Background Information

Delta Diesel have a large maintenance portfolio of mechanical equipment throughout NSW. A typical contract with a customer will have a contract duration (e.g. 1 year ), in which they will be required to conduct a monthly service on that customers mechanical equipment. They also conduct ad-hoc services on equipment in the case of failure.

Whilst Delta previously had an maintenance management system, it had many shortfalls, including not providing them with the level of flexibility they needed for optimal efficiency and lack of off-site access. This led them to the implementation of an alternative information management solution.

Problem Statement

Our client was not satisfied with the shortfalls of their previous maintenance management system. Delta saw a number of main areas that could not be met by their previous system:

1. The inability to customise the system to suit their business’ needs. The maintenance scheduler did not give them the level of forward planning required for optimal efficiency. Work orders months in advance could not be accurately planned. The system did not cater for customising fields, workflow or any other aspects of the system.
2. The inconvenience of requiring software installation. The added infrastructure, administration requirements and nuisances involved in maintaining software on premise was impacting Delta Diesels core operation.
3. The inability to incorporate mobile and tablet based maintenance management. Delta foresaw the benefit of having a mobile workforce, with mobile devices allowing for real time management and tracking of job completion. Their current software supplier did not have a mobile based version to suit their needs.

Analysis of options

The primary requirement of the new maintenance management system was the ability to mould to the requirements of Delta. Of particular importance was the ability to generate all work orders upon creation of the maintenance template (for example, a monthly maintenance that has a contract duration of 12 months will create 12 work orders). This, in turn, would then provide the ability to modify respective work orders providing instructions to their technicians specific to that months job.

Delta also saw this project as an opportunity to procure a system that would be flexible enough to cater to their evolving business needs, including customising fields and automating workflow. This led to the requirement of the system providing flexibility for future improvement initiatives.

It was envisaged that the new solution would be tablet/mobile compatible to allow out-of-office access. In the analysis stage, it was identified that it would be beneficial to customise the mobile app to be streamlined for specific activities conducted on-site. The need for flexibility was thus paramount in this project.

Solution

VisualVault offered the client a comprehensive solution in the planning and monitoring of their work orders throughout the entire work order lifecycle. Via three interlinked modules, Delta has the ability to seamlessly manage all their maintenance activities:

CLIENT MANAGEMENT MODULE

Via an electronic form, the user logs all relevant details about their clients including contact details, address, and any other relevant information.

MAINTENANCE SCHEDULER MODULE

Once they have their client information recorded in the system, they can then create scheduled maintenance templates for that client. Information such as frequency (e.g. monthly/quarterly) and duration of contract are included, which are then used to batch create the Work Orders for that maintenance contract.

WORK ORDER MODULE

Work orders are either batch-created automatically via the maintenance scheduler module, or entered manually for ad-hoc jobs. The work order module is key in planning all maintenance operations. Users log in, and immediately see all relevant work orders assigned to them, and is role specific depending on whether that user is a technician conducting on-site maintenance work, or administration handling invoicing duties.

VisualVault is a Software as a Services (SaaS) solution, requiring only a reliable internet connection for full use. This has meant that Delta has been able to reduce the time spent on hardware and software administration, and is able to focus on its core operation of scheduled and reactive maintenance services.
The ability for the solution to be tablet and phone compatible has further increased efficiency within the organisation. Technicians can review maintenance tasks on the fly, providing real time access to up to date data.

Looking Forward

Our client is extremely happy with the VisualVault implementation. The enhanced ability to forward plan in detail on all maintenance activities is a key feature that has significantly improved efficiency in the organisation.
The implementation has provided the client with scope for further improvement. A key advantage of VisualVault is its flexibility to mould to the businesses needs, and this has given Delta a multitude of opportunities for improvement initiatives. These include; automating the workflow of service orders, streamlining the mobile/tablet interface, and optimising data input for increased invoicing efficiency.

Contact us to learn how Automation Technologies can improve your business processes today, email: info@autotechfm.com