7 secrets for maximo mobility success 1.21.4

21 January 2014

White Paper Seven Secrets for Maximo Mobility Success

I Seven Secrets for Maximo Mobility Success

© 2014 Tivoli User Community

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Abstract

Everyone understands the growth over recent years in the use of mobile devices, but the future

projections are even more phenomenal (see ‘Mobile is a necessary priority’). Whilst more and

more individuals will have both a smart phone and a tablet for their personal use, the future

growth is equally, if not more so, about ‘mobile for business’.

Designed specifically to meet these needs, IBM’s Maximo Mobile Suite is a family of solutions

designed to provide remote access to the Maximo Asset Management processes for work, asset

and inventory management. The solutions support a business approach to asset management,

helping to support compliance, improve efficiencies, increase productivity and enhance decision

making for solid business benefits.

This white paper is based on a presentation made to the Tivoli User Community which shared

Georgia Transmission Corporation’s “Seven Secrets for Maximo Mobility Success’’. This relates

to their implementation of Maximo products from 2006 to the present day. The white paper

concludes with two appendices: the first provides details of the Q&A with the audience at the

conclusion of the presentation; the second provides the results of three poll questions posed to

them during the presentation.

The presenters and their companies are:

Catherine Lai - Business Application Consultant at Georgia System Operations Corporation

Georgia System Operations Corporation, referred to hereafter as GSOC, is a ‘not-for-profit’

system operations company, responsible for monitoring electricity generation, transmission

and distribution assets owned by their customers and themselves. These customers include

Oglethorpe Power and Georgia Transmission Corporation. In addition, GSOC also provides its

clients with IT support, including the technical infrastructure for managing IT projects. This

latter includes managing Georgia Transmission Corporation’s Maximo Mobile projects.

Dale Mann - Substation Maintenance Group Lead at Georgia Transmission Corporation

Georgia Transmission Corporation, referred to hereafter as GTC, is a ‘not-for-profit’ corporation

in Georgia. GTC manages a portion of Georgia’s total grid for about 4.1 million customers. GTC

plans, builds and maintains high-voltage power lines and substations and shares an integrated

transmission system with the other suppliers in Georgia. GTC constructs about 100 miles of new

transmission line per year and about 7 to 10 new substations. Annually, GTC’s maintenance staff

inspects 3,000 miles of transmission line and approximately 700 substations.

Jason VenHuizen - VP of Product and Technology at Interloc Solutions

Interloc is an IBM Maximo consulting company. Their ‘Mobile Informer’ product is a mobile

platform built directly within Maximo that delivers lightweight, extensible mobile applications

on smart devices (iOS and Android). GTC is a core client for Interloc.



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Mobile is a necessary priority

As alluded to in the abstract to this paper, the expected growth in the use of mobile devices

gives some staggering numbers. For 2016, the projections are for one billion smart devices in

the market and by 2020, only four years later that is expected to exceed two billion. As a result,

mobile is becoming a truly significant priority in the business world.

Bringing mobile into the workplace delivers some significant benefits and some major

transformational changes. Organizations can now realize near ‘real time’ updates to their work

and that is mainly because of the easy-to-use interface, navigation and the portability of the

mobile device. This also brings greater ease in the accessibility to data as well as other time

saving features. The functionality and data needed by the user to create and update a work

order is directly on the device.

For example, with the built-in camera on a device like a tablet, the on-site employee can take a

picture right away and attach it to a work order right back to his office base. There is no need to

carry a separate camera and then manually copy that picture over to a laptop. The technology

developments in mobile mean that there is no need to carry around multiple pieces of

equipment like cameras, laptops or voice recorders. The mobile device has everything built in.

The use of mobile in business reduces outages and costs. Within GTC, a mobile user working on

routine substation inspection can look up if there are any outstanding work orders for that

location that can be addressed while they are there. These again, are examples of the ease of



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accessibility to data and they can also help avoid duplicate work efforts by different users.

Everyone can see what work orders are out there and that is reducing costs.

