In some organisations, when starting a mobile project, the stakeholders may not have prior experience with mobility solutions for EAM, as such, we are sometimes asked to implement features that do not add value to the business. As consultants, it is satisfying to see something we implement being used and helps the end-users on the field. And nothing can be more frustrating than spending time building features that are not going to be used. In this post, I will list out based on my experience some commonly used and not used functions of a mobile app:
Work Execution: despite its name is Asset Management
software, 80% of activities in Maximo happen around the work management
process. It is not a surprise work execution is the number one use-case for a
mobile app. However, work management is a big process with several major stages
and many different activities. Only certain activities need to be recorded in
the field with a mobile device. Below are some common ones:
- Change Work Order status: start work, put it on hold, or complete the work
- Record actual costs: travel time, work time, material consumption
- Capture and attach photos
- Enter work log
- Capture operational parameter (meter reading)
By
having a mobile device to capture these data on the field as it happens,
organizations benefit from having much more accurate data. The last one is a key enabler for a comprehensive Condition Monitoring program which is an important topic and I’ll cover in a separate post.
Physical signature: the ability to physically sign on a mobile device sounds great. Most mobile apps has this function. I have implemented this a few times. The user can physically sign on a mobile device. The signature is printed at the bottom of some BIRT reports (e.g. Work Completion form or Risk Assessment form etc.). It looked great and the customers were excited about it. But in all honesty, I find it's not really that important in many cases.
Work
Planning & Approval: these are the activities that can and often be
done in an office setting with the user accessing Maximo on a browser. Planning
process can involve 3rd party scheduling tools like Akwire,
Primavera, Visual Planner etc. Who would want to go to the field to schedule
and assign people to some work orders on a tiny mobile screen? Some mobile apps
do have the capability to do that, but it doesn’t mean we have to use it. These
features are available usually for the field user to see the planned
information, and possibly edit some incorrect details.
Inspection
Form: added from Maximo 7.6.0.8 as part of the Work Center module, and
progressively improved in the last few releases. This is the best
feature among those added to Maximo for the last 10 years. However, the Work
Center function is still too limited to be practical (UI is too slow, requires good
and fast connectivity, and not easy to customise). EzMaxMobile does the job
very well by providing responsive online and offline UI and works well with the
out-of-the-box backend in Maximo. From my limited knowledge, Datasplice had
Inspection app since at least a few years back, long before Maximo. That is
because Datasplice is an independent system with its own database. There are inspection
mobile solutions provided by industrial vendors too (e.g. Honeywell). I don’t
know how well these solutions work. My point is this is a common requirement
and haven’t been addressed by Maximo until recently. By filling out inspection
forms on a mobile device, data is fed directly to meter reading tables and the condition
monitoring app in Maximo which raises alarms or PM work orders automatically.
Inventory Stocktake: my first three mobile projects
were to address this requirement so it must be a good use-case. The task is simple:
the user scans a barcode, enters a balance value, then saves. Extended feature
could be adding a photo of the item, adding a new bin, or updating item specification which later can be used for cataloguing and de-duplication
process. The key to getting it to work is a really smooth and efficient user
experience as these steps need to be repeated a thousand times in one shift. Fast
and simple UI running in full offline mode is a must. Interestingly, IBM doesn’t
make offline mode available in the Anywhere Physical Count app, which makes it
worthless in my opinion. It does work in some cases but imagine how frustrating
it would be for the end users when getting to a corner of a warehouse with poor signal. In a Work Execution app, users only need to change work order status
before starting work and entering labour time after finishing work. If there
is no connectivity, it can wait until they get to a place with better connectivity.
With physical count, the user needs to constantly scan and update data. Any
disruption due to poor or no connectivity is unacceptable. (Updated: Anywhere Physical count does work with Offline now)
 |
| Me counting and capturing item spec at a time mobile solution wasn't available. All data needed to be manually entered into Maximo by some interns later on |
Inventory Issue/Transfer/Receipt: I’ve seen some projects
involved these apps. In general, how often it is used and how much value it brings
to the organization is not known to me. I think it does add value, but of course, not at the level of the Point-of-Sales solutions we often see in a supermarket.
Purchase Requisition/Purchase Order: Although PR and
PO apps are available on some mobile solutions, I haven’t seen them used
anywhere. There is some value for the field worker to be able to create Requisition.
That function belongs to the Work Order module though. The data then flows to
the PR application and handled by a back-office staff with a computer and a browser.
Risk Assessment/Toolbox Talk: this is a great use
case for a mobile app. It is something that must be done on the field, it adds a lot
of value in term of safety improvement and compliance. In many cases, it has
some legal implication. Unfortunately, even the Oil & Gas (HSE) module in
Maximo does not meet all of the requirement and usually needs a lot of customization.
We had implemented this feature in EzMaxMobile for some clients. But the assessment
forms and the compliance requirements are different in each industry and from
company to company. Thus, I don’t think we can see a standard risk assessment mobile
app for Maximo anytime soon. If your company needs it, you may have to pay for
the customization effort.
 |
| A risk assessment form on iPad screen |
No comments:
Post a Comment