EAMS selection
To run a competitive organisation in today’s connected and fast-moving world, you can no longer efficiently manage the inventory of your assets and the maintenance processes of your equipment, buildings and plants without a computerised maintenance management system (CMMS) or enterprise asset management system (EAMS). In our ‘instant’ world, the ability to make quick decisions based on real-time information has become the norm, and being able to remotely monitor and act on alerts based on the health of your assets is a common practice.
Built-in features and scalability with add-on applications of many of these systems provide an integrated set of features that caters for the unique requirements of varying asset-intensive and globally dispersed organisations, and replace the notion of having different maintenance systems for different asset types. The growing range of off-the-shelf, system-agnostic applications can also seamlessly integrate with most reputable EAM systems, allowing for an even bigger scope.
Why pay attention to a good selection?
The reason that you are in the market for an upgraded or new system is obviously because your current system does not meet your needs anymore. Although your dissatisfaction could purely be due to your company outgrowing an initial entry-level system, it is critical to understand and address the cause of your frustration. Apart from increased efficiency and supporting the work of your team, digitalisation has become quite a common denominator. Smarter assets must be set up in systems that support their IoT capabilities and seamless integration is no longer a far-fetched sales promise, but an actual reality. Other reasons include:
- It’s an investment. You must be able to quantify the return on this investment.
- It is no longer only your employees who will use the system. Your smart buildings and equipment must also be able to ‘speak’ to your system.
- Digital twin. Having an exact replica of your physical asset in your asset register will provide you with valuable information for better decision making.
- We live in a volatile world and at any time you might need to drastically cut back or expand, and you want the system to respond accordingly.
- Not all your team members require the full functionality of the system and you only want to pay for what they use.
- Some of your processes happen once or twice a year. You might want to make sure that you can switch specific modules or applications on and off when required.
- Workflow automation and low-touch engagement. The world is moving away from manual and paper-based processes.
Lastly, considering learnings from ISO 55000, it is important to have a process to keep data accurate and do scheduled reviews to ensure that the system is in place and in proper use in alignment with the bigger asset management programme. Updates to your system must be aligned with updates to your asset management strategy.
Pragma’s approach to selecting a maintenance management system
Over the years, we have delivered asset management services on many different EAM systems and have also helped clients with upgrades to their current systems or the selection, configuration and implementation of new EAM systems.
With an ever-growing list of maintenance management systems and applications on the market, you might struggle to find the one best suited for your needs. Misalignment between different departments and team members can also skew perceptions of what the best solution really is for your organisation.
Having an outside-in view places Pragma in a neutral position to help you define your requirements objectively. Using a systematic approach, we consider your as-is and to-be status. Your asset management strategy is an important starting point as your system will be the enabler of your asset management policy and plan. Furthermore, aspects such as the nature of your asset base, your current application landscape, ICT environment (cloud, security), supplier requirements, legislative compliance, critical features and user requirements are considered. Working closely with your team we compile a shortlist, and the vendors are invited to showcase their products. Our final recommendation is based on both technical and commercial considerations.
If you are in the market to upgrade your current system or replace it with a new system, you can call on our expert advice. Speak to us today.
