Month: January 2023

Irrespective of the industry or sector they are part of, every company today uses a large number of devices that are either for common use or allocated to specific employees. These devices need to be seamlessly connected to each other and to the company’s network with the use of different software, applications, services, and systems to ensure the best output from the setup. The organization also needs to keep track of the location and usage of these devices in real-time so that the inventory can be maintained. The sum total of all these is collectively referred to as enterprise asset management (EAM). In this blog, we will talk about the benefits offered by EAM and then look at some use cases from actual organizations that exemplify the efficiency that EAM brings.

Benefits of Enterprise Asset Management

EAM can be broadly said to contribute to operational excellence. But let us also take a deeper look at how organizations can benefit from Enterprise Asset Management.

1. Every data point regarding the different devices in use is available centrally, for monitoring and for checking the status. This does away with the need for someone to physically check the details of all devices, providing the benefits of virtual collaboration.

2. The EAM system can keep track of the maintenance schedule of all the devices covered, which includes software updates, insurance premiums, and also scheduled hardware updates. This prevents manual errors due to which certain schedules could be missed out.

3. Since all devices are ‘visible’ to a central monitoring team virtually, they can keep tabs on the health of all devices, and take proactive action when a problem seems imminent.

4. The downtime, as well as the utilization for every device, can be seen in real-time as well as over the historical performance of the device. This helps the organization create workflows that can allocate idle resources where needed, making the operations more efficient.

5. A program to run enterprise-wide management of assets can be used across multiple work and client locations, and can also be scaled up easily when the scope of work increases. This prevents the need for a fresh installation of the management system when additional work nodes get added.
6. For some companies, the work done by their devices can impact customers or vendors too. The use of EAM to maintain efficient operations would help in providing faster resolutions to such stakeholders.

How does enterprise asset management help improve efficiency?

There are several ways by which the implementation can make the operations of an organization more efficient:

• The organization can use EAM to get proactive updates about those devices due for scheduled maintenance. This helps prevent sudden breakdowns which can cost a lot of time and money, and also result in a work backlog.

• The automated monitoring of asset health and functions does away with the need for paperwork and keeping a physical inventory. The dashboard for all the devices can be accessed online from multiple locations, and aid in faster decision-making.

• The reporting for executive management can be created and viewed through the EAM, which helps the organization save on travel and meeting time. The concerned teams and their managers can utilize this time on more productive tasks.

Case-to-case examples

The benefits mentioned above are usually applicable to all industries. But the impact of EAM is undoubtedly greater in certain scenarios. Let us look at a few use cases for specific industry types.

• The best use cases of EAM are in industries where the assets are costly and involve heavy engineering, whose downtime can prove to be a crippling blow to operations.

• EAM can be invaluable in that devices or assets are arranged in a linear fashion, which means that a breakdown in one of them can impact the inputs for the subsequent ones, thus putting a stop to operations.

• There are some sectors where compliance and safety are very important, and a missed audit requirement can cause the operations to be stopped. EAM provides centralized control in those organizations which can help prevent audit lapses.

• As explained above, large organizations with an array of a large number of devices spread around multiple locations can function much better with a centralized enterprise asset management program with appropriate standardization.

• Similarly, organizations that use devices with a large number of spare parts can benefit immensely by having EAM handle the warranty and maintenance cycles.

• Organizations that adhere to standard process management philosophies like Six Sigma would find them easier to implement with the help of good EAM software.

Closing thoughts

Today we are well and truly into the era of IoT (Internet of Things), where we use systems to remotely control a wide variety of moving parts and devices. This can be done much more efficiently by implementing a robust enterprise asset management system, which can aid in improving the productivity and efficiency of such operations.

As the title suggests, this blog will examine the trends that will shape the future of enterprise asset management going forward. Before we do that, it would be instructive to take a step back and understand how the workplace has evolved over the years, which will help us gaze into the future with the correct perspective.

How has EAM changed over time?

The initial decades of industrialization began with large factories and warehouses where most of the employees were engaged in physical labor. There was little or no computerization, which later evolved to a few workstations that were used for overall monitoring or maintenance of the workflows.

This soon changed as the extent of physical work reduced and the white-collar worker emerged to the forefront. With more machines and devices being used than the number of people manning them, it became important to keep track of these assets and maintain them in the correct running condition. Also, everything that was part of the work landscape of an organization, whether it was heavy machinery or a desktop computer came to be referred to as a digitally defined asset.

With the number of such assets increasing and organizations working from multiple locations, enterprise asset management (EAM) came to define the umbrella term that was used to track the inventory of such assets and keep them in the right working condition. The EAM setup also kept track of other operational issues like an inventory of spares, warranty calendars, and also forecasting of purchase requirements based on previous usage.

Trends that would define Enterprise Asset Management

Let us now look at how the world of enterprise asset management is predicted to evolve in the coming years. Some of the trends below would occur together, while some others would be exclusive of each other, we can only make an educated guess.

• The world is changing with the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the internet of things. Another development is the increased use of augmented reality for work and entertainment. These will add an edge to the forecasting abilities of EXAM for hardware updates, new purchases, or even predicted failures.

• EAM has been used more for ensuring the timely maintenance of devices. In the years to come, this is expected to move towards overall monitoring of present and future performance. Some experts have begun to refer to this as Asset Performance Management (APM).

• Apart from contributing to efficiency and productivity only, EAM will be used more and more for cost rationalization by preventing major breakdowns and ensuring timely forecasting of purchases of assets and spares.

