MMM (Mobile Maintenance Management) – A Solution Integrated into SAP ERP and Designed for RFID-Based Mobile Maintenance Processing
Preventive and predictive maintenance help minimize failures and reduce costs. However, performing them often results in considerable expenses, having a negative impact on the aforementioned savings. Innovative solutions that break this vicious circle are the answer.
The use of mobile data collection devices in inspection and maintenance processes, in combination with RFID, has proved to be extremely effective in this respect.
The advantages obtained are not unsubstantial, since the approach:
- Can significantly reduce administrative expenses and efforts
- Ensures a significant increase in the up-to-dateness of data
- Provides a noticeable improvement in the quality of collected maintenance data
- Makes it possible to optimize processes
- Simplifies usability considerably
- Saves a lot of time for maintenance staff, which can then be used for maintenance and repair activities on machines and systems on site
System requirements
One of the primary challenges of implementing a maintenance strategy is being able to collect technical information without gaps and to receive ongoing qualified results.
It is not rare to see thousands of inspection and maintenance tasks accumulate within the scope of maintenance processing in a maintenance planning and management system. These are usually printed for the most part and are then completed accordingly. Once the corresponding tasks are completed, their completion is reported manually in the relevant ERP system. This is a very time-consuming and complex approach that is not only extremely error-prone, but also very cost-intensive.
When the purpose is to achieve the goal of “reducing the administrative expenses and efforts involved in entering reporting data into the ERP system,” the right approach is almost a foregone conclusion when taking the above into account. The key lies in closing systemic gaps and making sure that the system relies on one consistent media system throughout instead of combining written reports, electronic systems, devices that are incompatible with each other, etc. The solution? The use of mobile collection data devices, referred to as PDAs.
PDAs make it possible to enter completion confirmations for maintenance tasks directly at the point of inspection and/or maintenance. At the same time, the information required by maintenance staff can be provided directly on the spot. In addition, PDAs make it possible to update the data entered by maintenance staff automatically in the SAP system. Last, but not least, PDAs allow staff to identify maintenance points uniquely through the use of RFID.
The technology behind the mobile application also offers offline work capabilities, which can be an essential part of the solution in factory premises in which radio signal coverage is not available in every area.
System architecture
The technical platform used as the basis for the solution is the SAP NetWeaver-based SAP Mobile Infrastructure. This provides a particularly useful advantage that should not be underestimated: it can be seamlessly integrated into previously existing SAP system environments.
In addition, SAP Mobile Infrastructure is based on open standards (Java, HTTP, XML), is platform-independent, offline-capable, future-proof thanks to state-of-the-art NetWeaver technology, and fully integrated into the existing SAP system environment.
The MMM solution’s functionality is oriented towards SAP’s Mobile Asset Management (MAM) system. However, and in contrast to this system, it reproduces a process-oriented process flow and also features increased usability and performance. The MMM solution has been designed as a template and can be customized to meet specific customer needs.
Overview of MMM solution functionalities
- Completion confirmations for inspection and maintenance tasks
- Mapping of maintenance rounds on the basis of maintenance items in SAP (technical locations and equipment)
- Message, measured value, and action data collection as part of the inspection and sequence process
- Störmeldungen in Bezug zu den technischen Plätzen oder Equipments
- RFID-based identification of maintenance points (RFID = Radio Frequency Identification)
- Direct access to detailed information regarding maintenance points, e.g., master data, most recent messages, and measured values when there is an online connection available (e.g., WLAN).
MMM solution benefits
- Improves data quality and up-to-dateness
- Saves time in the reporting of data by maintenance staff (data is electronically entered on the PDA directly at the maintenance point and on site)
- Reassurance for maintenance staff (the system identifies the maintenance point directly by means of RFID and lets maintenance staff know when they are located at the wrong maintenance point)
- Automatic recording of travel times and maintenance work times (directly assignable to maintenance points and maintenance tasks carried out)
- Automatic maintenance point tagging, i.e., “who performed which last maintenance task at this maintenance point when” – the information can be read out on site from the transponders at any time
- Full integration into the SAP ERP system System-integrated processes, starting with the creation of maintenance orders and inspection rounds; going through spare parts and consumables procurement, spare parts inventory management, and maintenance staff data reporting; all the way to data analyses
- Completely paperless operation