Agile – The promise & common pitfalls with Standard Enterprise Software!
Agile often leads to inefficiency!
An agile approach during the implementation of standard enterprise software such as Maximo often results in unwanted ineffectiveness and inefficiency. Under the pressure from the market or from its own management, new trends like “Agile” and “DevOps” are often only used as a label for work processes that are far from being “agile” or “lean”. Agile is not a goal in itself, but an approach that can help you to build faster and better solutions for your customers. Continue reading if you like to know how to avoid common pitfalls by adapting some basic principles.
Waternet in Amsterdam, NL depends upon IBM Maximo® Enterprise Asset Management
By Ryan Boyles, Author at IBM Business Operations
You drink it, grow with it, clean with it and use it to transport goods. Fresh, clean water is essential to life on our planet. So when you’re responsible for water for over one million people who are living below sea level, you can’t afford to take risks. This is why Waternet in Amsterdam, NL depends upon IBM Maximo® Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), bolstered by the expertise of their local IBM Business Partner, ZNAPZ.
https://youtu.be/eoSSfR_gWL4
Quick Bytes on Asset Performance with Waternet and ZNAPZ
The Netherlands is especially sensitive to water issues
Neder lands, or lower countries: the very name of this nation describes its topology. Only about 50% of the land is more than a meter (39.4 inches) above sea level. These areas, called polders, were originally reclaimed from swamps, lakes and ponds in the 16th century. Over the centuries, the polders have expanded exponentially. Their fertile soil has made the Netherlands the world’s second largest exporter of food and agricultural products, including the glorious tulip. In 1637, a single bulb cost ten times the salary of a skilled worker. Today, expansive fields of these beautiful, affordable blossoms are synonymous with the Dutch.
Fed by canals that also serve as transportation lanes, the agricultural industry, and the nation’s economy, are critically dependent upon water.
To complicate matters further, the Netherlands is a relatively small country that is home to a population of over 17 million people. It’s one of the most densely inhabited countries in the world. And each individual uses an average of 150 liters (33 gallons) of water each day.
With so much at stake, the uninterrupted availability of clean, fresh water is of paramount importance to the Dutch. The people in the Amsterdam region entrust their needs to the 1,800 talented professionals at Waternet.
Waternet manages thousands of assets each day
Unlike most water management organizations in Holland, Waternet manages the entire water lifecycle. They produce clean, fresh tap water. They make certain that wastewater and rainwater flow into the sewer system, and they treat it before they release it back into nature.
The company also monitors surface water to ensure it’s at the right levels. And they maintain dykes, clean the canals and maintain an unobstructed and uninterrupted water flow.
This is a monumental task that requires the continuous functioning of thousands of units, such as sensors, monitors, pumps, trucks, bridges, sluices and dredges. As Louis van Parera of Waternet says, “We run assets and these assets have to perform.”
IBM Maximo EAM helps keep the taps in Amsterdam flowing
IBM Maximo is the world’s leading enterprise asset management solution. Waternet has depended upon their EAM installation for over 15 years.
IBM Maximo, IoT collects data from people, sensors and devices. It analyzes it to provide the insights that decision-makers need to make optimize operations. So rather than plan asset maintenance according to calendars, as in the past, users are able to schedule maintenance based on specific criteria for each individual unit.
The IBM Maximo solution is compatible with all asset types no matter where they reside. It allows users to set up new assets quickly, and upgrade EAM software automatically. The result is real-time visibility, non-stop uptime, reduced costs and minimized risk.
It’s not simply implementation, it’s a view to the future
To optimize their EAM system and to shepherd it to maturity, Waternet depends upon IBM Business Partner, ZNAPZ. As ZNAPZ Solution Architect Jan-Willem Steur tells us, their job isn’t restricted to examining today’s needs. It also requires that they look ahead and plan for the future – and not only in terms of assets. “The predictive nature isn’t just related to assets. It’s about a question of where the entire project is going.”
If your future includes enterprise asset management, you’ll want to learn more about IBM Maximo. I suggest you begin your journey by watching this informative interview with professionals from Waternet and ZNAPZ.
To get the maximum return on investment, all assets should be used as long and efficient as possible. Save costs by applying smart and preventive maintenance. Many organizations strive for high availability and reliability of their assets, reduced time for maintenance and repair and low maintenance costs. This requires making smart choices.
Would you like to have more insight into the physical and financial condition of your company assets? In this e-book we will explain:
The complexity and increasing costs of maintenance, as a result of technological developments;
Smart digital technologies providing insights in the condition and performance of assets;
How Maximo Asset Health Insights supports the optimization of your maintenance strategy.
ZNAPZ is an experienced partner for IBM Maximo and MAHI. We can assist you from start to finish, so these systems optimally support your business.
Want to know more about the benefits of IBM Maximo and MAHI? Download our e-book or contact us by filling in the contact form.
Waternet’s goal is to deliver the highest quality of drinking water at the lowest price for every customer. Furthermore, they make sure everyone in their domain keeps their feet dry. To meet the company’s objectives, all assets need to be and stay in top condition. Water cycle tasks are executed by different Waternet departments. However, there is a growing need to integrate and realize a uniform implementation of Asset Management.
Paul Stroet, IT Architect at Waternet: “We asked ZNAPZ: ‘How can we digitize, and continue to manage our assets at the same time?’ ZNAPZ provided knowledge and advice from both disciplines: digitization and Asset Management. This mix of business and technique was exactly what we needed.”
