1. Asset Walkdowns

In our experience, most customers benefit from a walkdown of current assets. Yes, this can be an expensive and time-consuming task. This is why we recommend a phased approach. Start with your most critical assets in Phase One. And during this phase, reassess how you are currently capturing the information necessary to truly measure and adjust management of the asset. Do all the assets have an ‘Installation Date’? Are your Asset Classifications robust enough to assess performance across areas such as manufacturers, models, and more? Further yet, do you have a solid paradigm to consider which are the most critical assets?

The asset walkdown would take place after making sure the details for what needs to be captured during the walkdown are solid.

2. Maximo Workflows

In our APM system, we utilize automated workflows to ensure that the correct assets are procured, set-up, operated, maintained, and decommissioned using a structured process where the right people are obtaining and utilizing the right information at the right time.

3. Reports, KPIs, and Start Centers

We have established Reports and KPIs that can be configured to each specific client’s needs that are vital in tracking progress in the Asset Performance Management system. For those familiar with the Maximo system, presenting powerful diagnostics directly in a KPI or Result Set on a Maximo Start Center can be invaluable. You have this information directly accessible to you every time you log in.

In more specific posts to come, we’ll discuss the Operational Dashboard introduced with the Maximo Application Suite that can be utilized instead of a Start Center. Here, you may present a wealth of results to your team on which to act.

4. Asset Classifications

Classifications were mentioned previously in relation to asset walkdowns. Orgro has specific templates for classifications that can help standardize and capture pertinent information related to your assets. Getting this part right is essential to ‘down-stream’ reporting needs and performance assessments.

5. Failure Classifications

Many have tried and failed at developing complete Failure Classifications on assets. Large, complex projects have been launched to identify the hierarchy of Problems, Causes, and Remedies. Now, the Maximo Application Suite offers the Reliability Strategies solution to help. Here, you get pre-built classifications that can be adjusted to your needs. We will help you in these adjustments taking in mind industry standards. This is another topic that we’ll explore more fully in future postings.

6. Work Order Feedback Loop

When work is being performed in the field, are you capturing critical updates to asset information in Maximo? It’s your maintenance or operations team that will provide invaluable updates on assets over time. For instance, perhaps the maintenance team notices that the Likelihood of Failure rating should be adjusted. We provide tools to help ensure those details are updated. A critical part of these tools and processes involves the Work Order Management Cycle itself. From work order creation to review, don’t miss important opportunities to keep your Maximo system up to date with good data.

7. Health, Monitor, and Predict

We finally turn to the heart of the Asset Performance Management program. Are most of your current preventive maintenance routines carried out based on elapsed time? Is your maintenance team performing maintenance on assets every month, quarter, semi-annually, or annually?  Perhaps work orders are triggered from PMs based on manually entered meter readings. Is this the most effective way to maintain those assets, especially the critical ones? The future of asset maintenance involves the use of sensors on asset, interpretations by AI, and the performance of maintenance ‘just in time’. Maintain an asset too much and you could do more harm than good. Why not harness the power of newer technologies such as advanced Sensors and AI interpretations to manage maintenance operations more precisely?

Above is a generalized list of our offerings within the Asset Performance Management program. We will be providing more detail on each individual point in upcoming posts. But let’s close with a reality check. None of the above solutions will work if implemented in an ineffective manner. That is why we implement Organization Change initiatives throughout. Yes, there are all kinds of new and effective tools that could vastly improve maintenance programs. Will they be accepted? Will they be adopted? Organizational Change initiatives with a strong emphasis on constant communication and continual improvement are the keys.

Given the strong interest in these new capabilities, we are building out a wait list now to discuss our offerings and schedule on-site review. If interested, do contact us to join the wait list. Feel free to enquire about any aspects of our program where you have questions.

Thank you and may your maintenance program offer a great value in helping your organization meet their strategic goals.

The opinions expressed by the General Services Administration Listen & Learn host or industry partner participants do not necessarily reflect the official view of the General Services Administration, or any other governmental or non-governmental agency. Information presented in this Listen & Learn Series does not change or supersede information presented in other official GSA publications or by the Contracting Officer for a particular GSA contract. Participation by the General Services Administration in this Listen & Learn Series does not constitute an expressed or implied endorsement of any contractor or industry partner participant’s opinions, products, or services. General Services Administration does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information shared by the participants.

