Digitalisation and MES/CMMS systems (MES/GMAO)
Digitalising for the sake of digitalising is a mistake and a source of cost without benefit. Before choosing a tool you have to decide the objective. That is our role: helping you decide what you want to achieve, choosing the right technology and staying with you until the team really uses it.
Selection and implementation of MES/CMMS systems
To follow what happens on site — production, maintenance and what they cost — you need a tool that makes it possible. MES/CMMS systems were created for exactly that and are now indispensable in plant management. But the problem is almost never the software: it is a badly framed project, a data structure that does not represent the real plant, and reports that help no one decide anything.
What we do in an implementation
Definition of functional requirements and of the scope. Comparison of the solutions on the market on technical criteria, with support in the negotiation. Building the plant model: the structure of locations, lines and assets, and their coding. Loading of production standards, maintenance plans, task schedules and procedures. Definition of workflows, permissions and user profiles. Training the team and supporting it through the first months of use.
Rescuing failed implementations
This is one of the briefs we receive most often: an MES/CMMS system bought years ago that nobody uses, or that is used as a simple job-card log. We reorder the data, rebuild the plant model, clean up the standards and the plans, and get the team using it again. It almost always works out cheaper than starting from scratch with another tool.
Integration with the other systems: SCADA, ERP and BI
An MES/CMMS system on its own solves half the problem. The value appears when production, maintenance and management talk to each other and share the same data.
SCADA and instrumentation
Making use of the signal the plant is already generating to calculate OEE and availability from real data — not from a parallel spreadsheet — to trigger alerts, to condition preventive work on effective running hours and to feed the predictive plan.
ERP, MRP and the warehouse system
Integration of spare parts, raw materials, purchasing and consumption, so that operating cost can be closed off without manual work and the warehouse reflects reality.
Production scheduler
Coordination between the manufacturing programme and the shutdown windows available for preventive work, which is where much of the plan's compliance is lost and where production and maintenance clash most.
BI and dashboards
Joint use of production, maintenance and cost data in a single dashboard, so that management argues over one version of the numbers.
Digitalisation projects
You have to decide the objective, choose the right technology and plan its implementation on both the technical and the human side.
Analysis of the plant's level of digitalisation and of its management processes.
Pre-digitalisation work: putting the processes in order before computerising them.
A prioritised and costed roadmap, with timescales and estimated return.
Study of installation projects for possible digitalisation.
Direction of Industry 4.0 implementation projects on site.
Data analysis and predictive maintenance
There is an enormous volume of data analysis software and of artificial intelligence applications to advise operators during operation. The problem is not a lack of supply, it is choosing the right one.
Before buying anything you have to decide what to measure and how. Measuring for the sake of measuring is neither economical nor sound: as well as spending money, you risk ending up flooded with data that adds no value. We advise on what data to capture, with what sensors and at what frequency, on its use — by people or with Big Data and artificial intelligence techniques — and on making sure alerts end up generating real action inside the system: a work order, a process adjustment or a scheduling decision. That is the only thing that turns data into value.
We choose on technical judgement
When we recommend a tool it is because it is the one that best fits your plant, your budget and the maturity of your team. We compare the solutions on the market against your real needs, on the table, and we sit on your side during the negotiation with the supplier.
Frequently asked questions
CMMS (GMAO) or MES: what is the difference and what does each plant need?
The CMMS manages maintenance of the assets (work orders, preventive work, spare parts, costs); the MES manages the execution of production (manufacturing orders, OEE, traceability, in-line quality). They are complementary: the CMMS answers “what condition is my equipment in?” and the MES “what is being made, and how?”.
| CMMS | MES | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Assets and maintenance | Production and process |
| Users | Maintenance, engineering, stores | Production, quality, planning |
| Key data | Work orders, MTBF, MTTR, cost per asset | OEE, stoppages, batches, consumption, rejects |
| Integration | ERP (purchasing, costs) | ERP (orders), PLC/SCADA (signals) |
What each plant needs:
- If the problem is breakdowns, disorganised preventive work or maintenance cost that is out of control, the CMMS comes first.
- If the problem is not knowing how much is made, how, and with what losses, or there are traceability requirements (food, pharmaceuticals), the MES comes first.
- In plants with automated lines and OEE below 65%, it is worth designing both from the outset: the stoppage the MES records should generate the work order in the CMMS.
The decision is taken on the basis of a prior process diagnosis, not from a software catalogue.
How much does it cost to implement a CMMS?
Implementation (consultancy, loading of assets and plans, training and commissioning) runs between €30,000 and €55,000 in fees for a basic scope, and between €45,000 and €90,000 where there are integrations, in a plant with 500 to 1,500 assets and 10 to 25 users. On top of that comes the software licence, which for cloud solutions usually runs from €40 to €150 per user per month, and the annual support and enhancements from year 2, which come to 15 to 20% of the fee. Cost is driven above all by the quality of the starting data: inventory, criticality and preventive plans.
When you implement a CMMS, which systems do you usually work with?
We usually work with IBM Maximo and Okron, and with other solutions on the market when the client already has them. We also integrate the CMMS with the ERP and with the MES or the plant systems (PLC/SCADA) so that stoppages and equipment readings generate work orders.
The other services
A new system, or a system that does not work?
Both cases have a solution. Tell us where you are.