Mobile CMMS: deployment example
Before using Mobility Work CMMS here at Peugeot Japy Technologies, I was working as a maintenance engineering technician: I was in charge of creating preventive maintenance tasks and spare parts’ lists for the equipement, I was collaborating with the maintenance manager, etc. When the plant was taken over by Farinia Group, I was given the chance to take part in the deployment project of Mobility Work. Of course, I accepted and immediately started preparing the import file on Excel, in which I could gather the equipment’s and spare parts’ lists as well as our former maintenance management software data. Peugeot Japy is kind of a special case, that is why Anthony Blanchard (maintenance expert at Mobility Work) rapidly came to guide me.
How did the different teams welcome Mobility Work?
We have people of all ages here. We actually were really surprised to see that the ones who were initially struggling the most with technology were the ones who best accepted the tool: I wasn’t expecting that at all. We thought that the youngest people would adopt it instantly, but it didn’t turn out like this.
All news related to ongoing interventions are available from Mobility Work mobile application’s newsfeed, available on iOS and Android.
At first, technicians were quite impressed as it’s a technological tool, which requires regular use of a smartphone as it is mobile, so it was quite new for them. The process goes like this: I’m on the field to fix a problem on my piece of equipment, I scan my QR code, I take a look at the ongoing failures on the piece of equipment, I review the documentation and spare parts… The techniciens were astonished to be able to do all that on a simple smartphone. They were also really surprised to have the possibility to directly dictate things to their phones to enter their daily activities.
Do you feel like you made a wise choice opting for smartphones, and to what extent do they meet your needs?
I have to admit that it really depends on the user. Some technicians prefer to keep certain habits and would rather use the web app, while others always work on a smartphone. We had to challenge some old working methods and I therefore was confronted to some people who, at first, didn’t understand why they had to change all their habits. They quickly understood that they were wrong.
We are also planning on implementing touch panel screens, which we haven’t received yet but which will be installed very soon. We want to put one of them in the store to be able to manage pieces outputs and to control spare parts more efficiently.
Moreover, we want to install screen displays in each workshop, including the maintenance premises, so that we can display Mobility Work’s newsfeed.
It proves that having different devices is very beneficial: each user can choose what interface suits him or her the best.
Did you personally have to help technicians using the tool, or to ask them to enter equipment, tasks, etc.?
Once again, it really depends from one technician to another. When we first started implementing the product, some technicians indeed needed my help during the first week, in order to get accustomed to it, but they really quickly became independent. Meanwhile, other colleagues needed more help: I often have to correct their mistakes, to explain to them how they should do, to tell them why what they are doing is wrong…
In any case, I can say that technicians have more questions when they use the mobile app than the web one. That’s because they were only used to work on desktop computers and were systematically comparing the two interfaces.
In concrete terms, how did Mobility Work changed your maintenance management?
First, I would say that the tool offers a far better follow up of breakdowns than before. If the technician uses it correctly, it simplifies its daily activities and allows him to save time, especially thanks to QR codes, as they allow you to see all the information you need to know about your equipment in a few seconds.
Second, we have four different teams here at Peugeot Japy: the morning, afternoon, night and weekend shifts. Mobility Work for sure enables the various teams to communicate efficiently, as someone can create an unfinished task in the morning and another colleague can see and finish it in the afternoon. We drastically reduced information loss.
What features do you use the most?
As I have to generate maintenance indicators every day, I very often use the analytics tool. Each morning, I basically have to check the newsfeed to look for potential mistakes and correct them or add the missing information. Thanks to it, I can follow all the activities performed and save all the possible dysfunctions in the analytics tool. I have to go through all this process because it sometimes happens that technicians create tasks and forget to use labels. Yet all this information is essential to make the best use of the analytics tool. This kind of examples show how Peugeot Japy Technologies is different from many plants and that its situation is special: we have to get back on solid ground.
Mobility Work’s analytics tool forecasts are based on data collected from thousands of users working on the same equipment.
