Whether in the context of a digital transformation or not, the use of IT tools and new technologies in all human activities is developing exponentially but not always in a well coordinated manner. A large number of companies (especially SMEs and ETIs) are noticing it, as completing their digital transformation is becoming more and more urgent. It must be based on good organization and on tools that are as relevant as possible. This urgency is such that many governments around the world have set up plans to subsidize the industrial digital transformation.
CMMS software, which originally concerned only maintenance activities, now has a more important role in the productive organization of plants and companies. The latest generation of these solutions, often referred to as “CMMS 4.0“, represents one of the main opportunities to make a successful industrial digital transformation and thus preserve or even improve competitiveness.
The challenges of digital transformation
For economic activities in general and industrial activities in particular, the digital transformation is much more than just a simple modification of certain production tools. It conceals fundamental issues.
Digital transformation’s challenges for companies
The digital transformation, through the considerable changes that it implies and brings about both in production processes and in relations between economic partners, covers crucial issues for companies. Thus, many delays are reduced, as the transmission of information becomes almost instantaneous. The reaction time between a customer’s order and delivery, for example, is directly impacted. Its reduction leads to major changes in inventory management and the organization of logistics circuits. Information, in general, is managed and stored differently at the end of the digital transformation.
It also has an impact on the relationships between the different business lines. The construction industry, for example, has been experiencing this evolution for several years with BIM (Building Information Modeling). Production and maintenance are evolving, because equipment can be remotely controlled, and operators can manage an increasing amount of information to optimize their tasks
The relationship with the customer is also deeply questioned: in the long run the flow of information makes it possible to evolve towards a production guided by the customer’s demand. Both stock management and the design of the products themselves are thus directly influenced.
The entire production logic is therefore concerned by the profound changes implied by the digital transformation. More generally, it is the very competitiveness of each company that is at stake in the way it approaches its inevitable transformation.
The industrial digital transformation grant plan
The stakes are so high that governments and public bodies have been mobilizing for several years to help and support economic players in their territories in the digital transformation. In France, for example, the government has recently published an online guide to support industrial companies as they resume their activities, which presents the support mechanisms available to companies wishing to “embark on their digital transformation“.
These measures, which are primarily aimed at SMEs and industrial ETIs, are intended to support them in their transformation at a time when the context linked to the Covid-19 epidemic and the health constraints put in place to deal with it make the digital transformation even more urgent and indispensable.
The key role of CMMS in industrial digital transformation
How, then, can a company succeed in its industrial digital transformation? To do so, it is crucial to equip with the most efficient, cost-effective and scalable tools. In the field of maintenance, it is towards next-gen CMMS that we need to turn to.
Industrial maintenance in the digital age
Maintenance plays a fundamental role in a plant’s overall performance. Its digitization is therefore a key element in a company’s digital transformation, as it enables significant gains in terms of safety, productivity and profitability. It also encourages the decompartmentalization of corporate services by making information accessible to all those involved in maintenance management, while increasing the mobility of teams.
Generally speaking, the impact of the digital transformation on maintenance management can be measured through the following points:
- instantaneous data: data collection being one of the pillars of maintenance, it makes it possible to enhance reactivity and productivity;
- the richness of the information: it allows to contextualize as much as possible the collected data, which makes the maintenance much more efficient and precise ;
- agility: the digitalization of maintenance makes it possible to produce numerous analysis tools (reports, dashboards, etc.) that can be accessed by all employees involved in maintenance;
- ergonomics: digital maintenance management solutions must be easy to use to represent real progress for the company, which is the case with latest-generation CMMS software such as Mobility Work.
Mobility Work CMMS is based on a community of users who exchange and follow their plant’s activity thanks to the newsfeed
CMMS 4.0 at the service of the digital transformation of companies
CMMS 4.0 software such as Mobility Work is one of the tools that enable a company to make a successful digital transformation. It combines several characteristics.
On the one hand, it has been designed on the model of everyday applications, and offers optimal ergonomics, an essential condition for the success of any technological innovation, as mentioned above. Its 100% mobile use from any connected device, such as a smartphone or tablet, also encourages its appropriation by teams while promoting their productivity.
In addition, the analysis capabilities of this maintenance management solution enable the collection and processing of an almost infinite amount of high-quality data. As we have seen, this makes maintenance much more accurate and efficient, in particular by making it possible to adopt a predictive maintenance strategy.
Mobility Work is provided with an analytic tool to help you analyze all your maintenance data and adapt your strategy
Finally, the flow of information is extremely fluid, thanks in particular to the application’s community-based operation. Each operator or maintenance manager has access to the information concerning each machine or each set of equipment, an access you can control at any time.
Far from being an abstract concept, the digital transformation is a profound transformation of production methods and all associated activities, such as industrial maintenance. To be successful, it must be thought out and organized, notably using adapted and high-performance tools such as Mobility Work, a CMMS software precisely designed to facilitate the digital transformation of all companies.
