A partnership between Manchester-based SRO Solutions and IBM is targeting shipping companies and offshore operators which still use outdated enterprise asset management (EAM) systems. There are major financial benefits to be had in deploying the latest EAM technology, according to SRO’s Tony Lackey.
Real-time enterprise asset management (EAM) is a well-established business tool in shore-based industries but it has only recently become available in close to real time on board ships trading globally, offshore assets in remote locations, and their respective managers ashore. Yet effective EAM, operating round-the-clock in a network of integrated assets and shore locations, can yield dramatic efficiency gains in business integration, maintenance management and procurement, with a significant impact on the bottom line.
It is in this fast-developing arena that a small Manchester-based company with a turnover of about GBP 5 million, SRO Solutions Ltd, has teamed up with the mighty IBM to offer the computer giant’s Maximo EAM system to shipowners, managers and offshore operators, with systems tailored to suit individual requirements. Already widely used in sectors as diverse as nuclear, oil and gas, facilities, manufacturing and a range of heavy industries, the combination of Maximo’s functionality and SRO’s implementation and project management expertise is transforming old-fashioned analogue systems. The result is always-on, high-efficiency systems from assets anywhere in the world, however remote.
“Many of our customers and potential clients are clear about the benefits of up-to-the-minute asset management,” explained SRO Managing Director, Tony Lackey, an ex-seafarer who set up the company jointly with a partner in 2004. “Long-established systems, like AMOS for example, were all very well in their day, but what you saw was what you got.
Designed for mobile assets
“Maximo is based on global best practice across multiple industries, and we can tailor it to suit our clients’ needs and manage it for them as a service thereafter if they wish. IBM has partners like SRO all over the world, but we have identified the shipping and offshore sectors as prime targets. Clearly, different industries have different requirements. But we offer a product and service specifically geared to mobile assets operating anywhere.”
Lackey explained that a key feature of the system is that it is backed up by SRO’s own integral data replication engine. This is designed specifically for the maritime and offshore sectors, automatically synchronising all Maximo data when vessels and assets are at sea, whatever the connectivity.
Connected assets and shore managers have the same quality of service, irrespective of latency or low bandwidth restrictions. The system recovers data from any interrupted connections and makes sure that no manual intervention is required. Data is delivered in the way that is proscribed by technical personnel within a particular business.
A recent project, completed successfully for Stena Drilling, involved a team of six working for more than a year on the installation of a Maximo 7.6.1 system across a fleet of six highly complex offshore assets and the company’s head office in Aberdeen, Scotland. The system enables the most efficient procurement systems, proactive equipment maintenance and prevents expensive and disruptive breakdowns.
Other benefits include efficiency gains from improved procurement systems, an ability to align procurement with live foreign exchange rates for the best deal, integration with other software on the individual assets, and insights on equipment performance to assist future procurement strategies. Lackey’s team also provided training for Stena personnel in the Canary Islands, Guyana, Israel, Scapa Flow and the company’s Aberdeen office.
So where does Lackey see the business in five years’ time? “Well, I’d like to see us continue to expand in the maritime and offshore sectors,” he declared. “But I’d also like to see more of our clients moving to a managed service because, in that way, we can offer additional insights and options to improve procedures, raise productivity and boost revenues. There really is huge scope for efficiency gains.”
