here to contact us.
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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 job… take as long as you like.”)
Of course, what might seem ‘red hot urgent’ to the person with the problem getting all agitated on the phone, 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 are the meat in the sandwich.
There are three pain points associated with this.
A loss of time searching for unrelated information, and sifting through mountains of paperwork
A loss of momentum as one job comes straight over the top of another, and
A feeling of being totally overwhelmed.
With this in mind, MC Global Solutions would like to suggest proven ways to take the chaos out of maintenance work requests.
Managing maintenance work requests step 1: Determine priorities.
Of the 200 or so work requests that could be on your radar, not all of them will be critical.
In fact, only those items requiring Statutory Compliance and/or impacting on health and safety – such as checking for Legionella in a commercial HVAC system – are truly Code Red critical.
If it impacts on 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 further down the list.
So, the first thing to do is conduct a Criticality Assessment of the asset, prioritising all work requests.
The main advantage of a criticality assessment is that it uses an:
Established filter with
Predetermined criteria.
It puts paid to you having to agonise over what level a task falls under – and go through the same process a few weeks later with a similar project.
If it ticks the box as critical, 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.
Managing maintenance work requests step 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 – human and otherwise – to confidently and competently do the work.
As you’d know, these resources are often inter-dependent.
For example…
Do you have the labour to complete the task, in terms of supervisory staff and trades?
If the workforce is available, do you have the parts to do the work and if they are not on hand, what’s the timing for supply so this can be re-scheduled?
And what about tools and equipment? You might have access to labour and parts but if your team is on a mining site, a piece of equipment might well be 100k away… and you may not know that until everything else has been organised.
Managing maintenance work requests step 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 those resources?
Can we schedule around regular maintenance?
This process is fraught with stress…UNLESS you have the right Maintenance Management System 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.
MC Global Solutions can custom-design computerised maintenance management systems (CMMS) guaranteed to meet ALL of your specific industry challenges.
They will effectively track, analyse and manage every component of your maintenance management operation, every step of the way.
Amongst other things, they can:
Give you an instant update of 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.
For more expert information and professional advice about how to streamline work requests and make your job much easier, call +617 3303 0177 and speak to our friendly helpful team members, or simply click here to contact us.
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Our question this week comes from Bruce in Adelaide who is using Maintenance Connection as his CMMS to manage his Manufacturing & Plant Maintenance.
The Question
Using the Maintenance Connection CMMS, we need to find the work order history for 2 particular models of Fuel Pump:
1. Model A
2. Model T185PG.
How do we get a report to capture all the work orders including both the ones for Model A and the Model T185PG work orders?
The Default MC Report filters allow for a check of the Model field contents but has a couple of limitations:
1. Each additional criteria we add limits the result set. We want to expand the result set.
2. We want to check multiple conditions against the Model field.
The Solution
Use the “WHERE” clause in the “ADVANCED tab” of the report
[WHERE]
( Asset.Model = ‘A’ OR Asset.Model = ‘T185PG’ )
Report Output Showing the Work Orders for both models:
Thanks for the question Bruce and we hope this will help you more efficiently navigate your Work Orders!
If you’re interested in sending in a question or problem you might have, don’t hesitate to shoot us any mail to marketing@mcaus.com.au
We’re also excited to announce the launch of the new V7 Maintenance Connection CMMS which we’re currently giving you 30 Free Days to trial. Starting at $110/month you can find out more here:
https://www.mcgsol.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/MCGlobal-Solutions-logo-for-web-inset-globe-sized.png00adminhttps://www.mcgsol.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/MCGlobal-Solutions-logo-for-web-inset-globe-sized.pngadmin2019-07-28 19:20:252022-12-02 03:13:35Maintenance Connection Q&A: Using the ‘Where’ clause
In honour of international GIS Day, we’re talking GIS, it’s origin, how its evolved and most importantly how it integrates with asset management software.
