The next logical step

CMMS on the Web

From ocean to shore, new Web-enabled systems provide advanced, efficient asset management for global companies. Among the things that seem inevitable, tec hnology rushes ahead at dizzying speeds and businesses grow more global and competitive. These forces have led to a leap forward in asset and maintenance management.

For more than a decade, companies relied on software to track and maintain millions of dollars in assets. That is about to get much easier as the suppliers take their software to the Internet. Users will have the power to manage assets on offshore oil rigs or factory floors from a desktop PC.

As it has become a near-ubiquitous business tool, the Internet evolved into a compelling vehicle for delivering software applications to users. It is fast and inexpensive. This is because software suppliers make upgrades or changes to their offerings from one server and distribute them to thin PC clients. Major computing horsepower does not need to be spread to every desktop, but can reside on central servers.

Further, the same forces making the Internet a valuable business tool are driving the proliferation of intranets in large, dispersed companies. These in-house networks are becoming the backbones for distributing information through an enterprise. Therefore, some software suppliers built their new versions to work over intranets as well as the Internet.

In business, the Internet is coming into its own. Use of the Internet as a remote access tool is growing at a furious pace among Fortune 1,000 companies, according to Forrester Research. According to a 1997 Forrester report, 50 percent of Fortune 1,000 network managers interviewed said that they expect their remote populations to grow to more than 2,000 workers within the next two years.

To keep pace with these increased levels of use, Forrester says, network managers plan to add hundreds of dial-up ports and upgrade existing access server equipment. Brendan Hannigan, senior analyst with Forrester's Network Strategies service, said using the Internet for remote access is the best way to scale corporate remote access.

Clearly, the Internet is becoming a prevalent vehicle for using applications such as CMMS. No matter the user's environment, the Internet-enabled CMMS reduces administrative cost, as upgrades and maintenance of PCs will be simplified because virtually all the work will be done at the server,  not at each individual desktop.

Training costs, likewise, will decrease as familiar Web browsers like Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer make it easier for remote users to access live data, such as up-to-the-minute maintenance reports.

Many CMMS solutions are products designed with user-definable configuration and workflow. That means users can model business processes and dynamically change those processes
as they go. These are not static, packaged solutions.

Users access the system, which resides behind the security of a firewall, with a special password. Unauthorized users will not be able to gain access to important enterprise asset management information. Not only will these safety measures keep the information private, they eliminate costly errors that could occur if an unauthorized user alters data. Headaches, delays and, most importantly, total cost of ownership are
all reduced.

Ship-to-shore data access made easy
Those sort of benefits are attractive to any user. However, some software is especially well suited for far-flung operations such as oil and gas companies. Take a drilling rig in the South China Sea, for example. From the rig, an CMMS user can bounce their Internet signal off a satellite to a base station on the mainland.

Remote access, user-definable configuration, and workflow as well as effective satellite transfer technology are among the benefits that combine to deliver value to users.

Some of these CMMSs can accommodate as many as 7 languages. That's a key for global companies. The Web capabilities are merely the latest enhancement.

The newer additions of CMMS are enterprise asset management systems. Also, they are modular solutions that provide a means to move an organization from traditional maintenance management into asset management posture. This ensures that a company's physical assets are maintained properly and efficiently at minimal costs, while contributing directly to profitability.

CMMSs are used in organizations when maintenance and reliability are critical --oil and gas companies, telephone companies, water utilities and manufacturers with continuous processes. Also, the software is widely used by companies with expensive assets, particularly mobile assets such as trucks, cranes, and earth movers. Mining companies are another major user, as are wastewater treatment plants.

The development of Internet-enabled CMMS stemmed from customer needs. Some users for example, need an efficient way to manage assets spread across four continents. These companies contracted to use the type of CMMS that allows them to transmit data using a dozen satellite systems.

When companies engage in energy exploration, production, and distribution operations that span the globe, they may have activities in more than 100 countries. This requires highly flexible systems and the ability to communicate from multiple sites.

How do we move forward?
To bring Internet capabilities to CMMS, software engineers use technologies from Oracle to convert the software to a Java-based application. They take the pragmatic approach in that they view challenges as a question of, how should one move forward?

This is different than thinking about what can hold one back. For example, one way the engineers move forward was by making satellite transmissions of data practical. When sending data by satellite, lag time can be significant. As each data packet must be confirmed as received before the next packet can be sent. That can mean a single screen of information can take several minutes to transmit.

Clearly, the Internet is becoming a prevalent vehicle for using applications such as CMMS.

The Web-enabled versions of CMMS include the advanced technology, functional modules, and features of the original products. With base modules as the foundation, they provide the system administration features including security. This allows users to define security access for their own users and user groups, as well as define security on the function level. User organizations control access to crucial data and features that eliminate costly mistakes that occur when unauthorized personnel enter the system and alter data.

The use of cutting edge technology, including full Internet capabilities, guarantees low total cost of ownership and administration of a CMMS. Because every CMMS solution can be customized to meet the specific needs of each customer, rapid deployment and quick installation ensure that users begin seeing results quickly.

These results stem from capabilities that can be configured to meet the instantaneous need for information that is common to dispersed global companies. Remote access, user-definable configuration and workflow as well as effective satellite transfer technology are among the benefits that combine to deliver value to users.

Results are what CMMS is about, and its full Web enablement will bring better results to more users. The world, and the way companies view managing and maintaining their assets, is changing. CMMS on the Web will help turn change in favor of companies with valuable assets spread across the globe.