Matt Sickler, Author at Sigga Technologies

Cloud SaaS – The Agile Edge to SAP EAM

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Matt Sickler

The transition from SAP’s conventional ERP solution to S/4 HANA brings diverse positive changes to the table including improved performance, better security, and embraces third-party cloud-based SaaS applications. SAP fully recognizes the value of third-party solutions to deliver a superior user experience. When these solutions come on a cloud SaaS platform, the result is improved agility and tailored experiences replacing the customizations that in the past hampered the evolution of the SAP core.

This article will discuss these opportunities and more with utilizing cloud-based SaaS applications to simplify use and extend the capabilities of SAP EAM.

The New Relationship of SAP with Cloud SaaS Applications

SAP S/4 HANA leverages SAP’s in-memory computing technology, SAP HANA, to empower organizations with more powerful tools to manage data and to drive data analytics. This focussed role for SAP S4/HANA can be traced to a few crucial causation factors – the widespread implementation of digital transformation initiatives, the move to industry 4.0, and the growing need to increase agility and adapt to rapidly changing conditions. And what roles do these factors play?

Although 70% of enterprises may have adopted digitized data-capturing and aggregation processes such as an ERP like SAP, true digital transformation strategies are designed to achieve much more. The goal of the transformation process involves streamlining the ability to gain data-driven insights, automate repetitive tasks, enable front end-users with mobile devices, and to simplify decision-making. This leads to the next crucial factor in the equation.

The fourth industrial revolution is expected to leverage data-driven analytics to automate front-end operational processes and facilitate the application of organizational strategies such as predictive maintenance. Although SAP simplifies the collection of data, prior to SAP S4/HANA the ERP did not provide a user-friendly interface nor seamless support for third-party applications.

Keeping data in silos defeats the analytics capabilities of an enterprise-wide information system. So, SAP’s strategy is to provide seamless support for cloud-based third-party applications allowing your organization to implement industry 4.0 business models and robust end-to-end digital transformation strategies supported by the power of the SAP backend.

Lastly, due to the growth in cloud SaaS applications, SAP saw the opportunity to solve issues they had with customizations. That is, they could push any customizations customers desired to the application layer of the technology stack freeing the core SAP system to operate faster, manage more data, and provide real-time, cross-business insights.

The Evolution of SAP and Third-Party solutions

SAP’s older ERPs such as ECC provided multiple challenging scenarios for organizations using these solutions to capture data and manage operational workflows. Conducting ECC version upgrades, software integrations, and customizing the ERP required extensive technical know-how. Every upgrade and customization project needed extensive recalibration to ensure legacy codes and existing functionalities functioned as expected within the system. Hence, customization projects required professionals with extensive expertise in the interdependencies within the ERP.

As a result, utilizing third-party applications within traditional SAP ecosystems was a difficult proposition. The integration process required an extensive impact assessment before deploying. The assessment process generally involved evaluating the possibility of interface compatibility issues and data fidelity making the integration of third-party applications a complex, time-consuming, and expensive activity.

According to SAP, “SAP recognizes the need to complement its applications with best-in-class cloud SaaS solutions for the most critical lines of business”. Hence, with S/4 HANA, SAP provided opportunities for third-party cloud SaaS providers to develop intelligent and intuitive applications to deliver real-time connected end-user experiences including the use of mobile devices. As a consequence, SAP vastly improved the integration process.

With S/4 HANA, SAP turned their focus to their core business functions while embracing the agility Cloud SaaS solutions could provide. This arrangement ensures S/4 HANA continues to serve as a powerful in-memory computing resource for large data sets leaving Cloud SaaS applications to drive its front-end user experiences for the management of diverse workflows.

Agility Through Cloud SaaS Applications

In addition to recognizing the value of enabling a wide network of cloud SaaS solutions for a breadth of user experiences, SAP is taking advantage of the agility of cloud SaaS solutions. That is, the ability for these solutions to handle the customizations that were once done in the past within the core ERP system itself.

“A modern approach to customization is one that offers a high degree of flexibility while maintaining the integrity of the core. Developing customizations on a development platform that is tightly linked to the core application capabilities yields the same benefits as customizations yet does not disturb the integrity of the core so necessary to ensure continuous innovations get delivered at the pace of business. All new modern SaaS based applications follow this approach. This extensions and platform-based approach to customization enables companies to provide an “agile edge” without disrupting the core. Companies can continue to add new capabilities that reflect their uniqueness in the marketplace without having to customize their core ERP code and lower ensuing risks and costs. A win-win in all regards!” SAP Blog

For companies who have migrated to SAP S/4HANA, you probably already have realized the limitations of the SAP system to encompass your customizations from the prior version. As such, you are likely dealing with the vanilla workflows. If you are in this situation, or migrating to SAP S4/Hana, it is important to consider third-party cloud SaaS applications now that can address your unique needs.

Leveraging Cloud SaaS Solutions to Optimize SAP EAM

Enterprises utilizing SAP S/4 HANA to optimize business processes and cross ERP data insights can take advantage of Cloud SaaS EAM solutions to collect the data to fuel the built-in intelligent technologies such as AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics.

Although SAP now offers an S/4 HANA Manufacturing suite, its solution focuses on capturing IoT data and facilitating collaboration leaving many opportunities for further digitization of workflows and providing better front end-user experiences within operations. For example, a Cloud SaaS application built for user experiences to conduct asset maintenance or developing optimized schedules can utilize and update the SAP core database while delivering superior end-user experiences with real-time access to the SAP data.

The real-time visibility Cloud SaaS solutions provide means workers are more efficient with their available work hours. Workers have crucial information at their fingertips and decision-makers can track operational KPIs in real-time. Other important benefits of utilizing third-party cloud SaaS applications include:

Leveraging the expertise of SaaS solution companies providing solutions for your functional area
Taking advantage of the specialization required for delivering intuitive mobile user experiences
Leveraging the fact that Cloud SaaS vendors handle security upgrades and continuous app improvements

Choosing a Cloud SaaS Application for EAM

Third-party solutions empower enterprises to take advantage of the opportunities SAP S/4 HANA brings to the table and this starts with choosing the right vendors. Here’s a few questions to ask when choosing a vendor:

Does the solutions provider have industry-specific expertise that relates to your use cases?
What is the vendor’s application track record within your industry?
Are the vendor’s solutions SAP-certified for SAP S/4HANA?
Are the mobile solutions intuitive native apps and provide full online and offline use?
How easy is it to customize the application to your work processes?