A geographic information system or geographical information system (GIS) is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of spatial or geographical data.
In a general sense, the term describes any information system that integrates, stores, edits, analyzes, shares, and displays geographic information. GIS applications are tools that allow users to create interactive queries (user-created searches), analyze spatial information, edit data in maps, and present the results of all these operations. Geographic information science is the science underlying geographic concepts, applications, and systems
GIS is a broad term that can refer to a number of different technologies, processes, and methods. It is attached to many operations and has many applications related to engineering, planning, management, transport/logistics, insurance, telecommunications, and business. For that reason, GIS and location intelligence applications can be the foundation for many location-enabled services that rely on analysis and visualization.
GIS as relates to asset management software allows you to identify, locate, prioristise and manage your assets:
Make better, faster planning decisions with full spatial context in the asset management workflow.
Visually identify the location of various assets requiring maintenance.
Easily convey the information, its priority and location in order to make informed decisions for resourse scheduling and efficient service.
Example below:
Click here to find out more about MC Global’s GIS solutions and integrations for asset management software.
https://www.mcgsol.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/MCGlobal-Solutions-logo-for-web-inset-globe-sized.png00adminhttps://www.mcgsol.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/MCGlobal-Solutions-logo-for-web-inset-globe-sized.pngadmin2019-07-28 19:20:042022-12-02 03:22:07What’s a Geographic Information System (GIS)?
Managing parts and equipment in one location is a hard enough task. Managing parts and equipment in multiple locations is infinitely more difficult.
If you’re like most companies, it’s a great feeling adding new locations; it’s a sure sign of successful growth.
However, with that exuberant feeling also comes the down side – the growing pains associated with setting up new facilities complete with larger amounts of inventory management.
To ensure your company’s successful growth, MC Global outline 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.
Warehouses should be situated in highly accessible locations near main thoroughfares and major highways.
This connectivity not only reduces travel time and fuel, but it 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.
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, if possible and practical, parts and components should have basically the same layout and be in the same location as your other stockrooms.
This will streamline part locating and make it easier for new employees being 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. To find out more about how to standardize warehouse operations call MC Global on + 617 3303 0177.
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.
The first guideline you should establish is how to replenish inventory.
When a particular item becomes low in stock, your first plan of attack 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.
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 which may be two, there or even five years old could be counter-productive according to inventory best practice.
Establishing minimum, maximum and re-order points on inventory is another great way to managing 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.
Your managers can I.D. parts that technicians use on a frequent basis, plus parts they never use, so they can match parts with the equipment on which they are used.
With practice, they can establish maximum and minimum stock levels, reorder points and criticality.
Another important key to streamlining your inventory is to make full use of mobile scanners and barcode parts.
Real-time usage of parts & inventory can save your business a lot of time and money. It keeps the company informed about lost inventory and notifies you about shortages on frequently used inventory.
Barcoding and scanning also helps to track parts and ensures correct part ID usage for billing.
Finally, having a great Return Material Authorization (RMA) process in place will enable your organization 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
MC Global believe that automation is crucial for any company that wants to streamline operations and inventory at multiple locations.
This automation is a given when integrating an enterprise maintenance management software into a company’s processes.
Organizations are using 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 them function like well-oiled machines, with many locations running together and communicating superbly.
A CMMS can even be integrated with other internal systems to fully integrate them all.
In short, the benefits that stem from using a CMMS software are limitless.
To learn more about the benefits of inventory and equipment management and Maintenance Connection CMMS integration,call MC Global on +61 7 3303 0177and speak to a friendly ever-helpful team member, or simply contact us.
https://www.mcgsol.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/MCGlobal-Solutions-logo-for-web-inset-globe-sized.png00adminhttps://www.mcgsol.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/MCGlobal-Solutions-logo-for-web-inset-globe-sized.pngadmin2019-07-28 19:19:432022-12-02 03:14:093 Key Steps to Managing Parts and Inventory Across Multiple Locations
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