Curious how Waternet approached this project? Why they chose ZNAPZ to support them? Or do you want to know more about the handling of these processes? Read it all in our reference case.
Managing purchase orders poses a challenge for many organizations. Incorrect orders, long processing time and too much buyer personnel causes higher costs. Find out how the modern and accessible Manul application streamlines the buying process in our factsheet. Through Manul, everyone is able to create purchase orders and process them easily through the Maximo system. This solution is available for smartphones, tablets and desktops.
Read more about the features and benefits in our factsheet, such as:
The efficient and user-friendly ordering process
Insights in your assets through Maximo
Classifications matching your attribute structure
Dynamic filtering possibilities for easy and fast searches
Minimized data pollution
Want to know more about the features and benefits of Manul? Download our free factsheet or contact us by filling in the contact form.
Hydra makes it possible to keep working in your Maximo application, even offline. As soon as you go online, the local Maximo application syncs seamlessly with the central application. All Maximo functionalities are available always and everywhere. You no longer have to worry about connection quality.
Besides that, Hydra solves other challenges: upgrading your Maximo application without downtime, altering your database or preventing performance loss due to large amounts of data.
Read more about the features and benefits in our factsheet, such as:
Working offline in Maximo, wherever and whenever
Deployment without downtime
Easily transfer data to another platform
Better performance through easy data archiving
Want to know more about the benefits of Hydra? Download our factsheet or contact us by filling in the contact form.
We assume timely serviced installations, machines and vehicles will continue to function until the next maintenance check. In reality, this is more unpredictable: despite investments in preventive maintenance, “assets” continue to fail randomly. Sometimes we replace parts still functioning, which is a waist of money. In this blog, we outline how smart technology helps reducing downtime at a lower cost.
Preventive maintenance is not nearly as cost-efficient as often thought. In 45 percent of the cases assets fail earlier than might be expected, considering their age. This causes organizations problems. Parts and technicians are not always immediately available and costs for recovery are therefore unpredictable. On the other hand, maintenance at fixed intervals often results in unnecessary wear, because assemblies could be unnecessarily dismantled.
The roadmap to predictive maintenance
Moving towards predictive maintenance requires up-to-date insights into the condition of your assets. There are three methods for gathering data:
HSoT: Human Sensor of Things – information from inspections
EoT: Ethernet of Things – information from systems built into machines (SCADA)
IoT: Internet of Things – information from sensors
A good example of a system that merges these three information flows is IBM Maximo, named leader in the Gartner “Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Asset Management software” [Aug 2019, Gartner].
For example: in a wind farm, the maintenance interval for turbines is based on current and historical data. This can be determined more precisely by equipping turbines with sensors for detecting an increase in energy consumption, noise or vibrations. Integration with data from “The Weather Channel” ensures further optimization. Maintenance can now take place earlier, if it turns out that the turbines are suffering a lot from storms, while also finding a forecasted period with low wind conditions.
The technical and financial condition of your assets in one overview
By using IBM Maximo APM – Asset Health Insights (MAHI) alongside IBM Maximo, organizations are able to display the technical condition and financial health of their assets in one clear dashboard. Understanding costs helps determine how much money should be reserved for maintenance versus repairs or replacements. If a machine performs better than expected, maintenance can be postponed. The budget can then be spent on other parts to extend the overall working life of the facility.
By implementing this way of working enormous savings can be achieved in asset-intensive sectors such as water management, transport and highway infrastructure. With Asset Management improvements can also be made in durability, due to the focus on economic use of materials.
The 4 benefits of managing your assets with IBM Maximo and MAHI:
Complete insight: the dashboard shows you in one overview the technical and financial health of your assets. This helps to make more informed decisions about maintenance and replacement.
Lower costs: parts are only replaced when really necessary.
Less surprises: the chance that problems occur and systems fail will decrease.
Time savings: maintenance becomes predictable and can be better planned.
ZNAPZ is an experienced partner for IBM Maximo and MAHI. We can assist you from start to finish, so these systems optimally support your business.
Want to know more about the benefits of IBM Maximo and MAHI? Download our e-book or contact us by filling in the contact form.
We wish you all the best for 2021.
Stay healthy and we hope to see you soon again.
Last year was an extraordinary year. We invested in a solid foundation for our future with new solutions on top of Maximo. We look forward to the moment we can meet again, continue our cooperation, and explore the exciting new capabilities added to Maximo in 2020.
We are pleased to announce that we succesfull upgraded the Performance Management System of Parkway6 enabling Parkway6 to successfully exploit the A6 for the next decade with #Maximo as the basis for their Performance Management System (PMS). #ZNAPZ wants to thank all project members from #Cronos, #Oxand and #Parkway6 who contributed to this success.
The Contractors combination Parkway6 (Dura Vermeer and Besix) broadens the A6 in Almere. They deliver 8 new viaducts; broaden 5 existing viaducts and improve the underlying road network. Parkway6 is responsible for the design, realization and maintenance of the A6 Almere.
We are honoured that IBM has awarded ZNAPZ as the 2019 winner for the best performing Business Partner in the Cognitive Solutions category. Our unique way of working is highly appreciated in the market resulting in new customers in the Asset Management domain. The award is a recognition of our investment in new products and implementation processes that enables ZNAPZ to deliver high quality business solutions. We thank IBM for their support in our client focused approach and thank our colleague Business Partners for extending the footprint of the Maximo product family we all love.