Concerning maintenance technicians, they simply create a lot of tasks which they then add to activities and therefore appreciate to be able to see all the hours they did during the day. They are truly happy with the fact that it’s a mobile tool but they still like to have an overview of all their tasks at the end of the day on a desktop computer.
To what extent did Mobility Work allow you to reorganize the maintenance department?
The CMMS software Mobility Work definitely helped us enhance the maintenance department’s organization: people share much more information than they did before. Technicians sometimes used to spend hours looking for a piece of information, but it’s now over. Things are really changing and communication has been revolutionized.
We’re still occasionally having trouble because we had to change the whole plant’s organization. For example, a production technician asks us if the spare part he ordered has been delivered or not, even if everything is already updated in Mobility Work, and that looking at the app, he could have seen that this part was going to be delivered during the day.
Some people don’t instinctively look for the information they need in the Mobility Work app. Sometimes it’s hard to change habits in such a small amount of time as technicians were used to other processes, it’s like a whole new culture!
Did you have any difficulty while deploying or using the tool? If yes, which ones?
The main difficulty I had was with some technicians who weren’t used at all to enter all their activities in our former CMMS. So they thought managers were willing to watch them and follow their every move. Other technicians really thought the tool was completely useless.
Still, the ones who thought this tool was only beneficial to managers to check what they were doing were the same ones who quickly understood why the CMMS was so interesting. Of course, when a technician understands that he’s the only person in the whole team who is not complying with a standard, he quickly feels isolated: he therefore has no choice but to work with others. By necessity and thanks to everyone’s work, everything gets back to normal.
On my side, I faced a very specific challenge. When I’m confronted to technicians who are refusing to use the tool, there’s not a lot I can say, I’m not their manager. I’m a technician just like them, so it can quickly become complicated. To solve this problem, I need my managers’ unwavering support while deploying the solution. Otherwise I feel like I’m working for nothing and I feel discouraged. The superiors really need to be invested and make the teams understand why such a tool is essential. Luckily, managers progressively understood how this deployment important was and are now supporting me.
How did the people who were at first quite reluctant understand that Mobility Work wasn’t a surveillance tool for managers?
They quickly understood how useful the tool was simply by using it. Even the technicians who at first said it was useless now think the opposite. The indeed know that a good CMMS that gathers all the data is the most important thing for a successful industrial maintenance. As all technicians have to enter their daily activities, they have no choice but to notice that they’re able to find the missing spare parts, to check how far their colleagues have gone, etc.
How did you overcome all these challenges?
The situation here at Peugeot Japy Technologies is quite special as the plant was taken over, so we benefited from a real support from the Mobility Work team in order to succeed in our activities. That is why I had the chance to work with Anthony Blanchard, who has a real on-field experience and knows exactly how to talk to the maintenance teams.
I must admit that the most reluctant people don’t have anything negative to say about the asset management software, it’s just that the plant’s situation was so complicated that the deployment had to be made at a very dramatic moment. We might be in a rough situation but it’s not insurmountable.
According to you what should be enhanced on Mobility Work?
Actually each time I think about something I just use the online support, which is directly accessible in the CMMS and allows to send comments. I always receive quick answers, which allow me to be more efficient when I’m on the field and to be able to answer my colleagues more accurately.
What do you think about Mobility Work’s support?
I first want to say that the online support is a great advantage. When something goes wrong, I just have to inform the Mobility Work team and I get an answer within a few minutes. I can directly talk with Fabrice, the person in charge of customer care. Even if he doesn’t always have the answer yet, he takes my comment into account and gets back to me later: I really feel like it’s well-organized. During the day, or the day after, I have my answer.
Concerning the Mobility Work team members who came here, I have nothing to say as the experience is very positive. I truly felt supported and we all benefited from an optimal monitoring: Anthony Blanchard and Marc-Antoine Talva (Mobility Work’s CEO) threw themselves in the project and were always supportive.