The use of mobile can also reduce training costs. Because devices are easy-to-use, with an

intuitive interface there is less training needed for field users on the mobile applications. Not

only is there less training than on, say a standard enterprise application, users come already

‘equipped’ with the interface knowledge from their own personal products.

The above benefits of course lead to increasing productivity. The mobile device allows staff to

work anywhere, anytime. They can work in connected and disconnected mode, taking the

device with them ‘on the go’; it’s so very portable. Again, reflecting the easy accessibility to data,

organizations can store electronic documents on a device, as well as utilize cloud-based

services.

The modern device is truly multi-functional in that organizations can use them for many

different business functions outside of the mobile application, such as work management as

well as reading email and viewing documents or taking notes.

GTC mobile success with Interloc Mobile Informer

The above diagram summarizes GTC’s Maximo and mobile evolution since 2006, which began

with Maximo 5.2 and use of the Syclo smart mobile solution. In 2008, GTC upgraded to Maximo

6.2 and also transferred to using the IBM Maximo Mobile Work Management product. In August

2013, GTC completed its Maximo 7.5 upgrade and implemented a new work management

Mobile application that uses Interloc’s Mobile Informer product. With each version of Maximo,



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GTC have been able to build on and learn from past experiences with the mobile

implementations to really develop an approach that delivers what the organization needs.

Over the years, GTC were comfortable with all the products used (Syclo, IBM and Interloc) but

clearly found that the product itself does not guarantee a successful mobile implementation.

With their prior learning in place, after only being in production about three months with the

Interloc Mobile Informer Solution, GTC has already seen significant benefits.

The company is able to update work orders in the field in ‘almost’ real time via an easy-to-use

interface on the iPad. This means that field work staff are able to update a work order as soon as

the new information is available. Anyone who looks at Maximo will know the latest status.

GTC has seen a 400% increase in productivity via work orders that are reported by the field

staff. In the previous system, staff out visiting substations and transmission lines would find and

correct issues, but they felt it was too difficult for them to report that work. Now that staff have

an easy way to report their own work orders, the organization is collecting a lot more history

and thus, better knowledge about what is actually going on in their facilities. Additionally, the

time it takes for a user to complete a work order has been reduced by about 80%.

GTC’s field staff work all over the State of Georgia so there are varying degrees of connectivity

and remoteness, from highly built-up urban areas to very isolated rural areas. Accordingly, it

has been of great benefit having an application that functions in a connected and disconnected

mode. As suggested before, this solution has required minimal training because staff already

had business-use iPhones, so learning an application on the iPad was very easy for them to do.

Then, with multiple other functions being available, this has made the iPad a truly indispensable

tool.

Mobile Informer Work Management

The diagram above gives a static view of Mobile Informer. This is the main landing page when

users open up the application; there are two views they can work with on the main screen. The



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one on the left is their work list of things that are currently assigned to them, which they can

search and sort. This way, the staff are able to quickly find what they need, to pull up those work

orders and interact with them.

GTC have also taken advantage of the map application that’s available on the device, showing

the user where their work is in relation to themselves. Many field staff cover large geographic

areas so it’s helpful for them to see what work is near them, especially if things may be added

throughout the day.

Seven Secrets for Maximo Mobility Success

Based on their past experience with mobile implementations, GTC agreed to reveal and discuss

in detail the seven secrets that were key factors in the success of their recent Maximo 7.5 Mobile

Project.

1. Conduct a mobile assessment

The main purpose for conducting an assessment was to ensure that the company had a

structured, detailed and coordinated review of mobile products from both the business and

technical viewpoints. The results from the assessment formed the basis for recommendations

on a specific mobile solution which was presented to the project stakeholders for their approval

to proceed with implementation.

GTC had evaluated mobile solutions in the past to work with their previous versions of Maximo,

but the difference between what was done for the Maximo 7.5 mobile solution, versus past

evaluations, was that they took a more formal and structured approach to the evaluation. The

scope of the assessment included the following steps:

Identify vendors with mobile solutions that work with Maximo - it was very important to have a mobile solution that integrated well with Maximo, in order to leverage the functionality and information in Maximo, as well as allow for easy transfer of data between the mobile solution and Maximo.