If you have ever performed an asset walkdown, you know that there can be lots of locations and assets that never make it into this system. Incorporating BIM into Maximo helps with this issue.  

There are two parts to BIM integration, and we can help you with each:  

1. Import COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange) standard data. Data is exported and then ‘cleaned’ in a .csv or .xls format. Data may include Locations, Assets, Job Plans, and PMs. From there, you import data into Maximo using the BIM Projects application. 
     
   2) Use the Manage BIM Viewer application to connect Maximo to 3D models. You’ll add the Forge Viewer Plugin for the 3D viewer. This will give you a 3D tab on applications such as Assets, and Locations. Having the 3D component is not necessary but it is a very helpful part (and cool of course). This 3D component will be displayed through the Autodesk cloud where you can interact and update the model. Be aware that there is a charge however for cloud access. But, once you have the model, you can then identify and create work orders from specific problem areas noted on the model.  

We would love to hear your experiences with BIM integration, and we look forward to any insights you may be able to provide. And if you need any help with your BIM project and connecting BIM with Maximo, we’d love to hear from you too. We are always happy to help.  

Reference this IBM link for full details on BIM:  

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/mam/7.6.0.6?topic=product-managing-building-information-model-data  

Often, the complexity of effectively managing all the moving pieces can cause a Maximo project to go off track. It is helpful to remain focused on the bigger picture or main components that impact the success or failure of a project on a regular basis.

The creation of this top 10 list of factors is based on years of implementing enterprise-wide systems. Listed in no particular order, these factors can lead to project success or, if not done well, depressing failures.

• Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Communication almost always makes any top 10 list related to successful business practices. When implementing complex software in an already complex business setting, clear and direct communication is a must.

During a project, are all impacted personnel given regular updates? Do all key parties have a clear understanding of the software and its impacts? For that matter, does everyone have a clear understanding of the goals of the implementation? You should strive to over-communicate with the theory that too much communication is better than too little.

• Document and Agree

After a successful project implementation, you’ll always find loads of documentation. Key Maximo documents include signatures from all key project team members. With so many moving parts, it’s important to have a record of impactful decisions and conversations. You may have functional design documents, technical design documents, agreed upon business processes, agreed upon report designs, and more. Obtain signatures on all of these designs. This may seem overly formal, but as you approach go live with a system, it becomes very clear why formal agreements matter.

• Upper Management Support

Everyone understands that a large-scale Maximo implementation succeeds or fails based on upper management support. Without it, nobody will take your project seriously and the implementation will be undermined. This support needs to be voiced loudly and frequently. You should have formal mechanisms that drive this support in a visible manner to all involved parties.

• Employee Buy-In (Change Management)

This factor can be called the “What’s in it for me” question. This question needs to be answered regularly. Involving employees in various phases of the project is one way to answer the question. Quite often, your front line maintenance personnel will see these systems as an unnecessary hindrance to getting the job done. Knowing this, take that challenge head-on and discuss with them the benefits of the system and their concerns. You’re driving change in the organization. Many will resist.

• Strong Project Management

For a project to succeed, there must be a strong project manager (or two) ensuring all the moving parts are aligned. The Maximo project manager is focused on each of the items in this list and much more. It’s this manager that ensures that your change strategies, communication strategies and much more are followed fully and accurately.

• Strong Project Team

What makes a strong project team? There are many factors. Yes, you need knowledgeable and competent members. But, these members need to work well together and communicate frequently. For a large project, you likely will have the following members (and more): functional lead, technical lead, project manager, integrator, report writer, project coordinator and a data specialist. Because most things that happen in a large project impact across team members, it is important that the team is one cohesive unit. Lone wolves don’t work very well on these projects.

• Strong Project Plan

So much stems from the project plan or project charter. Each aspect to be addressed during the project is listed. Costing for each phase is included. Costing a project can be especially daunting when you’re predicting all costs across all phases for a project that can last for multiple years. The project plan needs to be well understood and agreed upon by all key project team members. Each member needs to have full input in their areas of expertise. This is one of the first steps that will determine project success or failure.

• Full Understanding of Business Processes

All too often, the results of an ERP project are delivered with little understanding of business processes. The cookie-cutter approach to large project implementations just don’t work. Each organization is different. Defining and understanding business processes prior to developing solutions is another key early step to project success.

