Maintenance: Well planned is (more than) half the battle
Digitalisation in recent years has increased the dynamism of maintenance. All the new possibilities enhance effectiveness, efficiency, and quality. To achieve this, planning is essential.
Digitalisation in recent years has increased the dynamism of maintenance. All the new possibilities enhance effectiveness, efficiency, and quality. To achieve this, planning is essential.
What applies to most companies also applies to maintenance: The most essential resource is and remains the human being. However, they face ever-increasing hurdles. The reason: The demands on maintenance staff are steadily rising, which means the job is becoming less attractive. This, in turn, exacerbates the skills shortage that exists, particularly in maintenance.
For companies, this means: Acquired personnel are highly qualified, which brings high wage costs. To optimally utilise this scarce and valuable human resource, these cost and availability factors primarily require one thing: optimal deployment planning. And here too, the effort for resource deployment planning should be kept as low as possible.
Professional tools help Fortunately, there is a selection of digital tools for companies that simplify planning in maintenance and establish it on a professional basis. For the choice of the appropriate tool, a distinction must first be made between the two application cases of maintenance and service. The following options are available in the SAP area:
- SAP Multiresource Scheduling (SAP MRS)
- SAP S/4HANA Asset Management for resource scheduling (SAP RSH)
- SAP Field Service Management (SAP FSM)
- Individual connection of third-party planning tools to SAP PM or PS
In this maintenance series on our blog, we want to take a closer look at the first two. While SAP Field Service Management is suitable for some application cases in maintenance, it has its strengths, as the name suggests, in the service area.
We consider the individual connection when an application case cannot be fully covered by the aforementioned SAP products. Like any custom development, it brings a high degree of adaptation to one's own wishes and specific needs, but at the same time all the complexity and long-term efforts associated with it. Providing examples of successful projects would exceed the scope here.
SAP Multiresource Scheduling (SAP MRS) SAP MRS is available for SAP ECC and SAP S/4HANA and offers a SAP GUI interface in addition to SAP Fiori. The focus is on the short-term optimal distribution to individual resources based on qualifications, location, and workload. It supports the planning of individual staff, external service providers, and manufacturing aids. The functionality includes:
- Graphical planning boards
- Connection of individual resources to SAP HCM (including qualification-based planning)
- Integration into SAP Project System (PS)
- Integrated map representation of resources and needs (including route planning and live tracking) to find the next team member
- Automatic disposition based on configurable factors (e.g.: shortest travel times, maximum utilisation, …)
SAP S/4HANA Asset Management for resource scheduling (SAP RSH) SAP RSH is, as the name suggests, only available for SAP S/4HANA. With each S/4HANA release, the functionality expands significantly. The focus of the solution is on optimising utilisation at the workplace or team level. User interaction occurs exclusively via SAP Fiori.
The required data is generally stored directly in the SAP maintenance orders. This significantly reduces the effort for implementation and user training compared to other solutions. The functionality includes:
- Gantt chart-based planning in Fiori interface
- Simulation capability during planning to identify bottlenecks and underutilised resources in advance
KPI dashboard for maintenance planners to detect deviations between actual status and planning as early as possible. The relevant goals of resource deployment planning (RSH) are to create optimal asset management to effectively utilise asset resources and enable transparent planning. Additionally, workplace utilisation should be monitored, and available workforce effectively deployed to achieve the set goals.
When long-term or complex maintenance for assets is planned, SAP RSH offers the possibility to display orders by priority with tasks for the next 4-6 weeks as well as unreported orders and tasks from the last 6 months. Furthermore, the Fiori app allows one to:
- set a timeframe,
- schedule via graphical planning boards
- plan or change order tasks if necessary,
- reschedule tasks to another time or workplace.
And much more. In summary, resource deployment planning ensures effective use of resources to achieve optimal workplace utilisation, high productivity of assets, and transparent planning.
Approaching maintenance correctly – we show how If you want to know how you can bring more efficiency to your maintenance with the solutions shown here, simply contact us without obligation. Or would you prefer to try it out on-site and discuss maintenance and other topics? On 27 April 2023 our Supply Chain 4 Future Summit will take place at the SRB office.Here are the details and registration.
Or you can stay tuned here on the blog for our little maintenance series. In the next post, we will give you an insight into predictive maintenance. We will show what is possible and how you can benefit from modern solutions.
Want to read the previous posts again? Here you go:
