Don't wait until it breaks

By ADAM GIFFORD

Groups need to move from "reactive maintenance", or fixing things when they break, to preventive maintenance - keeping machinery in good order so it does not break.

Stephen Lloyd-Jones, the general manager for Australia and New Zealand maintenance and asset management specialist MRO Software, says you can get a huge return from revising maintenance and asset management practices.

"Emergency maintenance is three to five times the cost of preventative maintenance," he said.

"In many companies buying of maintenance spares is regarded as an ancillary activity, not part of core procurement."

Lloyd-Jones said that, while MRO faced competition from enterprise software vendors who offered maintenance modules, it was winning business in the utilities market with its Maximo line.

Business process improvement manager Nicole Harden, of maintenance contractor Alstom, said the decision to buy Maximo helped Alstom win a $200 million contract with Tranz Rail. Maximo is replacing a SAP maintenance module.

It is also installing a system in Sydney to manage its Telstra faults outsourcing contract.

Other MRO customers include Genesis, Mighty River Power, United Networks, Hamilton City Council and the National Library.