Management + Systems

Here Swiss company Timly looks at how Smart maintenance planning software can be another important factor in manufacturing, helping to ensure that machines and tools break down less frequently and run with a low error rate. 

Planning the maintenance and repair of complex industrial production facilities can become a real challenge in practice. One reason for this is the large number of relevant laws and regulations, as well as possible internal requirements. 

There are roughly three areas regarding the requirements, which are safety requirements, functional requirements and individual specifications. The safety requirements result from legal obligations such as the German Ordinance on Industrial Safety and Health (BetrSichV), the regulations of the DGUV, as well as other industry specific ordinances. Those responsible have little leeway – with inspection intervals having to be adhered to in order to avoid sanctions by inspection bodies. 

The next area is functional requirements, which are maintenance and inspection schedules that are recommended or prescribed by the manufacturer in order not to lose warranty claims, for example. Regular maintenance also contributes to the longevity of machines.

The final aspect is individual specifications, work processes in specific companies usually require certain recurring activities to be carried out on a daily basis. These can be cleaning work or the refilling of operating materials. Here, too, there is little flexibility if the operational readiness of the work equipment is not to be jeopardised.

Coordination is difficult if the upcoming appointments for this are managed in different systems. It is also helpful if the schedule management is directly linked to the documentation. In this way, it is easy to see what condition a machine was in during the last maintenance operation and what work was carried out. This is where Timly’s maintenance planning software comes in, resulting in only one solution being required for the topic of inventory and maintenance.

Using software for maintenance management

Software-based appointment management is standard in all sectors nowadays. Automatic reminders, checking for collisions, and the simple creation of overviews, are functions that can be fulfilled in this way – saving time and avoiding errors. 

However, in order to get by with a uniform system, the maintenance planning software used must be able to record a wide variety of assets. For this purpose, Timly offers dynamic profiles that can ultimately be adapted to parameters of almost any imaginable inventory item. 

In practice, it is used to manage furniture, as well as complex machines and vehicles. For easier allocation, container objects can also be defined to which other assets are linked. In this way, a production plant consisting of many individual components is mapped logically. 

With this model, dates and documents of machine components can be recorded in a fine granular way. It is then possible to display an overall view for a production area.

Inventory management, maintenance planning

The use of maintenance planning software such as Timly can be seamlessly integrated into smart production, also known as Industry 4.0. The program is designed as a Cloud service. Set-up and secure connection in accordance with the requirements of the DSGVO (GDPR) are already included in the software package. 

Access is possible with any mobile device that has an internet connection. The integration of IoT sensors has also already been implemented and GPS trackers can be used, for example, to locate mobile work equipment.  

In addition to the possibility of integrating a GPS device, interfaces have also been implemented for operating equipment control using distance measuring devices and smart sensors for temperature and humidity measurement. 

Timly cooperates in this area with adnexo, the established Swiss manufacturer of high-quality IoT sensor technology. Measured values can thus be documented automatically and, if desired, coupled with notifications from responsible parties when previously defined events occur. This means time-consuming manual checks on machines are increasingly being eliminated.

Simplifying information exchange

To access information from the maintenance planning software from every conceivable work location, Timly also offers a web App for smartphones and tablets. Combined with the ability to tag assets with QR codes, this creates an intuitive way to access the profile of a work asset. 

All that is required is to scan the QR code with the integrated barcode scanner. Employees can then call up all relevant information directly at the workstation and update it as needed.

Process and store maintenance logs

In particular, regulations such as the BetrSichV require formal documentation of maintenance work and test results. The type and scope are based on industry standards such as DIN 31051 and DIN EN 13306. With its maintenance planning software, Timly offers the possibility of storing documents of all types in the digital file of a device. Therefore, a log can be filled out directly on the mobile device on-site and saved in ‘real time’ in the device profile. 

If Timly is also used for personnel management, this applies analogously to qualification records and certificates of inspection personnel. In this way, maximum transparency is provided. Every employee can, if desired, reassure themself of the legally compliant condition of a machine. All required documents are available for inspections.

Excel not a sensible alternative

Before purchasing maintenance planning software, the question often arises in practice as to whether a comparable functionality can also be depicted with existing programs, such as Microsoft Excel. However, the requirements for modern maintenance planning usually exceed the possibilities of spreadsheet programs. 

In particular, multi-user capability and poor manageability on mobile devices stand in the way. Smart functions, such as checking for scheduling conflicts and automatic reminders, can only be implemented with VBA scripts. Ultimately, maintenance planning with Excel generates a significantly higher workload compared to using specialised maintenance planning software. Timly’s software also has clear advantages in specialised sectors, such as wood processing or IT.