Document high level business and technical requirements and a request for information / proposal (RFI – P) – this was submitted to a select group of mobile solution vendors, setting out the functional and technical requirements for the mobile solution, as well as the timeline for the assessment and implementation. Example requirements included such as being able to use the application in a connected and disconnected mode, having support for work management functions on a mobile device and integration with Maximo functionality.

Review vendor responses to the RFI – P – a subset of the vendors were invited to conduct product demonstrations. To assist the review team in evaluating the solutions in a consistent and objective manner, a standard set of criteria were developed.

Document the advantages and disadvantages of each solution – these were based on each vendor’s response and the collated review of the team’s criteria-based views.



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Determine the total cost of ownership for each solution – this included aspects such as licenses, the annual maintenance costs, any hardware costs and labor costs to develop the mobile solution.

Collate all information and submit recommendations – these were submitted to the project stakeholders for their approval, along with a document that described the assessment process, the criteria we used, and the results.

2. Choose mobile device wisely

GTC chose to use the iPad and considered the following factors when choosing this mobile

device:

Will the device increase productivity for the mobile users? – the answer here was yes, because the iPad allows for fast and easy access to the mobile application ‘on-the-go’. It can be used anywhere with a fast startup and can be accessed in both connected and disconnected mode. The interface provides for faster and easier data entry for mobile uses, via the easy-to-use, intuitive touch screen interface, with simple navigations between and within applications on a device, as well as there being less reliance on the keyboard for data entry.

Can the device be used for other functions? – The iPad offered mail and as well as viewing documents and taking notes.

What is the impact on user training? – As mentioned previously, GTC staff already had an iPhone as their corporate standard for smart phones, so the transition to using an iPad was minimal. Less training was needed on the device allowing more focus on the training for the business application.

Another factor which was considered was the support for deploying and managing the devices

outside of the mobile solution. GTC already had in-house technical support for managing the

iPhones so it made it easier them to choose IOS. Additionally, GTC selected the iPad for its larger

display which supported easier data entry and the ability to show more information on the

screen.

3. Involve end users early in the process

This approach proved to very helpful. As early as possible in the project, GTC wanted to bring in

the people that were going to be using the new product, to get them very involved in the

decision-making and in the buying decisions, in particular. These users attended the

requirement sessions and there many discussions about how their work would be done in the

future.

The users were also involved in the development of a prototype of how the functional

application would work. This was a small application that could be installed on the iPads and

would serve as a good checkpoint and source of feedback. It was deemed essential that the

company knew it was on the right track before a lot of effort was spent on developing the

application.



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Once the company had a test version of the application, it was very important to have users test

the product out in the field. In the office things seemed to work very well, but it had to be taken

out and used in the environment where it would be really working all of the time. Getting the

field staff engaged in this testing helped achieve buy-in and helped identify obstacles before the

roll out. This approach proved immensely successful.

Having users from different departments in the project helped create a sense of ownership and

later on, they were very comfortable in demonstrating the product to their co-workers and

colleagues. The approach was also taken to involve the field staff in the training prior to the roll-

out. This meant that they could be added initially to the support teams to answer questions.

These queries then helped develop user ‘tips’, sent out during the first few months after launch.

4. Ensure mobile application usability

This had been an issue for GTC in the past and this time the desire was for something highly

intuitive. The need was for a very easy-to-use interface that was task oriented and based exactly

on the work that the staff needed to do. The result was something much quicker for users to

complete work orders and the means to automate processes that before, had taken some time to

complete. The company was able to group things together to create a process flow that was

much more logical for their users.

The good thing with this application on the IOS platform is that it was consistent in look and feel

with other applications that the users were familiar with. This minimized the training needs and

provided easy acceptance because staff were already familiar with the way an application

worked.