Sigga Cloud SaaS Solutions for SAP

At Sigga, we have been working with SAP for the last 20 years. We were one of the first SAP partners to have a product running on the Sybase Unwired Platform, the first partner to perform an SAP Customer Qualification Process, and we become a benchmark SAP ICC partner when it comes to integrating solutions to SAP.

Even today, we continue to be tuned on SAP’s strategies, products, and roadmap, which helps us to certify to each new platform, like SAP S4/HANA, and assist customers in taking advantage of the capabilities of each generation of SAP.

Our latest innovation for SAP is our Sigga EAM Empower mobile app, which is a cloud-based SaaS application. The solution comes on a no-code platform to simplify the process of modifying the app to your unique maintenance requirements without the need for customizations. No need for high-cost professional developers to create your workflows. In addition, we have a no-code SAP integration solution furthering the time and cost benefits. With the technical barriers resolved, you can quickly put our mobile solution in the hands of your technicians and see the power of real-time access and improved data quality in SAP.

See the agility of a cloud SaaS mobile EAM!

8 Tips for Effective Preventive Maintenance Checklists

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Matt Sickler

A checklist can help ensure any task, no matter how simple or complicated, is completed properly. From shopping lists to preventive maintenance procedures, checklists document the items needed to be completed and serve as a guide for the person completing the task.

This article will explain the benefits of creating preventive maintenance checklists and provide eight tips to make sure they are effective.

Why are Preventive Maintenance Checklists Important?

Without a preventive maintenance checklist, technicians must rely on equipment manuals which can be bulky, hard to read and even hard to find. Preventive maintenance checklists standardize the process, so the same steps are taken no matter who is completing the task. Preventive maintenance checklists also increase productivity and safety, while allowing for faster troubleshooting and better planning.

Preventive maintenance checklists can also help companies meet safety and compliance requirements. In industries that are evaluated by regulators, like food production, maintenance checklists can be used to provide a record of completed inspections to auditors.

Most importantly, preventive maintenance checklists help avoid unplanned industrial maintenance. Unplanned maintenance requires technicians to spend more time on the repair due to the need to diagnose the problem, as well as obtain parts and repair instructions. It can also lead to more overtime costs. Indirect impacts include unplanned production downtime, late orders, and customer satisfaction issues.

Tip 1: Organize Resource Materials

Before getting started actually creating preventive maintenance checklists, it’s key to get organized. The first step is to determine which assets actually need checklists. If you have a small number of assets this might not be necessary but can be very useful if dealing with a large number of assets.

Next, collect the operating manuals and equipment documentation for the selected assets. Make sure you also have the latest safety and compliance requirements handy. Lastly, be sure to check past asset performance. Being aware of equipment that fails often can help you outline additional maintenance that may be needed in addition to what the equipment manufacturer recommends.

Tip 2: Choose the Proper Type of Checklist for Each Asset

Once you are organized, you’ll need to decide what type of checklist to create for each asset. Two common types of preventive maintenance checklists are pass/fail and step-by-step. Let’s look at the uses for and examples of each.

Pass/fail Checklists

Simple pass/fail checklists are often used for equipment inspections where technicians are looking for early signs of trouble. Pass/fail checklists can be used to monitor ideal equipment conditions, such as temperature, water pressure, or oil level on a regular basis. For example, a pass/fail checklist could direct technicians to check the oil to ensure it is at an acceptable level. If the oil level is satisfactory, the equipment passes. If not, it fails. In this case, a condition fail could trigger a notification to add more oil to the machine. In other cases, a condition fails, like increased temperature, could be indicative of an impending failure.

Example Pass/Fail Checklist:

Component	Yes	No	N/A	Defect
Electric Lift
Does it turn on/off?
Is there abnormal noise?
Does it go up and down?
Emergency release: Does it work?
Hand control: Do all the buttons work? Are the electrical wires frayed?
Bolts on lift. Are they fastened tightly?
Weld sites. Are there any cracks?

Step-by-Step

On the other hand, step-by-step checklists are often used for tasks that are more involved than just monitoring equipment conditions. Step-by-step checklists should be used for more complex preventive maintenance procedures like changing belts, motors, or other parts of the equipment. The step-by-step checklist details the instructions for completing each step of the task from start to finish. Step-by-step checklists ensure that the same process is followed by each technician and all important steps are completed.

Example Step by Step Checklist:

	Component	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Evaporative Condenser
1	Check condition of drive B-belts. Replace if necessary.
2	Check operation of low water float.
3	Check operation of condenser pan water heater and thermostat.
4	Check ball valve for correct operation, lubricate arm and set for correct water level.
5	Check and lubricate fan shaft bearings and locking collars.
6	Check operation of fan motor. Grease adjusting screw.
7	Check/adjust condenser drives if necessary.

Tip 3: Select the Recommended Frequency for Each Checklist

Not all checklists will need to be completed with the same frequency, so you should decide how often each checklist should be utilized.

Daily preventive maintenance checklists are often used for inspections like checking the temperature on a machine or conducting safety checks between shifts.
Weekly checklists are often used for inspections that don’t need to be completed as frequently as a daily inspection. They may also include a task related to a daily checklist. For example, a daily task may be to check the water level in a machine, the weekly task might be to add water.
Monthly preventive maintenance checklists likely include even more tasks related to the weekly and daily checklists, like emptying and replacing the water in a machine.
Quarterly checklists are often related to inspections by third parties to make sure equipment is meeting safety or industry standards.
Seasonal preventive maintenance checklists are often related to changes needed for different weather conditions, like winterizing equipment or switching the HVAC systems from cooling to heating.
Annual checklists are usually comprised of more complex tasks such as disassembling a machine to make sure all internal components are functioning properly.

