Major Functionalities in EAM for PowerGen:

Enterprise Asset Management software has been increasingly developing throughout time to become a better fit for each industry.

Infor EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) has not been the exception, evolving anywhere from having to be physically installed in each computer, to what is now a solution that works in the cloud, is web-based and has mobile alternatives. But what’s within the software that will be directly applied in each to maintain assets within a Power Plant? The answer is very long, but I will try to provide a brief summary of different modules that are available for the users. VisualK has had different customers with different needs, including work requests (generated both internally and by customers) and execution, inventory management, and even purchasing components.

Let’s start with how jobs begin within EAM. The most typical situation is where an operator creates a Work Request. Operators/technicians are most familiar with the machines they work with daily, so they will know when a noise is unusual, or if adjustment may be required. Work can also emerge from inspection rounds, where operators are performing checklists and create work if something does not comply with expectations or parameters. Another scenario very common in power companies is receiving calls from end-users who may report power outages, fallen poles, broken cables and any other issue. These calls can be tracked within the system, so that they can be addressed under a certain amount of time (temporary and permanent fix times). Another nice feature included within the call center is that if a situation is being reported on repeatedly, these calls / emails / walk-ins can be linked to a same work order, to avoid duplicity. After work is properly initiated it’s time to schedule and execute it.

I could write a book talking only about work orders because of all the details it can entail, and the different definitions it may have for different industries and even different users. To some, work orders are focused on Safety. To others, it’s all about costing, completion time and customer satisfaction. A job can be as simple as “changing a lightbulb” or as complex as installing new equipment, which would probably involve different experts to achieve a proper assembly of all the components. Projects are another aspect to the equation, which could mean multiple work orders under multiple budgets.

In a Power Utilities Environment, when a customer requests a “No-Power”, it’s in the company’s best interest to fix the issue as soon as possible, given the situation. By using the call center, a company can track anywhere from progress in the job, to parts and human resources gathered for each task, as well as any feedback documented from the field team (pictures, videos, comments). Another important consideration is that technicians need to work in a safe environment, and isolate necessary areas before each job. Documenting the safety protocols followed by the operators and safety team will also serve auditing purposes and the company could even use this information to create safe environment metrics, both internally and for marketing.

As a rule of thumb, each work order needs an activity: “what’s going to happen?”. Activities can be a single task such as “Replace blown fuse” which would include anything related to it. Other companies may extend the details of an activity to:

1. “Travel to/from site”
2. “Assess situation”
3. “Follow safety protocols”
4. “Replace blown fuse”

Parts can be planned, reserved and used through work orders. These transactions are linked to specific activities, for example if an electrician is assigned activity #4, he would need a fuse. It would make more sense to link the part to that activity, not to when the crew is driving to the location. Time can be booked under each particular activity, and different roles can manage different activities You can even include external labor, whether it’s fixed price or hourly. You may need safety personnel for activity #3, and a different person to complete activity #4 simultaneously. An activity may also have checklists and instructions, especially when it is a repetitive task.

If you plan on issuing parts to work orders, employees or equipment, you probably manage one or more warehouses. These store rooms need to be up to date, in order for people out in the field to see available parts and request new ones if necessary. One of the ways to keep a valid and updated inventory number is to perform physical inventory counts. Storekeepers may use mobile devices to perform their counts, and update any corrections in near real time. Parts can be set up by store as min/max or re-order levels, so that these levels control when to order replenishment levels. But what happens when you need to order parts or services that fall outside automated parameters? Infor has developed a procurement process for this within EAM.

Parts and services requisitions can be started by any user with access, starting the procurement process. After a requisition is approved, it can be turned into a purchase order (PO). Each different supplier would require a different PO number, and these could have multiple parts, services and even come from different requisitions. Approval limits can be set so that different users have different budget levels. It can also be set so that status flow controls who needs to see the PO’s and at what stage, before it gets a final approval. These controls are very useful when internal policies require that different people are on board to approve expenses. Materials and labor are then received, verified and invoice vouchers are completed to validate and complete payments.

As you may have seen, Infor EAM covers much more than just work execution. In this 30,000 ft view, I’m just scratching the surface of what this powerful tool can do. One of the best features this CMMS has is that it can be customized to meet most needs. Whether your company needs all of it or some of these modules, we can make it work. Oh, and did I mention it is highly compatible with many different solutions and has high usability within mobile devices? Let’s leave that for another article!