Maintenance: Cloud benefits

Cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) can deliver the high level of functionality required to improve performance in both proactive and reactive maintenance activity, yet doesn't involve large, up-front licencing costs or massive internal IT overheads. Karen Conneely, marketing manager for Real Asset Management outlines the benefits

With the continued economic travails affecting virtually every sector, like many other organisations, industrial plants are under increasing pressure to maximise asset value.

Yet many are struggling to drive forward improvements. Most are still reliant on highly inefficient, paper-based processes or at best, spreadsheets for information. With no immediate or accurate insight into the cost of maintenance, stock expenditure or stock availability, asset performance history or trends in repairs, it is impossible to establish more efficient asset maintenance processes. Without trusted, accurate asset information, how can any organisation determine whether or not asset life can be extended without compromising reliability and performance? As a result, plants are actually incurring more costs, through needing additional personnel to record the information required to meet health and safety and compliance regulations. If companies are to respond to the demands to maximise asset value, it is essential to evolve beyond the realms of basic maintenance solutions and processes.

New model Of course, many have been looking to embrace robust asset maintenance solutions but have been constrained by the lack of capital budget available. Not only have budgets been slashed, but the time and red tape associated with getting a new software solution onto a network can be disheartening. The reality today is that many organisations simply cannot justify the expenditure in new hardware, networking infrastructure or IT expertise to implement or upgrade a maintenance management solution.

As a result, the growing availability of cloud-based maintenance management systems is compelling. The model can provide low cost access to highly functional software that can transform performance and ensure that today's mobile workforces have full and real time access to asset maintenance information.

Opting for a SaaS solution removes all IT overheads, driving down costs while delivering secure data storage and back up, as well as automated software upgrades to ensure the business always has access to the latest functionality.

Asset insight Cloud-based software as a service can be deployed quickly and reliably, with minimal investment, consequently providing organisations with rapid access to the critical asset information required to improve performance in both proactive and reactive maintenance activity. The web based model transforms accessibility - from providing mobile field engineers with real time access to check asset history, request parts and update maintenance activity. This anytime, anywhere access, via tablet, phone or laptop device is critical to improve the timeliness and accuracy of asset information and resource utilisation.

With detailed information about asset history, stock utilisation and asset performance, organisations can use in depth analysis and reporting to determine new maintenance strategies. Day-to-day performance can be measured via dashboards, enabling proactive intervention to address problems and minimise the risk of productivitydamaging downtime.

Combining day-to-day performance management with on-going strategic analysis, industrial plants can now transform the efficiency of maintenance work, improve planning, stock and resource utilisation and gain a return on investment typically within 12 months.

Conclusion By removing the capex barrier, the cloud model enables maintenance teams to make a long overdue investment in technology.

Rapid, low cost access to fully functional asset maintenance software will provide organisations of every size with the asset visibility required to transform performance.

Having access to in-depth, real time asset history, performance, stock availability and costs, maintenance departments can begin to evolve and to embrace the proactive maintenance strategies required to extend asset life.