Infor EAM Mobility Initiative

Overview

Charles County utilizes the Infor Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) system to provide a powerful, integrated tool to fully manage all aspects of the equipment and work orders (WOs) of the Department of Public Works. To maximize the power of this system, the County synchronized the EAM with the County’s GIS layers, launched a mobile initiative, and implemented a data analytics program.

The Infor EAM Mobility Initiative provides staff in the PW, Utilities Division (UT) and Facilities Division Buildings and Trade (B&T) the ability to remotely connect via mobile devices to EAM. Utilizing iPads and Toughbooks, maintenance workers, technicians and management have accurate, real-time data available from any location to access, update and manage work orders and assets.

Prior to the Mobility Initiative, EAM use was hampered by the fact that it could only be accessed from desktop PCs. This was sufficient for management and some supervisors; however, most of the staff members requiring access on a daily basis were the field technicians and maintenance workers who were normally out of the office while performing their duties.

The initiative was launched by IT in collaboration with B&T and UT, to provide a connectivity solution to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of mobile staff members. Implementation of this initiative has streamlined work order processing, increased productivity, and provided pertinent data for effective management analysis tools.

Implementation

B&T Implementation:

• B&T technicians & custodial staff were often unreachable while maintaining County public facilities

• After much research and testing, decision was made to utilize iPad devices in conjunction with the Infor EAM Mobile for iPad app (Infor mobile app)

• Charles County was only the second municipality in the U.S. to utilize the Infor mobile app, and was by far the largest installation

• Forty (40) iPads were purchased, configured, connected to our MDM system, AirWatch, and deployed

• Extensive training was required to familiarize B&T employees with basic IT standards and tools, as well as the iPad device itself. Two classes were developed and conducted by IT staff: o The first class covered IT policies, network IDs, the County’s email system, the MDM system

and iTunes accts. iPads were distributed with instructions on basic security, usage and care o The second class focused on the Infor mobile app, covering functionality and proper use in

the field o Staff was broken into groups by function (custodians, electricians, etc.) and sessions were

conducted for each group

Since the mobile initiative, a typical day for B&T workers now begins with logging into the Infor mobile app to determine their cleaning and maintenance tasks for the day. As they complete tasks at various remote locations, they can enter the details into the app, allowing them to track their time or document specific issues. At the same time, e-mails are automatically sent to requestors letting them know the status of their work orders. Facilities workers can also utilize the iPad camera to send pictures of intricate pieces of equipment to other staff for assistance. As B&T staff drives from location to location, they have the use of Apple Maps to provide turn by turn directions.

While out in the field, real-time access provides B&T staff with up to the minute information as the EAM system is constantly syncing with the mobile device. In our rural county, employees may temporarily lose connectivity from their mobile devices when traveling to remote locations. However, the Infor mobile app provides “store-it-forward” functionality, such that as soon as employees are within range again, any updates they made to the Infor mobile app while unconnected are automatically synced with the system, and conversely, any updates made to the EAM system are updated on the mobile devices.

UT Implementation:

o UT personnel manage a twenty million-gallons-per-day wastewater treatment plant, six satellite wastewater treatment plants, over 100 well sites, water towers and pump stations, as well as a substantial amount of buried infrastructure

o UT staff has a critical need to pinpoint the exact locations of assets for effective management and maintenance

o Utility assets are geocoded o GIS synchronization is a critical component of the EAM software that was required in the field o IT worked with UT to find the best mobile device for UT staff to access EAM and display mapping

information o Panasonic Toughbooks were chosen for their rugged reliability and ability to perform in all types

of work environments o To date four (4) Panasonic Toughbooks have been deployed for UT use, with more expected as

funding is obtained

In the past, searching for the exact location of an asset such as an underground line or valve could be extremely frustrating and time consuming for UT staff. The Toughbooks, coupled with the GIS synchronization, allows users out in the field to pinpoint a specific asset location as well as generate a work order directly from the asset point.

Providing Toughbooks to key UT personnel to take advantage of GIS synchronization and mobile access took approximately six months to accomplish.

Results

The Infor EAM Mobility Initiative has proven very beneficial, bringing the power of EAM into the hands of staff anytime, anywhere.

Noted improvements to business process include:

• Providing staff immediate access to work orders and asset history, increasing their ability to correctly diagnose, repair and perform preventive maintenance on County assets

• Mobilizing staff and eliminating trips back to the office for assignments • Providing field staff with a mechanism to connect to the County GroupWise email system, vastly

improving communication with supervisors • Allowing staff to book the number of hours it takes to complete a task in real-time and

accurately calculate the cost of maintaining County’s equipment, in addition to reducing the workload of job supervisors who previously performed this task

• Allowing technicians to create field-based work orders and retrieve detailed and historical information about assets

• Leveraging the integration of EAM with GIS mapping and layers • Utilizing mapping to optimize route sequencing based on asset locations • Enhancement of communication and collaboration as a result of access to County e-mail system,

built in cameras and FaceTime (iPad users) • eliminating the need for radios

The mobility initiative is expected to reduce per work order labor costs and generate substantial savings due to better communication regarding service issues and related parts, expedited service delivery, as well as more effectively managed preventive maintenance

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Article from the Charles County Employee Newsletter, the Eagle Eye, highlighting the new Infor EAM Mobility Initiative.

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