One of the best parts of my job is talking to our customers and hearing about the positive impact technology has made in their businesses. It’s great to know that what we do makes a difference. But even more so, I find it interesting to hear about how different organisations adopt digital solutions and how that is transforming their businesses.
During the third episode of #DigitalDialogues, I had a chance to talk to Scott Taylor, Business Systems Specialist at Port Waratah Coal Services. The episode was focused on asset maintenance and, in particular, developing a single view of assets. It was fascinating to hear from Scott how they went about embedding technology that enables them to access all information about their assets in one place.
Scott shared some valuable insights, including the benefits that having a 360 view of their assets delivers to the business. I thought hearing about those benefits would be inspiring and interesting for those who are considering Asset 360, so I wanted to share the key points Scott talked about.
1. Making the most of limited time and budget
Having a 360 view of assets help Scott and his team determine where and when they should invest their limited time and budget for the most significant positive impact. I think at a time where most businesses are challenged with the need to cut cost and operate more efficiently, this benefit alone can have a huge impact on any organisation.
2. Better decision-making
Scott talked about how having a single view of assets helps Port Waratah Coal Services make better decisions around things like ongoing preventive maintenance versus run-to-failure and whether, in cases of breakdowns and faults, repairs are justified for assets that are about to be retired.
The single view of assets also helps them determine the right level of inventory stocks and whether lead times are correct, as well as making sure that they have the right processes in place should breakdowns happen.
3. Reliable operations 24/7
Scott also outlined that, as a business that operates 24/7, risk assessments, understanding the probability of failure and having the right processes in place for each piece of equipment are particularly important to them. Having a 360 view of assets enables that, and it gives Scott and his team a higher level of confidence that things run smoothly 24/7.
4. Enabling less experienced workers
I was not surprised to hear Scott talk about the challenge they face due to their ageing workforce, as that is a topic that comes up in many customer conversations these days. Port Waratah are aware that a large proportion of their highly experienced workforce will retire in the near future, which means they rely on newer, less experienced staff to keep things running smoothly.
Having all information about assets in one, easily accessible place enables this younger generation of workers to do their work at a very high standard – even if they don’t have the in-depth experience that older workers have.
Scott had much more valuable insight to share during the conversation, and so did my other guests, Certus’ James Hartwright and Grant Newton from Transpower NZ. If you want to learn more about developing a single view of assets, watch the episode on-demand now.