Tip 4: Ensure Checklists are Clear and Succinct

Preventive maintenance checklists need to be carefully crafted to provide clear instructions that even a new technician can follow. Assuming the technician knows what do to and providing too little information can prevent the task from being completed properly. On the flip side, too much information may be overwhelming, cause confusion, and slow down the maintenance process.

Preventive maintenance checklists should include all the essential details needed to complete the task but be written as succinctly as possible. Break down long descriptions or processes into multiple, shorter steps. Make sure each step describes an actionable item or remove it from the checklist. After drafting the checklist, review it to ensure all steps are in the proper order.

Tip 5: Ensure Checklists Include All Needed Information

Not only should checklists be written clearly in steps that are easy to understand, but they also need to include all the information a technician will need to complete the job. Preventivemaintenance should include a comprehensive list of tools and parts needed to complete the work.

Remember to include any important safety information such as personal protective equipment (PPE) required and lockout, tag out (LOTO) instructions to ensure the machine cannot be started while maintenance is in process.

Preventive maintenance checklists should also contain the approximate time each task will take, as well as the total time for completing the work. Be sure to include visual aids like photos, videos, and diagrams if appropriate.

Tip 6: Get Input from Several Perspectives

Once you have completed your preventive maintenance checklists, you should seek input from other parties to ensure the lists are understandable and include all necessary steps. Checklists should be reviewed by maintenance planners, maintenance operations, and senior technicians to identify any gaps. Be sure to also consult with production operations, as in many cases, they are the people actually doing the inspections or maintenance procedures from the checklists.

Tip 7: Review Checklists Regularly

After checklists have been finalized, it’s important to review them regularly to make sure they are achieving the goal of detecting problems. Make sure checklists aren’t missing any key steps that could potentially identify an issue. Likewise, ensure that checklists don’t include directions to perform activities that have no impact on identifying or preventing problems. If an asset breaks down immediately after being serviced, the checklist should be reviewed to ensure all necessary maintenance steps were included and that nothing else could have been done to prevent the failure.

Tip 8: Use Software Tools to Make the Job Easier

Utilizing software tools to create preventive maintenance checklists makes the job easier and more efficient. These tools, which can integrate with your SAP Plant Maintenance system can further automate preventive maintenance routines.

Providing a mobile application for technicians and inspectors can improve the access and use of the checklists, plus record results which is especially important to demonstrate compliance with industry regulations. Mobile preventive maintenance checklists can be created and require confirmation of the completion of each step before confirming the completion of the checklist. The details are then stored in SAP for compliance reporting.

Lastly, mobile maintenance apps support the collection and analysis of data on failures to support the continued improvement of preventive maintenance checklists.

Inspection Compliance at a Global Food & Beverage CompanyA Sigga customer required inspections that could include over 100 operations per each piece of equipment. When we first met with the company, they were managing the process on paper with hours spent every week to update each operation individually in SAP with an “ok” or “not ok”. The data entry process often took longer than the inspection itself!

We helped the company implement a mobile maintenance solution and create checklists that could be completed by the inspector and updated in mass to SAP completely cutting out the manual data entry process. For “not ok” operations, a new notification was automatically created in SAP copying the inspection order and text entered by the technician detailing the problem. This process was a quick “customization” to Sigga’s EAM Empower app utilizing our unique no-code software platform.

As you might imagine, the time savings for the organization are significant. In addition, they were able to improve their compliance reporting.

Benefits of Effective Preventive Maintenance Checklists

Effective preventive maintenance checklists allow you to utilize data to turn your maintenance processes from slow and error-prone to efficient and proactive. Checklists can help you fine-tune and improve maintenance schedules, as well as help you make changes quickly if an emergency occurs.

Preventive maintenance checklists can also help you improve maintenance effectiveness ratios and the bottom line. In a presentation entitled “The New Approach to Plant Maintenance,” ABB Reliability Services suggested that one hour of properly performed planned maintenance avoids three hours of repair work. Other industry experts estimate that unplanned maintenance can cost 3X to 9X more than planned maintenance.

Let Us Improve Your Preventive Maintenance Checklist Processes

Here at Sigga, we have been helping asset-intensive industries with SAP Plant Maintenance drive digital transformation and mobile initiatives in industrial maintenance for 20 years. Our SAP Certified EAM software solutions can help you improve the capture, structure, and quality of the data needed to build and execute effective preventive maintenance checklists.

Our EAM-Empower mobile EAM application digitizes the entire maintenance process connecting users across your business in real-time. It helps your technicians accurately capture the data you’ll need to create effective preventive maintenance checklists.

Using the mobile interface to SAP, technicians can capture inspection results in real-time. In workplaces without connectivity, technicians and inspectors have full access to all the information they need to complete a checklist while offline. The app then automatically syncs when they are back online without user disruption.

Plus, with our no-code platform, you can easily modify the app to meet your unique maintenance and inspection requirements.

Preparing Maintenance Operations for Migrating SAP ECC to S/4HANA

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Matt Sickler

With a 2027 deadline looming, companies are making plans to migrate SAP ECC to S/4HANA – the biggest update to SAP’s ERP platform in over two decades. SAP S/4HANA removes the separation between operational and analytical systems and allows business users to access operational data in real-time. In addition, SAP S/4HANA offers simplified functionality which results in lower IT and maintenance costs, a higher reaction speed and user efficiency.

So, should you sit back and wait for IT to finish the migration, right? Then, you can update and optimize your maintenance operations processes to take advantage of the power of SAP S/HANA?

Wrong. Migrating to SAP S/4 HANA is not just an IT migration challenge. It’s a whole business challenge. And you can help by preparing your EAM processes for the transition now. Read on to understand the benefits to you and your IT team.

Continue reading “Preparing Maintenance Operations for Migrating SAP ECC to S/4HANA”

A Mobile App for SAP Plant Maintenance That Adapts to You

Posted on February 28, 2022 by Matt Sickler

Industrial maintenance teams work in increasingly complex and dynamic environments. Moreover, budget pressures mean continually working to do more with less. Investing in the right mobile maintenance technologies can help overcome these challenges by improving productivity and communication for greater responsiveness and cost savings.

