As the effects of COVID-19 continue, it is reasonable to consider that the ‘new normal’ may be with us for some time. To preserve the long-term health of your organization in these unprecedented times, the value of data to inform activities cannot be overstated.  What technologies can you leverage? What data can you capture? What internal capabilities can you build on? 

Social Distancing Work Restrictions

With social distancing measures in place, we have reduced work capacity and therefore we have fewer numbers of personnel onsite and remotely. This has led to more work being performed flexibly from home. Next gen technologies provide the capability to maintain and enhance remote working and can realize efficiencies and reduce your costs. We’re all now familiar with the virtual meeting and virtual working! 

IBM Maximo Solutions can enable opportunities for remote asset and equipment health monitoring; virtual support for maintenance diagnostics and repair; and virtual visual inspections.  Modern assets are likely to be better equipped, with many sensors already embedded. You may have legacy control systems and other repositories that have been collecting data for years. Even older assets can provide valuable data with the addition of low cost sensors. Effort and investment will vary by company but do not be put off – it does not have to be time consuming or expensive. Data is the key and it all comes down to what information is, or can be available that will allow you to make smarter decisions – from whatever source.  

Prevent and Predict Maintenance Costs

With BPD’s LoveYourAsset, you can be sure you know how your critical assets are performing, and prevent failure with fewer, more accurate alerts – all remotely. With LoveYourAsset, data is taken from IoT sensors and fed into Maximo to provide an overall picture of your asset’s health and condition in real-time.  

And don’t just monitor your assets. Monitor smarter! With IBM’s Maximo Asset Monitor you can detect anomalies, see the patterns, and understand events – to make the right decisions using AI-powered detection.  

It may also be a good time to reconsider your timing of major maintenance activities. For example, in the Oil and Gas industry, would it be better to bring forward maintenance activities and expand shutdowns/turnarounds when oil prices are lower?   

Your Remote Workforce

It’s important during this time that you keep your teams together even if they’re working apart. With a mobile solution like Maximo Anywhere, everyone can more easily collaborate to monitor the performance of critical assets from anywhere. Workloads can be driven through technician and inspection work centres, and AI and AR-powered guidance can be leveraged from Maximo Assist to tackle any asset – using information from both Maximo, but also relevant knowledge from across the organization!  

Supply Chain Disruption

With disruption to supply chains, businesses need to ensure they can maintain reasonable stock levels at the right locations and provide visibility across sites. With Maximo’s inventory management module, you can catalogue all of your sites, and ensure the accuracy of the inventory/master data.  

Safer Facilities

We often say that your people are your greatest assets. Keeping them safe and healthy during this time as they prepare to return to work, either in an office or out in the field, is priority. Understanding your space and occupancy, implementing protocols and tracking building assets will be crucial. 

With Maximo Worker Insights, you can avoid incidents before they occur. By monitoring the health, temperature and other biometric data of your employees, you can identify fever, stress and other symptoms that might limit someone’s suitability to work. You can also set up no-go zones and monitor the distance between individuals social distancing, and alerting supervisors when violations are detected.  

Maximo HSE Manager can also help you implement additional controls and procedures and can be critical in supporting the areas of Preparation-Control-Compliance-Reporting within your operations. Much of this capability can be quickly implemented and deployed. 

In Conclusion

All industries have been shaken by the effect of COVID-19 and its impacts on safeguarding staff, protecting cashflow, and ensuring business continuity. But now is the time to look beyond that and make sure we are all fit for a very different future.  

COVID-19 has disrupted business operations and BPD Zenith is here to help you respond and keep running. The effective use of the Maximo portfolio should be an important part of this journey, and a more data-driven approach may be what takes you from treading water to thriving in this constantly evolving landscape.