Replacing paper documents with instantly available digital information is making work practices faster and more efficient, says Brad Budde, Emerson vice-president of digital customer experience.
MyAssets connects maintenance planners and technicians to the information they need to work faster and more productively.
Over the last year, maintenance departments have faced the challenge of maintaining or improving performance while working remotely with reduced staff and leaner budgets. Because of the rapid change to where and how people work, maintenance department work processes are experiencing a shift. Though a move toward digital was already in motion, the past year has accelerated the change.
Where filing cabinets were once the norm, now documentation is handled at home via laptops and cloud storage. Or where maintenance teams used to head to the fi eld in groups of two or three, now they go alone with a technology connection – calling others for support when needed. Maintenance managers are turning to digital to make sure their teams have access to the right information, whenever and wherever they need it.
This doesn’t require a step-change in skills. You don’t need to be an expert to move from paper to digital. Digital tools are about using technology to make life easier: simple changes to the way you work that allow faster access the information, easier collaboration with experts, and more efficient work practices.
The MyAssets toolset, part of the MyEmerson digital tools portfolio, provides instant access to device-specific technical documentation, spares, and replacements, as well as walkdown reports, to help maintenance planners and technicians plan and execute work more effectively.
at a plant, regardless of manufacturer.
Think about a maintenance planner. Once a task is identified, they need to plan for the work – prioritising the task, identifying and procuring any parts that are needed, making sure the right skills are available for the task, and then creating a work packet with instructions for the technician. The effort of locating all the information needed just to get to the point of work order execution can take hours.
With access to digital asset information in MyAssets, a planner can scan a QR code on the device or search by serial number to quickly find technical documentation and spare parts lists. Once they have identified the required part, reordering is as simple as putting the item in an online cart and placing the order. They can manage lead time, allow for it in the schedule, and have confidence in the accuracy of the part.
The planner can then produce a high-quality work packet, providing the right technical documentation – such as wiring or installation diagrams – to the technician so work can be completed with a single trip to the fi eld. By eliminating the need to access paper files or supplementing details found in their CMMS, maintenance planners can quickly find the information they need both in the office or working remotely.
Think about that same information, but available to a technician directly in the field. If information is missing from the work packet or the issue is unexpected, a technician can still complete the work without making an additional trip. By scanning a QR code or RFID tag on the device, they can instantly access the technical information and troubleshooting tips needed to finish the job, improving first time fix rate and technicians’ safety.
MyAssets provides the same device-specific information that technicians and planners used to look for on shelves of printed product manuals, but it is delivered instantly and is easy to filter to the exact content needed. Emerson is committed to providing digital tools to help maintenance teams identify, plan, and execute work in ways that improve key performance measures such as maintenance speed, schedule compliance, and first-time fix rate.
This is the core value of the MyEmerson digital tools portfolio. Emerson’s goal is to connect people and technology to help get work done faster, easier, and more effectively.