But deploying a mobile app for SAP plant maintenance is not enough, you need the flexibility to continually automate more of your routines and adapt quickly to changing requirements over time.

In today’s article, we speak to the benefits of deploying a mobile maintenance app on a no-code platform to gain the flexibility to own your workflows and modify the app at any time. Let us show you how you can improve productivity today, and future-proof your operations for whatever comes next.

Continue reading “A Mobile App for SAP Plant Maintenance That Adapts to You”

New Tech Brings New Flexibility in Mobile Maintenance Apps

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Matt Sickler

Are you stuck in a queue with IT delaying the start of your digitization projects?

Do you ever wish you could tweak your apps yourself to fit your needs?

Do you want to avoid customization time and costs?

Are you afraid to commit to a software app that might be obsolete in three years?

If you said YES to any of these, continue reading to learn why technology advancements in software platforms should be part of your considerations when evaluating a mobile maintenance app for SAP PM. Continue reading “New Tech Brings New Flexibility in Mobile Maintenance Apps”

New Digitization Approaches for Strategic Maintenance Management

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Matt Sickler

The efficiency driven by end-to-end digital workflows is imperative for success in today’s tight labor market. The technology is mature and the methods to implement have evolved to overcome the historical challenges to embark on the change, such as

Limited budget and staffing – both in operations and IT
Poor quality master data
Disparate, critical, legacy systems (ie SAP EAM)
Employee resistance to change

The business opportunity is clearly significant, as McKinsey research found, “technology has helped some companies to boost maintenance-labor productivity by 15 to 30 percent.”

This article will discuss new process opportunities in software execution to digitize your paper-based workflows. It is easier today to overcome these implementation challenges, in order to improve productivity faster, reduce costs plus become “future-proof” with the flexibility to address future needs.

Continue reading “New Digitization Approaches for Strategic Maintenance Management”

Device Considerations for Mobile EAM with SAP PM

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Matt Sickler

Replacing your paper-based working processes and going fully digital with SAP PM requires consideration into the right software and mobile devices.First you need to identify the right mobile EAM app that will fully meet your needs. Your Second decision is to identify the mobile devices that will work for your various teams.As a leading supplier of mobile EAMapp for SAP, we have pulled together a list of mobile device features and options you may want to include in your research into mobile devices.

Feature Considerations When Selecting Mobile Devices

Rugged Mobile devices have become increasingly critical as technology, regulations,and working practicesevolve.In maintenance environments, conditions can be unpredictable, dangerous,or volatile. On top of this, there are usability, connectivity, liability, and employee safety considerations that all play a role in the types of mobile devices that are used on-site or in the field.Here’s some common features to consider:

Safety

Using electronic devices of any kind in hazardous maintenance environments creates a safety issue and violates codes and regulations, such as those set by OSHA.Hazardous areas include environments with combustible or ignitable substances, such as gasses or vapors. The hazardous designation is based on both the kind of hazard and the likelihood of the hazard being present.

Although according to Gayle Nicoll PhD, REP, ASP, CSP AECOM’s Americas Process Safety Lead, there’s been no incidents involving hazardous locations that have been directly attributed to PED(Personal Electronic Device)use”.So why the strict global regulations?Even A small risk is a risk and therefore understanding the regulations and implications for choice of mobile devices is critically important. In addition,employees must be aware, trained and adhere to the safety procedures for working in hazardous locations including use of electronic devices.

Look for devices specifically identified as“non-incendive”and are rated for the potential hazards in your work environments.Workers in the oil and gas industry, for example, are frequently exposed to risks that may include potential fires or explosions, and often complete their daily tasks in closely confined areas. Non-incendive devices are uniquely developed for these types of high risk environments to improve efficiency and safety.

Device Durability

Maintenance workers may be conducting inspections,taking measurements, servicing,or repairing equipment wherever the asset resides. This means that their devices could come into contact with liquids, grease, dust and debris, or extreme temperatures.

Often,smartphones and tablets must be durable for unusual circumstances, such as grease-coated fingers that may drop the device onto unforgiving surfaces.Devices Should be built to resist damage from drops of over a meter, submersion in water,operate within a range of temperatures,withstand vibrations and shocks,plus resistoil, dirt,or dust.Good news here is that the industry has set standards, tests, and rating scales for buyers to understand the degree of durability.For example, a smartphone rated at IP68 is “dust resistant” and can be “immersed in 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.”

Battery Life

A reliable, long-lasting battery is crucial to completing a job by the end of a regular workday or supporting employees through an extended workday. In circumstances where normal battery life still isn’t sufficient, then alternative solutions should be in place to support work continuity. For example, the battery life can be supplemented with external batteries,or hot-swappable batteries.You can also provide convenient charging stations in strategic locations.

For industries that may encounter emergency repair situations without power,further backup battery plans should be considered beyond the normal day-to-day requirements.

Touchscreen Sensitivity

A versatile display is an enormous asset in any maintenance environment, which is why screen technology should be a key factor. For example, being able to clearly read the screen in poor or very bright light, such as direct sunlight, is important for field work, as is being able to navigate the screen and scroll while wearing gloves or in wet, snowy,or humid conditions.Many of today’s rugged smartphone and tablet models include integrated Corning Gorilla Glass For added durability or special screen coatings that can help resist oil and fingerprints.

Touchscreen sensitivity should be designed to readily discern human touch,even if the screen is slick from humidity, coated in dust, or the user has gloves on. This ensures that weather conditions and personal protective equipment (PPE) aren’t deterrents to job performance and productivity.Screen resolution also factor to consider depending on the content being viewed as part of your team’s work.

Device Consolidation

Maintenance workers often use multiple devices on the job for equipment inspections and testing. Switching between numerous devices can be time-consuming and inefficient. For instance, a field worker in the energy and utilities industry may have to tradeoff between two or more tools to test gauges while in a high-risk setting.