• Keep It Simple

Don’t customize the system unless you have no other choice. There’s a reason why you chose the solution you did, so why the need to massively change it? Only change the system if a strong, valid reason for the change is presented. And no, wanting the system to look just like the one it’s replacing is usually not a valid reason. You need input from all involved parties, but all inputs won’t necessarily be implemented. This is where a good consultant with years of experience becomes necessary. The consultant should know the implications of each change to the overall system.

• Infrastructure

Before moving to any other aspect of implementing a major system, ensuring the infrastructure is more than sufficient to support the system is a must. If you skip using key features in an application because the infrastructure won’t support it, perhaps it’s time to address the infrastructure. If end users spend loads of extra time waiting for your system to respond, they’re likely to either use the system poorly or not at all. Make sure your infrastructure meets and exceeds minimum requirements recommended by your software vendor.

There are many other important aspects to an implementation. The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL)) standards can help meet project goals. ITIL’s foundation comes from a need for a systematic process to deliver projects on time and under budget.

Of course, many other important factors can be added to this list. Perhaps you consider full training and coaching as a top 10 item. Even the evaluation process for determining which system best meets your company’s needs could make your top 10 list. What main factors have you encountered that either undermine system implementation or help the implementation succeed?

According to the Meriam-Webster dictionary, Training is “a process by which someone is taught the skills that are needed for an art, profession, or job”. Learning involves “the activity or process of gaining knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, being taught, or experiencing something”. The goal is for training to lead to learning. Specifically, in a Maximo project, we want the goals of the training course to lead to impactful learning where a User base understands and implements the course’s objectives. How is this accomplished? The brief definition of training above gives one clue. Training is just one aspect of learning. Study, practice, and more are needed.

In a recent major Maximo implementation, the Project Team agreed at the outset to over document throughout the project. With so many moving pieces and involved parties, it’s imperative that everyone agrees on critical (and even not so critical) decisions. During the project, well over 40 workshops were completed. In addition, there were hundreds of phone conversations and e-mail exchanges. With all those conversations, what’s the likelihood that something will be misinterpreted? Itt’s almost a certainty. Let’s look at few specifics to demonstrate the point.

1)   Project Plan (Charter)

How extensive was your project plan on your last major project? Did it make clear all the phases of the project (or even capture all the phases) and, in detail, the steps involved in each phase? Did it fairly accurately detail the hours involved to complete each step? Clearly, the project plan is a major part of project documentation. It can lead to smooth sailing for months and years to come while implementing a Major ERP (like Maximo Asset Management). Or, it can immediately detract from the project and even undermine it.

2)   Functional Requirements

On the previously mentioned project, teammates encouraged and supported each other throughout the implementation to document the Maximo Functional Requirements in detail. This was vital. Every team member relied on that document to generate a Technical Design, to guide data collection efforts, build workflows, create numerous integrations, and much more. The client’s Maximo Project team members likewise constantly referred to that document going forward when disputes arose or clarifications were needed. Four separate Requirements documents were created and signed off by all interested parties. You’ll be thankful shortly before Go Live with a major release to have all that documentation.

3)   Supporting Documents

There will be lots and lots of Supporting documents created by many different team members if your involved in a large scale implementation. This is where Standards apply. Do establish documentation standards ahead of time with all team members. These standards should address the form of documentation as well as the extensiveness of documents. This is also another area on which all interested parties must agree. Thinking back to your experiences, were all documents consistent and fully detailed? These may be documents related to Interfaces, business process designs, workshop outcomes, and much more.

4)   The Dreaded Re-work

It is not uncommon to come across the dreaded ‘change request’ when designs don’t quite meet the needs of an organization. In some cases, an entire project had to be reworked. This is not a place you want to find yourself whether you are an implementer or an organization’s Maximo team member. Again, strong documentation and agreement helps all involved parties. After all, the goal is to have a project completed on or under budget and within established time frames.

5)   File Sharing

The last point on documentation is to encourage the use of a file sharing system accessible by both the consultants and the organization where the system is being implemented, even if the implementation is performed fully by internal staff members. All project documentations, test results, agreed upon fixes, and more should be posted here. This greatly facilitates information sharing in a bi-directional way.

There are so many more types of documents (strong project management documents, training documents, etc.). However, we’ll conclude here. We truly look forward to  hearing other’s experiences and approaches to documentation. Have you joined a project ‘after the fact’ and had almost no documentation to follow? It’s both expensive and time consuming with little to no documentation to interpret why a previous consultant may have designed a system a certain way.

We look forward to your comments.