Another very important factor in terms of usability was the ability to leverage the technology

within the device to make the data sync [between the device and Maximo] automatic and

seamless to the user. That was important due to the fact that in previous mobile

implementations it had been an issue, where the user had to remember to sync data and pull

data.

Initial application loads and subsequent data loads, just with synchronization, proved seamless

from the user’s perspective. There were some experiences of slower connectivity out in the

field, but being able to work connected in a disconnected mode helped with this.

5. Integrate directly with Maximo

This related to ensuring the integration of the mobile solution directly with Maximo and there

are different levels for this. The first is technical integration, reflecting the desire to determine

how well the new mobile solution worked with the Maximo technical infrastructure. The

requirement was that it had to be compatible with the existing infrastructure of servers and the

Oracle ‘backend’. Additionally there was a need to be able to leverage the existing Maximo

technical infrastructure without the need for additional servers for mobile. The reasoning

behind this was that it would help to avoid adding additional complexity to the infrastructure,



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as well as cost for the additional servers. The result was that GTC found the mobile solution

worked extremely well in that respect, because it had deployed directly within Maximo, without

the need for additional servers.

In regards to the configuration and management of mobile applications, users and devices

within Maximo, GTC wanted a web-based interface to provide for the administration and

management of the mobile applications and users. It was deemed that it would definitely be

better to be able to have this capability within Maximo. The Mobile Informer Solution met this

need by providing several features:

A custom application within Maximo that allowed for the configuration and management of mobile applications.

Some basic device management capabilities, such as blocking, which is preventing a device from connecting and exchanging data with Maximo, and wiping which relates to removing all data associated with the application at the next login attempt.

A further requirement was the ability to leverage Maximo functionality and data, especially to

be able to use the Maximo business objects (MBO). This entailed being able to read data from,

and write data to, the MBOs. It was deemed important that the solution adhere to the Maximo

security and to use as much of that as possible regarding the validation and business rules. The

goal was to make sure that the integrity of the data was maintained and to try to avoid duplicate

coding efforts and data in the environment. Again, the Mobile Informer Solution met these

requirements. It uses the Maximo credentials for authentication and to access the mobile

application; it does read and write to the MBOs, thus maintaining the business rules and

validations in place.

6. Choose flexible platform for mobile application development

GTC have some needs that are very unique to their kind of business. For example, some mobile

users perform transmission line inspections in the field and the company wanted to have a way

for them to do that in an efficient and easy way. GTC were able to customize the mobile solution

to provide a way to perform this task that’s very focused on the work and avoids confusing the

user about the way the data is stored in Maximo. This had been issue over past years as the

company sought to integrate the transmission line inspections into Maximo; the users did not

understand the way the data was being stored. With the latest implementations they do not

need to think about that.

GTC are very reliant on work flow and did not want a situation where that could not be

extended out into the field. They needed an approach and flexible application that integrated

well with existing work flow. Mobile Informer works well for that, providing a means to

augment complex tasks for increased efficiency. Contract crews repair items they have found

during inspections and before, were really never successful at getting these as repair work

orders into Maximo. Now it is very easy with the application whereby they can undertake the fix

and put that into a work order all in one step. It was viewed as a key success that GTC were able



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to leverage their ability to customize work for the field and eliminate some previously

cumbersome customizations in Maximo.

The final aspect of flexibility was to have a platform that was supportable by internal IT

resources. After being trained on how to maintain it and make changes this has been achieved.

7. Partner with mobile implementation experts

Developing mobile applications requires special considerations that don’t exist when

developing standard client server web applications for the desktop or laptop. Issues are such as

form factor, screen size, the ability to use touch screen and the unique navigation on the device.

Other things to consider are how the application will work in connected and disconnected mode

and what the user would expect to see in each of these modes. These requirements led GTC to

work closely with Interloc.

Additionally, there was the need to consider integration of the existing applications and

functionality on the new device and how much native device functionality could be leveraged. In

all these things it was important to have a partner that had the necessary experience in

developing native mobile applications for a mobile device. For GTC, an ideal partner was one

who had expertise with both mobile solutions and Maximo in order to provide guidance on the

device’s integration with Maximo.