Instead of lugging around a few different devices, workers can use a single smartphone or tablet that consolidates a number of “tools”to reduce the time typically devoted towards routine tasks.Consider a rugged mobile device with a radiofrequency identification (RFID) or a barcode scanner that can simplify routines and directly integrate data into a work management app to update work orders or warehouse records. One less devices can mean at least one less step in the process.

Camera

Smartphoneand tabletcameras have been continually improving through the years. Camera resolution may not be a critical consideration, but there are many other options to consider, including the ability to capture images in low-light situations or sense and capture infrared images.

Processor, Memory and Storage

Choosing the right CPU performance, memory, and storage options will be critical for staff productivity.Working memory (RAM) must accommodate the data managed in today’s applications plus the potential for machine learning, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and analytic capabilities of apps in the near future.Consider 4GB RAM memory as a minimum.

Storage memory is critical for worker productivity in locations without connectivity.Many mobile apps will store data on the mobile device to support continuous use of the app when the user is offline.Consider 128GB as the minimum storage memory.

Operating System

Your operating system choices are likely already established within your company policies and mobile device management security software. To decide on the right operating system for your industrial maintenance or warehouse operations, consider the availability of devices with the features you need.In addition, look at the operating systems supported by your choice of mobile EAMapplications.Generally, most device vendors and application providers support bothApple and Android operating systems.

Network Connectivity

Maintenance technicians and workers need to have full access to the information and use of their mobile devices anywhere they work. Many locations, such as certain spaces within a warehouse or on an offshore oil rig, have spotty network connections or no signal at all. Workers need the capabilities to access and collect data in areas with poor or zero network connectivity regardless of the industrial environment.

Smartphones and tablets with a minimum of 4G LTE and WIFI 5GHz key for optimal connectivity. The mobile device should be equipped to support Bluetooth 5.0, which has a substantially longer range and at least twice the data transfer speeds for secure, short-distance connections.Most smartphones and tabletsinclude2.4GHz and 5GHzWiFiconnectivityto your router infrastructure. WiFi extenders can also be strategically located to support certain working environments.

Also, consider native mobile apps for free offline access.Natively designedmobileEAMappsprovide the data that workers need in areas without connectivity so they can continuously collect information, review work orders,reference equipment manuals, or verify task completion.

Understanding Feature Options

There are many options in each of the features we have outlined above.The Mobile Device manufacturers help by grouping commonly requested features into a single rugged smartphone or tablet for typical industrial use cases. Identify your critical and nice-to-have features to make the right feature/price/model decisions to support each of your different work teams.

Download our feature guide to industrial mobile device features to specify your particular requirements.

How Sigga Can Help

Sigga has 20 years of experience in digitally transforming workflows across a range of asset-intensive industries who use SAP.We offer native mobile apps for maintenance and warehouse operations that deliver the full range of benefits enabled by a native mobile app, including faster performance, better security, and more streamlined use of features of the phone, such as the camera and GPS, from within the app.Or Apps Are designed specifically for full offline access to app features and data resources to support teams in any situation with a reliable user experience.

Sigga’s Mobile EAM app keeps technicians in the field or plant with immediate access to information which results in greater productivity, real-time data visibility, and reduces maintenance costs.
Sigga’s Warehouse and Inventory app improves efficiency of warehouse resources, increases data accuracy, and reduces inventory carrying costs.
Sigga’s Planning and Scheduling solution improves maintenance effectiveness by automating many maintenance management activities from planning annual maintenance budgets to creating schedules that result in improved technician routing and increased asset uptime.

The Keys to Effective Change Management in Industrial Maintenance

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Matt Sickler

The pandemic has been a catalyst for accelerating digital transformation initiatives. Numerous organizations responded to the pandemic by trying to advance operational digitization as quickly as possible, but effective change management is going to be key for those that succeed.

“Companies are pouring millions into ‘digital transformation’ initiatives — but a high percentage of those fail to pay off.”

Harvard Business Review

For industrial maintenance operations, the issue is exacerbated by the fact that many organizations early on the digitization curve and still using paper-based processes.According to Jennifer Waldo, for Tech Target IoT Agenda, “The idea of technological speed and agility are evolving concepts in the industrial world. The industrial sector is just beginning to embrace more digital elements in order to compete successfully in the current era. Shifting the culture of an industrial company to more quickly adapt and embrace digitization will be one of the biggest factors in a successful transformation.”

The results are worth it when you effectively manage the process to not only change technologies but fully address the work processes and people impacts. “When companies get all of the requirements right, the results can be impressive. Leading players in a variety of heavy industries have used digital tools to dramatically reduce unplanned outages while boosting maintenance-labor productivity. Higher availability and a more-efficient workforce have increased profitability by 4 to 10 percent in some organizations,” according to McKinsey& Co.research.

To be on the winning end of maintenance digitization initiative, consider the advice we’ve accumulated through our 20-years of transforming EAM workflows with asset-intensive industries. Including Supporting insights from key analysts, read our whitepaper to find the keys to achieving EAM digital transformation success.

Download Sigga Whitepaper

16 pages, English

Effective Maintenance Management Strategies for 2022

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Matt Sickler

As 2021 draws to a close, we look back to the trends that have had a significant impact on maintenance operations. From the worsening labor shortage to lingering supply chain issues, we can see that many of the challenges from 2022 will continue to be a force to contend with in 2022.In this article, we’ll explore the trends and related resolutions to consider in maintenance operations planning and investments for the coming year.

EAM Challenges and Forecast for 2022

What trends and challenges do we expect to be a force in 2022?McKinsey asked majorJournalists, media executives, columnists, commentators, and media critics — from the US and around the world: What major themes will we see in global media in 2022? What should we see more of?

“The high interest we see now in global supply-chain stories will continue to grow.
This includes big-picture stories about systems under duress and global worker shortages.

– Meredith Artley, Editor in Chief and SVP, CNN Digital Worldwide

“It’s about labor. COVID-19 has exposed the long-standing divide between labor and corporations in terms of wages and working conditions… and it’s going to become more intense come 2022.