• Cloud technology has changed the frequency and needs for on-premise deployment of hardware and even software. EAM will also move to a software-as-a-service model instead of being deployed at the workplaces of the organization.

• In the past, the management of devices was often department-specific, and it gradually moved on to enterprise-wide deployment. In the future, equipment will become increasingly complex, requiring more maintenance to be outsourced (using IIoT) to the OEM or a service organization specializing in that type of device. 

• In most spheres of our life, we have seen how the use of mobile devices has become increasingly pervasive. The deployment and use of enterprise asset management will also do away with physical work orders, enabling seamless work through mobile devices used by an employee.

Why now is the best time for companies to adopt EAM

As the above trends show, the use of newer technology is making EAM cover more depth and breadth in its use and application. This will make TEAM more useful, but will also require more involvement of the organization in its implementation. Going forward, the adoption of EAM across an enterprise will become even more difficult.

Also, if an organization has not adopted EAM yet, it is already missing out on the benefits that accrue from EAM. Organizations that adopt EAM now would become more efficient and save more costs, as explained above.

Third, the two years of the pandemic have demonstrated that hybrid work is something that employees and organizations have both embraced for good. This will need increased maintenance of devices remotely, for which TEAM is a very important tool for organizations.

These are a few reasons why EAM needs to be adopted at the earliest, if not already done.

Closing thoughts

Enterprise asset management has come a long way and developed into a very potent tool for enterprises that need to sharpen their operational excellence. Ideally, every company which deals with a large number of devices, very heavy machinery, and is spread around multiple locations, should already have adopted EAM by now. Even if that has not happened, this is the time when TEAM is undergoing several improvements which will be commonly available in the years to come. Any organization which wishes to make the best use of EAM needs to adopt it as soon as it can.

The central office model worked well for most of the twentieth century. Work meetings required coworkers to gather at one place, and data and paperwork used to be dispatched back and forth by post or courier. Even the advent of email did not change things too much initially. Although the information in the form of files could be exchanged over email between team members, access to those ended as soon as an employee left office. This resulted in more than half the day becoming unproductive, with employees having to wait till the next morning to access the enterprise network.

Two developments changed this for good at the start of the 21st century. The first was the concept of cloud technology, which freed data from physical drives that needed to be on the premises. The second was the introduction of smartphones which could access the internet and run multiple applications for various needs. This gave rise to what we refer to as enterprise mobility solutions. These have reinvented the way we work and made both employers and employees more efficient. Before we understand how – let us understand what exactly it means. 

What is enterprise mobility?

Businesses that encourage employees to work from any location using a variety of devices that can connect to the company’s network and use data and applications that can be accessed using cloud technology are said to have implemented enterprise mobility solutions. This frees up the employees’ and the company’s data from being bound to a specific device inside a specific office.

Earlier, employees used to use the devices that were provided by the employer. Enterprise mobility can still function with laptops, tablets, or smartphones provided by the organization. Additionally, it also has the provision for the use of devices not owned by the employees. These could be owned by the employee, or they could be chosen by the employee from a pre-approved list.

The proper management of enterprise mobility comprises three aspects: 

1. Mobile device management
2. Mobile application management
3. Mobile content management

An overriding concern that needs to be suitably addressed for all of the above is to put in place adequate security checks and access credentials to ensure that the security of the enterprise network or data is not compromised.

How does enterprise mobility relate to productivity?

Clients and business partners are more demanding today. They want the correct solutions to their problems, and they want the solutions fast. The marketplace is much more competitive today, and agility is the need of the hour. An enterprise would find it difficult to survive, let alone prosper if it can’t respond efficiently.

The biggest advantage that enterprise mobility offers are the ability to access the enterprise network from anywhere and at any time. This is what gives employees the ability to respond to solutions quickly and accurately, making the overall operations more productive. Employees do not need to be at a particular office building to get the data they need, or with certain colleagues with whom they need to collaborate. Let us dive a little deeper and understand the specific ways in which enterprise productivity is boosted by the use of mobility solutions.

How do mobility solutions help in achieving business productivity?

Enterprise mobility makes business processes more efficient, and also allows employees to deliver better results. Let us see the ways in which enterprise mobility solutions can make both employers and employees more productive:

1. A number of mundane yet important aspects of day-to-day operations could take up more time if they need to wait for the employee to be physically present. Requests for travel or leave approvals, sign-offs, timesheets, weekly/monthly reports submission and review, etc. Also, a lot of time needs to be spent on travel. Mobility solutions can help save time and free up employee bandwidth for more important tasks.

2. If employees can access the enterprise network from anywhere, they can pull out required data, create presentations or reports, and collaborate with coworkers while on the go. This would result in faster responses to internal and external stakeholders.

3. Since enterprise data is made available to all employees irrespective of location or device, the data needs to necessarily be updated in real-time. This saves time and effort at the end of every week or month, and there is no chance of old data being used.

4. As many companies discovered during the pandemic, if most employees are working remotely throughout the year, there are possible savings on office rentals and maintenance. The reduced costs impact financial performance and productivity positively.

5. A number of manual interventions are done away with in a workplace with enterprise mobility, which presents a suitable platform for the implementation of automated processes.

Closing thoughts

Many organizations have put off the implementation of enterprise mobility solutions because of the apprehension of loss of control, fear of security breaches, and increased costs. But the benefits and cost savings due to improved productivity can outweigh the possible bottlenecks due to these perceived inconveniences. If implemented with due checks and balances with adequate security controls in place, enterprise mobility solutions can greatly improve the employee of individual employees as well as the organization overall.