Some of the benefits from GTC working with Interloc were that, as part of their mobile

implementation, they were able to upgrade from Maximo 6.2 to 7.5 at the same time as the

mobile implementation. Interloc led the requirements, design and development for mobile and

this allowed GTC’s internal IT staff to focus more on the Maximo 7.5 upgrade. The company also

benefited from Interloc’s experience with mobile development and implementation.

[From here, the presentation was delivered by Jason VenHuizen from Interloc]

Truly successful mobility for Maximo

Interloc’s business goals are to ensure that the client perceives that they have a truly successful

mobile for Maximo implementation. GTC had a major requirement of user acceptance and that is

the biggest challenge for, what Interloc collectively terms, ‘mobility’. This is because if users

aren’t using it, no matter how technically successful it is, it’s not really a successful solution.

Interloc always begins from the perspective of how do they get users to actually use the

solutions? The application has to be easy to use and non-intrusive in the field and this tends to

be very specific. Additionally it has to support and enhance very specific business processes

because, when the worker in the field has the device, it really needs to match exactly what users

are doing at the time.

If there is any sort of cognitive friction, such as where users have to really think about what

they’re doing with that device as opposed to it leading them through it, is going to hamper the

acceptance and ultimately it’s going to also hamper the implementation’s success.



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Maximo has a lot of reporting and data needs and is essentially geared towards giving the

administration a good view into their asset performance; it’s geared around that analysis, not so

much on getting the data in or from an operational focus. To counter that, mobility provides the

opportunity to take whatever is in Maximo and present that in a way that is really relevant to

the user in the field and deliver it through their perspective.

Mobile Informer Attributes

A summary of the Mobile Informer attributes as a platform:

A native Maximo application as far as all the server components and the administration are concerned so it is good for user adoption from an IT Administration point of view. There isn’t another tool to learn, nor another infrastructure to learn; this ‘lowers the bar’ from that perspective, they are native applications on Android and iOS

Allows focus on the function, not the integration; Mobile Informer takes care of all the important technical aspects

Removes the constraints on the number of applications that can be delivered – allows integration with the GIS components and with mapping components or any sensors on the device, creating the ability to write applications that are intuitive and easy to use

Does ‘the simplest thing possible’ in that, from an infrastructure standpoint within Maximo, it removes ‘the point of failure’; any opportunity to simplify is removing the points of failure, making it easier for both the ‘backend’ IT staff and for the users in the field to use this solution

Mobile Informer uses proven methodology



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Interloc’s methodology starts with a core application. There are core work management

applications, but typically those are just a starting point. The approach is to sit down with our

clients and talk through how they do work. The purpose is to really find out what those unique

points are and then map those to the applications. This ensures that the applications match the

user’s process exactly, ultimately mobilizing the Maximo work processes and industry solutions,

even the GIS capabilities that may be there.

Client benefits

Interloc wants to provide its clients with full access to the smart device capabilities, so these

devices are becoming increasingly powerful and full advantage can be taken of the capabilities.

The goal is to leverage the existing Maximo infrastructure. Clients have invested a lot in

developing and building their Maximo infrastructure and Interloc wants to be able to leverage

that. Then, as companies grow in the future, they are not then constrained by having to develop

a second infrastructure. By including that in Maximo, there is the benefit of leveraging just one

architectural platform. Having the administration within Maximo means that there isn’t another

tool to learn. This is ultimately about quick adoption and continual return on investment.

Interloc - award-winning products and solutions

As a validation of their solution approach, Interloc wished to show their appreciation for the

awards and the recognition that they have had from IBM:



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Appendix 1 – Audience Q&A

“Why the change of tools over the years? Could the existing tools not be configured?”

Dale:

The existing tools can be configured to some degree, but we really felt that each time we

upgraded, we really wanted to use that opportunity as a checkpoint to see what else is available

and take what we’ve learned. I think all those tools can work well; it was just that the other two

weren’t a great set for us and the IBM mobile product has evolved. The way we were using it is

not really what IBM recommend as a solution for things like inspections, so we struggled with

customizing that too a little bit.