– Marsha Cooke, SVP global news and special projects, VICE MEDIA LLC

“Battles over climate change policy and implementation of agreements will dominate national and international news agendas in 2022. This, of course, encompasses so much. After so many years of discussion, we may see a revolutionary breakthrough in corporate social responsibility and the consideration of environmental, social, and governance criteria to rate companies’ performance, conduct, and future strategy.”

– Valérie Arnould, Deputy Director, digital revenue network, World Association of News Publishers

“The rolling changes to our world brought about by exponential technology developments and the disconnect with slower, linear approaches of our government and institutions will surely remain a dominant story in 2022. There are deep ramifications for these technology developments, including the continued impact of crypto on finance, the tech platforms on information and democracy,AI and automation technologies on jobs, renewable energy sources and better batteries on the environment, and synthetic biology on our health and medicine. But the flashpoints will only get messier and have greater business and financial implications.”

– Kevin Delaney, Co-founder and Editor in Chief, Charter

Certainly, these challenges are not new topics, but as the journalists noted, they are becoming more urgent or lingering requirements for 2022 planning.Is it time to revisit your current path and consider prioritizing actions to better manage and improve maintenance operations? Take a look at our articles this year that pull together proven strategies and tactics to address these challenges and more as you plan for 2022.

2022 Resolutions

1) Better Planning to Manage Through Continued Supply Chain Issues

Maintenance teams need to improve their ability to manage the inventory of parts and materials to maximize production uptime. It is challenging enough for production teams to deal with the supply chain issues for raw materials. Add the uncertainty of obtaining spare parts to quickly repair downed equipment, the situation becomes unacceptable.

Maintenance operations need to do their part to reduce unexpected downtime and preventive maintenance is the tried and true path to mitigating downtime. But committing to the execution of planned maintenance tasks can be especially challenging when corrective and emergency repairs take precedence. Given the shortage of skilled labor, the situation is only getting worse.

There are proven maintenance strategies, like reliability-centered maintenance, that can help you plan your maintenance approach to minimize expenses and optimize the use of your limited workforce.

If you don’t already utilize sensors to facilitate inspection rounds and reduce preventive maintenance frequency, consider getting started on the path towards predictive maintenance.If you are already on this path, consider the steps to further your progress to take full advantage of these technologies for predictive maintenance.Sensor technology can give you the advanced warning of a failure to enable the time needed to procure parts and materials.

Minimizing surprises and turning around a reactive maintenance department, will not only reduce downtime, but it will also improve the advanced planning of replacement parts and materials due to the visibility of requirements from creating the PM plans.

2) Improve Job Attractiveness, Hiring, and Retention of your Skilled Maintenance Workforce

Besides deploying technologies to drive efficiencies, technology can help you improve job quality to attract and retain industrial maintenance talent.In fact, modern day technologies to support work tasks such as mobile devices and equipment sensors are fully expected by the younger generations in maintenance jobs.

With what they are called the “great resignation”(employees just leaving their jobs over the latter half of2021),it is critical to deploy strategies NOW to overcome the shortage of skilled maintenance labor. Successful organizations will focus on how to “do more with less” as opposed to hoping that the situation will quickly turnaround.

And, as you look at your plans for 2022, consider how to make your maintenance department organization structure more effective in order to work with the staff you have or worse yet, with fewer skilled technicians.

3) Increase EAM Planning in Support of Environmental, Social, and Governance Evaluations

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) is gaining greater interest with investors who are evaluating how companies mitigate these risks to ensure their long-term sustainability as a business.Maintenance operations teams are no stranger to developing risk mitigation plans. ESG forces the effort beyond the usual EAM plans. If you aren’t looking at your plans with an eye towards ESG, now is a good time to start.

Part of ESG planning is the evaluation of how companies can adapt and be agile in the face of volatility, uncertainty, change and ambiguity (VUCA) in today’s business environment.To address these challenges, the International Standards Organization (ISO) developed theISO 55000 series (55000, 55001, and 55002) of international standards covering the management of assets of any kind. The ISO 55000 series describes what a company should do to maximize the value of its assets on a sustainable basis.

Social strategies to protect the workforce is an on-going and expanding consideration for advancing maintenance operations management.It is also a driver of growing compliance regulations especially for food-quality plant maintenance for food & beverage manufacturers.

4) Invest in AI and Automation Technologies to Optimize EAM

Analysts have been consistent in promoting the acceleration of adoption of digital technologies is necessary in today’s environment. Not only to manage the challenges of managing people through a pandemic, but also to provide the agility to respond to sudden changes in their operations. The side benefit is greater productivity to deal with the labor shortage situation.

As McKinsey& Co. found in their research, “When companies get all of the requirements right, the results can be impressive. Leading players in a variety of heavy industries have used digital tools in dramatically reducing unplanned outages while boosting maintenance-labor productivity. Higher availability and a more-efficient workforce have increased profitability by 4 to 10 percent in some organizations.”

Getting the “requirements right”, requires effective change management for industrial maintenance teams.

Industry 4.0 technologies are key to growing cost-effective predictive maintenance strategies.Advancing your use of these smart planet technologies will be important in 2022, as the Fifth Industrial Revolution (Industry 5.0) will take these capabilities a step further by improving the collaboration between humans and machines, allowing humans to work even more smarter and more efficiently.

Planning for a Successful 2022

Annual Maintenance Planning

As you finalize your annual maintenance plans for 2022, consider the investments in processes to improve your planning and budgeting process. Creating a bottom-up, data-driven, maintenance budget with SAP can be challenging. And if you did this recently, consider what it’s going to take to keep track of your actual spend to budget in 2022. There is a better way, with an automation solution to support the process of maintenance planning and budget management. The solution can maintain views of the department budget and spending by financial cost categories as well as by maintenance operational views.

Planning and scheduling automation tools canals help you reduce budgets with more effective maintenance planning– including annual planning, down to the monthly/weekly and daily planning and scheduling of maintenance tasks.These tools are key to turning around a reactive maintenance operation and gaining control of limited resources.

