No matter how large or small your business, machines and other assets are fundamental to its efficiency. They're also key to ensuring effective delivery and stellar customer service. And since the industry is always on the move, it's important you optimize your machines, fleets, and other assets to keep them in peak performance. The asset management system is part of operational intelligence, a suite of applications that helps businesses understand how their equipment is functioning and identify areas for improvement.
For most businesses, the majority of their assets are connected to computers of some kind. This is why asset performance management software has become so essential for companies of all shapes and sizes. Asset management software helps users detect events that can affect an asset, such as a network going down or an employee making too many mistakes on a computer keyboard. These events can be analyzed and reviewed with automated processes that can ensure an organization's critical resources are available when needed.
Here now, let's look at how you can improve performance with asset management.
Stockpile critical inventory
Inventory management is critical to the success of a company. Many small companies have no formalized system for timely inventory management and monitoring. A lot of time is spent looking for needed parts when they couldn’t have been there in the first place. The asset management system can help by not only identifying if there is a problem with a company asset but also notifying whether a new part has likely been ordered or delivered before waiting on hold with customer service or purchasing staff.
Properly allocate staff resources
In the past, facility operations have been manual and unstructured, often resulting in unnecessary walk time between assets and inefficient use of staff resources. Because each site is unique and has different challenges, Asset Management Software should be evaluated for its ability to provide organizational insights and support “best practices” for addressing those challenges.
Simplify dealing with downtime
One of the biggest challenges companies face is downtime. Whether your company sells goods or provides services, downtime results in an increase in expenses and a decrease in productivity, which can significantly impact your bottom line. However, predictive maintenance capabilities can help you deal with the challenges associated with downtime including cost overruns and subpar customer service due to delays.
Asset management system (APM) helps firms stay ahead of their maintenance schedules by predicting when components are likely to fail. AMS's predictive maintenance capabilities assist companies in planning the upkeep of their assets. That capacity to go above and beyond regular maintenance can save money right now and increase productivity by avoiding downtime.
Optimize processes
Having the right equipment is invaluable to the success of any operation. But it is just a piece of the puzzle in performing well and running smoothly day-to-day. Asset management system (AMS) delivers insights based on operational data, so it’s a good fit for companies that have already achieved basic performance objectives and want to improve processes even further. For example, an organization may be continuously achieving its planned maintenance targets and still have room for improvement from a financial perspective; AMS would provide key details on assets so that planned maintenance can be adjusted for the most efficient processes.
Because asset performance management delivers insights based on operational data, it's a good fit for companies that have already achieved basic performance objectives and want to improve processes even further.
Reduce risk
An important tool that can help prevent workplace accidents is the asset management system (AMS). AMS is a system in which equipment is periodically checked and manufacturers are notified when there’s a problem. This allows the equipment to be fixed before it causes an accident. For example, let’s say you run a metalworking shop and three of your employees were just injured while working with metal. It turns out none of the saw blades were sharpened, so they didn't work properly. When you repair the saws, you might also sharpen the blades, which will make your workers safer in the long run.
Final Words
One final point worth mentioning is that every organization should minimize single points of failure in their business. This is especially important for businesses that depend on dedicated infrastructures like transportation and logistics, but it applies to all industries. One good way to do this is by using asset management software to keep track of the state of each individual asset throughout the course of its life.