I think the key is really as part of your evaluation to look at what’s available in the marketplace

and really kind of focus on what are your needs and what the best fit is for you. Both the

previous systems worked out to varying degrees, but as we took time to look at the upgrade,

this was really the best available solution for us at this time.

“How many iPads have you had to replace?”

Dale:

We have about 45 deployed and we’ve only had to replace 1 and it was mine and I never go out

of the office very often. So, we’ve been fortunate with that. One of the things we did that really

ties in the users is get them involved choosing the cases that help protect the device if it is

dropped. They can pick what color they want it to look like their favorite football team!

“How much data lives on the device to be able to work disconnected? How long does the initial sync

take?”

Jason:

There are several hundred thousand records live on the device and that it takes approximately

10 to 20 minutes for an initial synchronization.

Dale:

This is an app that’s very dependent on what your particular needs are and so we have a lot of

control over what information we make available to the user. That’s one of the nice things, the

way we can manage the catalogs which are the information that we deploy from within Maximo.

So we can tweak that without having to change the design of the application itself, so that’s been

very helpful.

That’s of a balance that you work through as part of your development process to make sure

that you give the users what they need, but don’t try and dump everything that’s in Maximo

onto their device.



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“How many users do you have out in the field?”

Dale:

We have 45 users, probably about 43 that are in the field, that are using it all over the State of

Georgia.

“IOS and Android were mentioned, but has there been any interest in Windows 8 devices? For

example, Surface?”

Jason:

The short answer is there hasn’t been sufficient interest in Windows devices yet. It’s a question

that comes up pretty much everywhere we go, but most people seem to be migrating away. It’s

usually a question of legacy, as in “We have Windows mobile devices and we’d like to use them

while we transition to either an Android and IOS platform.” We’ve done the feasibility, so from a

platform perspective, we can support that, we just haven’t had the fine interest to do it.

“Is the offering data encrypted?”

Catherine:

It is. We use SSO ATGPS for our transfer of data between the mobile devices over to Maximo and

vice versa. It’s all encrypted and secure as well as the device.

Jason:

On IOS, it is encrypted in the storage area. On Android, by default, the data itself is actually not

encrypted. You can encrypt the entire device, in which case that data then is encrypted as well

as part of the platform configuration.

“How much of the solution comes out of the box, like the split screen map and work orders on

startup?”

Dale:

It’s a fairly custom solution. Interloc guided us on a template of how this might work. So, there

are probably portions of it that are very similar across implementations of Mobile Informer, but

when you’ve got the things that are very unique to you, such as transmission line inspection,

that was more probably new development.

Jason:

We do have basic applications from a screen layout design. That part is honestly the easiest

piece of the whole solution and we’ve designed the platform such that when it comes to laying

out screens, that’s kind of the trivial part and we can deliver solutions more or less in the same

sort of timeframe as if it’s coming out of the box. And what we don’t want to do is prejudice



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somebody when we come in. So, we typically like to not bring in a solution or have a

preconceived notion of what the solution should look like until we actually hear the

requirements. Then when we hear the requirements we make a solution that matches them, as

opposed to saying: “Here’s a solution on how we make your business apps.”

“How close did you come to coming in on time in budget compared to the estimate?”

Dale:

Very close, but this mobile implementation was a portion of our overall upgrade from 6.2 to 7.5.

So, I think we were about two months late on our 7.5, but the mobile wasn’t really part of the

hold up.

“How is data integrity addressed? Is all the data on the mobile device attributed to the user that

entered it and is that irrefutable? For example, a user cannot claim that someone else entered the

information.”

When a transaction is sent back, it is sent with the credentials for a specific user. Within the

processing of that transaction, we create a session in Maximo which then executes the

transaction under the security context of that user. So not only is it recorded on the device as

that user, but when it’s executed in Maximo, it’s actually executed as that user and all their

security credentials and restrictions apply when that transaction is completed. So, more or less,

yes, it is irrefutable unless somebody else could login to the device or grab it after the correct

user had logged in. Assuming you’re using some basic security protocols, it’s pretty much

irrefutable.

