In the industrial sector, where worker safety and facility maintenance are paramount priorities, the adoption of innovative technologies such as Asset Performance Management (APM) software can make all the difference.
These tools offer a multitude of advantages for maintenance activities while enabling companies to enhance their vigilance and responsiveness to potential personnel safety risks.
In this article, we’ll explore in detail the undeniable benefits of APM in the context of manufacturing plants and factories, as well as provide tips for choosing the right solution for your specific needs.
1. Optimization of Security Processes during Rounds
APM greatly assists maintenance rounds technician through significant automation of planning, execution, and documentation processes during their routes.
Thus, there are no more forgotten tasks with the integration of schedules and checklists.
There’s also no need for paper reports at the end of the route.
This significantly reduces manual workload and enhances the efficiency of maintenance technicians, allowing them to focus on higher value-added tasks and reducing safety risks.
2. Precise Risk Identification and Procedure Integration
When properly populated, all risks should perfectly be identified in the APM rounds module (in addition to the various locations in the facility), whether it’s hot spots, biological risks, or other potential hazards.
But most importantly, these applications provide procedures associated with each monitored asset, ensuring that technicians have the necessary information to perform their tasks safely and in compliance with standards.
3. Real-Time Monitoring for Faster Response
The real-time tracking function of mobile devices can enable supervisors to monitor the progress of agents and technicians in the field, thus facilitating a rapid response in case of an incident or emergency. This real-time visibility ensures a quick and coordinated response, thereby minimizing risks to worker safety and operational continuity.
4. Exception Management
In case of anomalies detected during routes, APM allows technicians to quickly report issues and supervisors to take immediate corrective actions.
Reporting can be done in the form of photographs in addition to descriptions directly on the asset in the software, greatly enhancing the supervisor’s understanding of the problem.
5. Accurate Data Collection for Relevant Analysis
APM automatically records details of each round, including start and end times, visited locations, and observations made, ensuring precise documentation for compliance and reporting needs.
The use of QR/Bar codes on monitored assets, and scanning, further validates the maintenance technician’s passage along their entire route.
Thus, this data can be analyzed to identify trends, risk areas, and opportunities for improving safety and maintenance processes, enabling informed and proactive decision-making.
6. Other Safety Benefits Analysis
In addition to the benefits mentioned above, APM offers a multitude of other benefits for safety in factories:
- Early Problem Identification: By monitoring trends and patterns in safety and maintenance data, APM allows potential issues to be identified before they become serious incidents, thus promoting accident prevention.
- Facilitation of Safety Documentation Writing: Data collected by an APM provides safety managers with valuable information to write and update the factory’s risk analysis and individual exposure to hardship and professional risk sheets.
- Security Budget Optimization: Risk criticality tracking allows prioritization of safety actions by allocating resources to the most important risks.
- Employee Engagement: APMs can include gamification mechanisms to encourage and reward employees’ safe behaviors, thus contributing to creating a safety culture within the factory.
- Facilitating Information Exchange: To facilitate information exchange within the company, it is essential to break down organizational silos that impede data flow. APM allows information to be de-siloed so that each department, whether related to maintenance, safety, production, or other areas, has access to the same data. This promotes more effective collaboration, increased transparency, and more agile operations management.
- Facilitating Presentation of Results to Auditors: Presenting a dashboard based on relevant data offers auditors an immediate overview of the company’s safety status, from key safety-related metrics, facilitating their evaluation.
7. Main Tips for Choosing the Right APM
When choosing an APM solution for your safety operations, here are some tips to consider:
- Ease of Use: Choose a user-friendly application that can be quickly adopted by security and maintenance personnel without requiring extensive training.
- Key Features: Ensure that the APM offers essential features such as round planning, real-time tracking, and observation documentation.
- Mobile Compatibility: Opt for a solution compatible with mobile devices, allowing agents to access the application wherever they are and report incidents on the go.
- Integration with Other Systems: Ensure that the APM can seamlessly integrate with other safety and maintenance management systems already in place in your company.
- Data Security: Choose an APM that ensures the security and confidentiality of collected data, especially when it comes to sensitive information about the company’s safety and maintenance activities.
By following these tips, you can choose an APM solution tailored to your needs, thereby maximizing worker safety and operational efficiency.
Erwan Lecuyer,
Marketing Specialist – Spartakus Technologies
erwan.lecuyer@spartakustech.com