Measuring Results

Now is a good time to establish baseline measures to track the effectiveness of your maintenance operations in 2022. Here’s some common measures to consider tracking for next year:

Wrench time – when was the last time you conducted a wrench time study? Do you know what are the common time wastes for your valuable, limited technician staff? A wrench time study is a great way to uncover the low-hanging fruit of time wastes nonetheless benchmark your operations with other similar organizations.
Maintenance effectiveness – Look at your 2021 results to evaluate your percentage of planned, corrective and breakdown maintenance work. Again, compare to benchmarks and set goals for 2022 to shift towards more planned maintenance for lowering your costs and optimizing your use of resources in the long run.
Schedule compliance – and similar planning measures help you identify the root causes of low compliance issues to improve planning accuracy and staff efficiency
Downtime – MTTR, MTBF, OEE are all measures that can help drive collaborative conversations with production to optimize operations overall.

Justifying the investment in automation and mobile solutions

Building the business case to invest in solutions for the maintenance department doesn’t have to be difficult. Often a quick, back-of-the-envelope calculation can demonstrate the potential for real cost savings and productivity improvements. You can add more rigor with these cost savings analysis tools:

Mobile EAM Savings. Justify the investment in replacing paper with mobile devices for technicians to work directly with SAP PM, the most obvious impact is reducing resources due to the wrench time improvements. And if you need to justify a maintenance solution investment without cutting headcount, consider making the case from the hidden cost savings.
Planning and Scheduling Savings. Justify the investment in adding automation to the process of maintenance planning and scheduling from SAP PM data. In this whitepaper, Unleash the Power of SAP and Save, we outline the savings in terms of improving wrench time, operational effectiveness and time savings for the planners and schedulers.

20-Years of EAM Innovations

For two decades, we’ve been staying on top of the evolution of challenges for maintenance operations in asset-intensive industries.In 2021, we celebrated several milestones in our evolution as a company:

Gemspring Capital partnership –at the beginning of the year, we went into partnership with Gemspring to support our rapid global expansion to serve and expand our enterprise clients with operations around the world.
SAP Silver Partner – for over 15-years, we’ve been focusing on innovations in EAM for SAP including developing our own proprietary SAP integration technology and sustaining SAP certifications for our EAM software and mobile solutions. Few, if any companies, can say they have been focused on SAP EAM and mobility for more than a decade.
Successful Customers – we are proud of the results our customers have achieved and continue to experience as we evolve our partnerships to achieve new levels of productivity. Our current global enterprise customers are also key to our innovation roadmap, including our latest launch:
Budget Management automation – we recently launched a new innovation to further improve how companies utilize SAP PM for annual budgeting and budget tracking. This solution is another example of augmenting and optimizing SAP with today’s automation technologies.
Sigga 20-year Anniversary – Our long history of dedication to SAP and EAM is your guarantee of results.

As 2021 draws to a close, here at Sigga, we look forward to partnering with our enterprise customers to overcome current and future challenges in EAM.Our talented team are tirelessly working on new innovations to help companies get more done with fewer people, optimize maintenance metrics, and provide the agility needed to succeed in 2022 and into the future.

Choose an experienced partner to simplify your SAP EAM workflows.

Learn more about Sigga.

Advancing Failure Analysis for SAP Plant Maintenance

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Matt Sickler

SAP Plant Maintenance(PM) plans are key to reducing and minimizing the impact of unplanned events on safety, the environment, and business profitability. But creating and staying committed to the execution of PM plans is often a challenge with limited resources and data quality issues.

In this article, we will discuss how organizations can improve data collection and analysis to make informed decisions and improve preventive maintenance plans.

Making a Commitment to Increase Preventive Maintenance

When Equipment is not working properly,it is not producing capacity. A lack of production translates to lost revenue. Worse still, complete failure can result in significant costs to repair or replace equipment,idle production staff,and even loss of raw materials such as spoilage in food & beverage manufacturing. Preventive Maintenance goes a long way towards maximizing productivity and avoiding costly unplanned downtime.

Many organizations do not effectively deploy proactive maintenance strategies such as preventive, predictive,and reliability-centered maintenance. As the Marshall Institute notes, there is a heavy tendency to use the approach of “run to failure” rather than practicing preventative maintenance. And even in maintenance departments that indicate that they are committed to preventive maintenance,many do not practice it fully or effectively.

One of the reasons that these initiatives often fail is that the preventive maintenance (PM) plans are not based on the right data. Maintenance planners rely on a broad range of data sources when putting together PMtasks. For example, equipment manufacturers’ manuals, work order history,and advice from reliability experts. Since many maintenance organizations continue to rely on paper-based processes and manually input data into SAP,PM tasks are often based on incomplete and inaccurate data. Thus,data integrity plays a crucial role in creating and implementingPM plans.

Data Integrity in SAP Plant Maintenance

Maintenance leaders are often surprised to learn that even though they have powerful system to manage maintenance data in SAP PM, they may not be getting the most out of it. Such was the case in a South African-based petrochemical plant. Management began to notice that PM jobs and repairs were not being completed on their first attempt. This contributed to an increase in the work backlog, rising costs, and inefficient use of maintenance technician’s time.

As management delved further into the issue, they identified something that was both troubling and astonishing.Since Work order results were manually entered into SAP, the details on what happened and the cause of the failures were based on hand written notes. In SAP PM, these are open text fields to capture the data.As they looked into the data, they found over 300 different reason code for failure that pointed to one issue: the parts were not available to complete the work order the first time.

The open-ended responses created a database that could not be easily analyzed by stakeholders to look at failures,root causes,nor trends. A lack of standard data entry fields negatively impacted the data integrity. And poor data integrity leads to incomplete and/or ineffective maintenance planning.

Developing an Effective SAP Preventive Maintenance Plan

Failure analysis is a crucial component of a proactive maintenance culture. It involves collecting and analyzing failure data to identify the root cause of a breakdown. Failure analysis typically conducted after a failure has already occurred.Reliability engineer and maintenance managers can use what they learn to improve the planning of PM tasks as well as modify machine design or how equipment is used.

