Optimizing Asset Effectiveness

This Business Scenario Map illustrates how frequent problem notifications for a technical asset allows the person responsible for this asset to automatically be guided to the weak spot from the maintenance process. The aim of this process is to firstly localize the weak spot, next to determine the causal factors for the problem and then, taking into consideration the age and the maintenance cost of the asset, to provide a basis for deciding how to proceed with the asset. Alternatives to choose from would include, for example, repairing, modifying, or replacing the asset. In further steps of the process, the people responsible for the asset analyzes the existing error statistics for the technical object, in that they use various locations as a basis for comparison and compare the same type of assets from different manufacturers. The asset user is informed of the results and can contribute further relevant information. Thus, special factors, which are not documented in the tasks, can be retrieved. Along with the technical factors and maintenance costs, the book value and ownership structure of the asset also play a decisive role in deciding whether to opt for repairing, modifying or replacing the asset.

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Value Potentials	Business Benefits
Up top 100% error documentation*	Simple error recording with Internet Front-End
	Automatic determination of tasks depending on asset importance and problem priority
Up to 25% reduction of overtime through optimization of tasks*	Detailed asset location information and history indicates weak spots and their causes or reasons
Optimization of investment budget for asset replacement and new development*	Decision support for new development of assets, asset conversion, or possible service or location problems

Production Asset Operator

Maintenance Engineer

Maintenance Manager

Inform about loads in operation

Report recurring errors in system

Analyse maintenance costs

Compare manufacturer and location

Determine tasks

Analyze object information

Review error statistics

Repair, convert or start new asset procurement process

Source:
* Discussions with Customers

The value potentials shown in this table have been reported by selected SAP customers or independent third parties as referenced herein. However, there is no guarantee that such value potentials can be realized in any particular customer-specific business processes, and SAP does not make any representations and disclaims any liability as to the appropriateness of the referenced value potentials for any specific customer situation.
©SAP AG 2008

Business Benefits	Value Potentials
Integration with Asset Accounting, comparison with book value	Up to 50% reduction in internal expenditure*
Documentation of costs according to maintenance service types	100% integration with Asset Accounting*
Evaluation of errors and comparisons according to location and manufacturer
History of all maintenance tasks with error locations, causes, and reasons.	Increased efficiency of maintenance through concentration on weak points without additional budget*


Optimizing Asset Effectiveness The asset operator pinpoints a malfunction in a technical object and issues a malfunction report. The responsible maintenance engineer analyzes this malfunction report. During the analysis of the report, the so-called object information notifies the maintenance engineer in a pop-up that there were several breakdowns for this object in the preceding months. The maintenance engineer can automatically determine several tasks. One of these tasks is to perform a closer examination of the object using the damage history and cost history. As important and expensive assets are concerned, the maintenance manager is deemed to be the person responsible for these tasks. The list of tasks tells the maintenance manager to perform a closer examination of the statistics of the object concerned. First he displays the malfunction statistics, and then he looks at a certain period of time and analyzes the types of damage, damage codes, and causes of damage. In doing this, he compares two similar manufacturing plants. This reveals to him that technical problems occur very frequently in this manufacturing plant. A comparison with similar assets from different manufacturers, however, rules out the possibility of it being a structural problem. Particularly eye-catching are the comparatively high repair costs. The maintenance manager saves the evaluation on his PC, and sends it to those responsible for production to rule out potentially production-based conditions as a cause of the high rate of malfunctions. It turns out that production conditions are making higher demands on the asset than originally anticipated. The maintenance manager uses the integration with Asset Accounting to gather information on the ownership and current book value of the asset. With the information on production demands on the asset quality, the current and the anticipated maintenance costs and the current book value, the maintenance manager proposes modifying the asset, to meet the technical requirements with the lowest possible maintenance costs. * = This business process is supported by Best Practices for SAP Business Suite. Best Practices for SAP Business Suite represent prepackaged business expertise in the form of methodology, documentation and reliable preconfiguration for SAP solutions. This helps you to start with a fully documented and reusable prototype for this scenario only days after you have installed the software. A prototype representing the results of a complete implementation project done up front and encapsulated in one single product that can rapidly turn into your productive solution. Best Practices for SAP Business Suite puts the power of SAP Business Suite in your hand.