“Could you please explain the licensing structure?”

Jason:

We license by user for the platform and then deliver the applications as services solutions. So,

basically the platform has a per user license, but not just with Maximo. Then each application is

delivered as a services engagement where we then deliver the application and its source and

everything else to you and you can run multiple applications off one license or really unlimited

applications off one license per named user.

“Do you have a dedicated Maximo staff and then how much IT involvement is needed to configure

the queries of records to retrieve to the device?”

Catherine:

We do have a dedicated Maximo staff and the Informer solution is very easy to use. It doesn’t

require a lot of effort and we’ve just made some very small modifications. There is an Informer

application within Maximo that we can use to adjust the transaction data and the catalog data,

which is the data associated with transaction records.



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So, it’s not really a lot of extra effort. I would say maybe a few hours.

“Are you doing data validation on the device, such as displaying a warning message to users before

transmitting to Maximo?”

Dale:

Yes we are and that was really important for us with work flow because we want to prevent

invalid work flow actions getting pushed off the device into Maximo. But the way the application

works, we’re able to make this much more efficient for the user, so we can evaluate things at the

time, so there is a lot of validation built into the application.

“Are you using a MDM solution in conjunction with your Maximo solution? For example, Mobile

Iron or Good, GOD?”

Catherine:

We do have an MDM solution, it’s by Symantec. We are using that in conjunction with Informer

which has some basic mobile device management capabilities, but it doesn’t really replace our

standard MDM software, so we did use that initially. With deploying the new iPads with the

applications, we bundled that in, so the deployment included sending out the new applications

as part of the iPad’s setup and we used the MDM for that. We normally use our MDM for such as

blocking, wiping, iPad and iPhone setup.

“You mentioned users are able to create follow-up work and corrective work performed, are they

able to select assets from the map and what about asset components that do not appear on the

map?”

Dale:

We didn’t implement the GIS portion of this so our map just functions as a way to show where

the user is in relation to their work. They select those assets and locations from the list. We are

looking into using some of the location services to really make that easier for the user, so if

they’re in a substation, obviously the application knows where that substation is, so we can limit

the list of assets and locations that are available to assets in that substation. But the way to look

up work has become easier for the user.



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Appendix 2 – Audience poll questions

Q1 - “What is your current Maximo Mobility Solution status?”

The options:

1. Sufficient and successfully adopted

2. We have previously attempted and were unsuccessful

3. We have a mobile solution, but it falls short of our needs

4. We are anticipating a solution within the next 0 to 6 months, 6 to 12 months or 12 to 18 months.

The results:

26% anticipating selecting a solution within the next 0 to 6 months

23% do have a successful solution

16% within 6 to 12 months

14% for both, 12 to 18 months and a solution that is not fulfilling our needs

7% have tried but were unsuccessful.

Q2 - “What is the most important feature to you?”

The options:

1. The user experience and the disconnected and connected areas

2. Being able to administer and deploy from within Maximo, without middle ware

3. Being able to have any Maximo Business Process in place

4. Disconnected maps and GIS capability

5. Being able to attach files, near real time connectivity

6. Being able to make use of the smart device technology

The results:

30% saying being able to have Maximo Business Process in place, whether custom or configured

27% said seamless user experience



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14% indicated for both the near real time connectivity and being able to administer and deploy

from within Maximo and then we had

11% for the disconnected maps

3% each for being able to attach a file or use smart device technology

Q3 - “What barriers do you face in mobilizing your Maximo implementation?

The options:

1. Budget

2. Log-in or security concerns

3. User acceptance

4. Not permitted to use wi-fi in certain facilities

5. Connectivity is sporadic

6. Previous solutions could not match or map to important business process

The results:

35% - budget

24% - user acceptance

18% - login or security concerns

15% - previous solutions could not match or map up to important business process

6% - connectivity is sporadic

3% - not permitted to use wi-fi in certain facilities.

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