But failure analysis is only useful in the maintenance planning process if stakeholders have access to complete and accurate data. This means streamlining and standardizing the collection of maintenance data within SAPPM through the use of automation technologies. For example, through the use of mobile EAM solution technicians can identify the reasons for failure using drop-down menus of predefined reason codes. This information is automatically synced with SAP to give maintenance planners the reliable and complete data they need tocreatePM plans.

While the process of improving SAP PM plan may seem overwhelming, you can get started by following the steps outlined here:

Audit Data Resource

The first step is to compile your data resources to ensure that you will have the data that you need to engage in meaningful analysis.Then determine which assets you want to include in your preventive maintenance plans. For organizations that do not have established preventive maintenance processes, you may only want to start with a handful of your most important assets and scale up from there.

Relevant data resources will include things like manufacturer repair manuals,pastwork orders, and failure reports.If your maintenance department relies on paper-based work order management and SAP PM,this will be a time-consuming task until you better structure the data inputs into the system.Focus on pulling together the data from past work orders for each assetto determine:

What failed
When it failed
Why it failed
What Type of repair was done
Did it fail again

Conduct RCA and/or FMEA

Effective Maintenance planning encompasses two perspectives: what did happen and what could happen. RootCauseAnalysis (RCA), also called failure analysis, looks back at what has already happened. When you experience a corrective or breakdown event, an RCA involves looking at why the problem occurred and working your way down until you identify the underlying causes. For each cause, you can identify a solution. These solutionscanbecometasks in your PMplan.

Unlike RCA,Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)seeks to identify what could happen by identifying potential failure modes (FM).There are several types of FMEA analysis: Design, Process and Functional. We are going to focus onFunctional examples.The process starts with a bottoms-up approach. Each component of an asset is examined to identify all potentialFMsthat can happen and what would be the consequences of each failure. Since technicians are the most familiar with assets, they are typically the best resource for identifying these details.

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis – Pump System Example

Equipment function	Functional failure	Component	Potential failure modes	Potential effects of failure	Potential causes of failure	Current controls	Frequency Of controls
Provide process flow	Loss of process flow	Motor	Seized bearings	Total loss of capacity	Lack of lubrication	Lube motor bearings	6M
Provide process flow	Degraded process flow	Impeller	Reduced discharge pressure	Partial loss of capacity	Normal wear	Overhaul pump	2Y

Making FMEA the heart of an equipment maintenance plan

Prioritizing Risks

Using this information, maintenance department scan then set criteria for evaluating the level of risk of each identified failure and assignita Risk Priority Number (RPN). The RPN is a metric that used to prioritize maintenance tasks based the likelihood of an occurrence,ability to detect the problem, and the severity of the impact.For example– rating the severity(SEV)of the failure:

Rating	Effect	Severity of the effect
10	Hazardous without warning	Very high severity, potential effects safe system operation without warning
9	Hazardous with warning	Very high severity, potential FM effects safe system operation with warning
8	Very high	System inoperable with destructive failure without compromising safety
7	High	System inoperable with equipment damage
6	Moderate	System inoperable with minor damage
5	Low	System inoperable without damage
4	Very low	System operable with significant degradation of performance
3	Minor	System operable with some degradation of performance
2	Very minor	System operable with minimal interference
1	None	No effect

Source: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis Under Uncertainty: A Literature Review and Tutorial

Follow the same approach to identify a scale for likelihood to occur(OCC) and likelihood of detection (DET) and multiply the three risk factors to determine a RPN number.Then, working with the engineers and technicians identify recommended actions, frequency required, and forecast the end result using the sameRPN scale.

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis – Pump System ExampleContinued

Risk assessment (as is)				Recommended improvements/actions	Recommended improvement process frequency	Responsibility/ date	Risk assessment (to be)
SEV	OCC	DET	RPN				SEV	OCC	DET	RPN
6	5	3	90	Include on vibration and IR route	3M	PdMTech/ 1Q22	6	3	2	36
4	6	5	120	Monitor flow and discharge pressure	1W	Operation/ 1W22	4	6	3	72

Making FMEA the heart of an equipment maintenance plan

This type of analysis can start at a high-level,looking at the major components of a critical asset, then overtime go deeper into sub-components and materials.

The result allows maintenance engineers and managers to prioritize PM tasks and make informed decisions to improve the organization’s commitment to executingPM plans.Redo The analysis annually to evaluate the impact and further refine your plans for further optimization of your resources.

In Conclusion

Preventive Maintenance help organizations avoid unplanned downtime and improve resource allocation.While many organizations indicate that they are committed to preventive maintenance plans, initiatives are often hampered by the lack of quality data and the ability to analyze it.

Start with structuring the capture of data for analysis and then you can look at industry-proven methods like RCA and/or FMEA to prioritize and focus yourPM plans.Understanding the RPNpriorityof a planned task improves the organization’s commitment to see that it is performed on time. Plus,based on data, you can optimize the frequency of a task– possibly reducing the number of PMs required per year,more efficiently utilize your resources, and increase your schedule compliance.

By making the commitment to better capture and structure data,analyze failures,and build better SAP Plant Maintenance plans, you can achieve long-term results with higher asset OEE and minimize the impact of unplanned events on safety, the environment,and business profitability.

How Sigga Can Help

Sigga is a certified SAP partner with over two decades of experience providing industry-leading industrial maintenance solutions. Our mobile EAMsolution streamlines the collection of data. Work orders are dispatched to technicians on their mobile devices. Technicians automatically capture and structure the data needed for analysis through their day-to-day use of the app to complete their work orders.Data is automatically synced with SAP Plant Maintenance. This solution solves data gaps and helps enable maintenance teams to be able to create, implement, and monitor preventive maintenance plans.

In addition, our planning and scheduling solution automates routines to improve the deployment of preventive maintenance programs with full visibility to the prioritization of tasks.With these two solutions, our clients have seen productivity results from 15% to over 50%.

Sigga Solutions

Read more about Sigga Solutions and how we can help you improve your preventive maintenance program.