Finally, I was back in Aberdeen with Sarah and Johnny in tow to host the Maximo Energy User Forum – our first physical BPD Maximo Forum for a couple of years…
Originally created for the UKCS Oil and Gas community to come together to discuss their experiences with Maximo, the Maximo Energy User Forum was also the first time we had broadened the scope to include Energy users as well as ecosystem partners to reflect the changes across these industries. After a very lovely meal at Six by Nico, we got to business the next morning at The Village Hotel, Aberdeen – a great venue, and a convenient location – right next door to many of the user’s offices!
After some last-minute line-up changes, we met with the 20-strong group for networking over lunch where the discussion quickly fell to the current oil and gas climate.
The day’s agenda included:
- BPD industry introduction and insights
- IBM Maximo / MAS Roadmap
- Golar LNG – Anywhere Implementation
- Electra Learning – Change Management
- SSC – Maximo Scheduler Plus
- Open Forum sessions
First up, Sarah Brady, Business Development Manager at BPD Zenith, shared some thoughts with the group:
- Maximo still has a strong market presence in the Oil and Gas sector and is gaining increasing traction in Wind, Energy and Utilities Providers and is the Maintenance system of choice for mid-tier companies and vendors
- The importance of systems was emphasised during lockdown due to COVID restrictions which put the focus on remote working and system accessibility including accuracy of data
- The attitude towards IT investment is shifting and accelerated post lockdown, due to working from home and the IT digital journey most companies are now understanding and adopting
- Maximo is evolving and adapting to align with the digital transformation most companies are now in the process of adopting, with the introduction of MAS 8.0+
- IT teams are changing, and Data and Digitalisation is being seen as a separate role within organisations giving it more attention and focus and making it a companywide collaboration There is also an increasing interest in mobile technology again due to COVID and industry trends where having resources offshore is less desirable, physically challenging and costly. This includes the utilities and wind industries where the assets are dispersed and cover various locations. Thus, it allows technicians to access the system remotely and offline and capture accurate data at source.
Russell Bee then kindly joined us to share IBM’s Sustainability strategy for Maximo. With a new IBM investment in Envisi, and a name change from AI Applications to Sustainability Software, this places Maximo as a major player in this space joining up corporate ESG with efficient operations. Maximo can help your organisation to extend the life of assets, remotely monitor assets, record environmental incidents, improve supply chain and consumables, and provide operational stability.
Over to MAS – Manage remains the most significant and influential part of the suite. Maximo in the traditional sense remains a very strong product with opportunity for future capability as part of the suite. Enhancements to Manage include role and task-based applications (Scheduler Dispatch, Work Orders, Operational Dashboard). The Manage 8.9 release will consider simplifying the technology stack and making the upgrade journey smoother. Users had the opportunity to see some of the new features in a breakout demo area and provide feedback directly into IBM Development.
Some key dates to note:
- Version 7.6.1x EOS is 30 September 2025 with extended support until 2028 (cost involved)
- Version 7.6.1.3 will be out in Q3 2022
- MAS 8.7 is out now!
We were delighted to be joined all the way from Oslo by Golar LNG. Niksa Kacic presented on their Maximo and Anywhere journey which began in 2016. They now use Maximo for procurement, maintenance, inventory and control of work. They were looking to implement mobility to become more efficient and save time. The main area of focus was for EX Inspections in hazardous areas. This also required an offline solution for when Golar are without Wi-Fi. Golar worked with BPD to configure an administration table to store questions and be grouped by type in the PM app. This would then be accessed via Anywhere, the same way for example you would view all your tasks. There is a subsection you can click into which displays all your questions per asset which users canfill in. The device of choice is iPad minis. As part of their roadmap, incident reporting and PtW will be explored.
Next up, Donna (Electra Learning) gave us a fun presentation on Change Management that had us all joining in to demonstrate how uncomfortable we can be with change. Often organisations overlook the people side of things in their project plan. This can be detrimental as change in the workplace brings intense emotions with it and no one needs resistance in their project. Donna shared the example of Honda whose plan went in the bin once they learned the plant was closing. By speaking to and listening to the users, Electra were able to understand what the benefits of the project were to the users – i.e., that these new skills could be transferable to future jobs. This was then used in comms to ease anxiety and dampen resistance. Some handy tips included:
- Sell Maximo early on – tell people in your comms, show them demos, let them play with the look and feel
- Champions program – engage and support
- Promote the ‘why’ – find something that resonates with your business
- Learn and optimise – use your user groups!
- Keep the feedback loop open
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Roger and Rick then joined us from BPD to present on the Scheduler Plus project at South Staffs & Cambridge Water. This a success story of how work has become optimised for SSC technicians out in the field – considering their travel time, appointments, and skills.
One of the most successful parts of this forum has often been the interactive Open Forum sessions. We were unsure how this would work given that many of us have become comfortable with hiding behind a Zoom/Teams call but once the ice was broken, the sharing began. Topics covered included integration, and the handling of backlog, deferring work and supply chain adjustments during COVID.
We wrapped up the day with some canapes and drinks courtesy of Electra Learning. Thanks again Donna!
Get involved in the October 2022 Maximo Energy User Forum!
This is the most important part – the community is there to benefit you as Energy users so make sure you take something away if you attend. Here are the topics you want more of:
Can you speak to any of these? We are planning the next event for October 2022. Let us know!
You can also access the presentations from the event here: BPD Maximo Energy User Forum – Jun22 (bpdzenith.com)
