Harmonizing Vendors, Cloud Systems, and Mobile Providers with Maximo
About
About Del-Co Water
Del-Co Water Company was formed in 1969 and is a member-owned, non-profit, cooperative water utility. Over the years, Del-Co Water has increased the capacity of the drinking water system in response to the rapid population growth in central Ohio counties. The company has since grown to be one of the largest public water systems in Ohio with over 50,000 current customers. Del-Co Water has earned an excellent reputation for providing high-quality drinking water and for providing unmatched customer service.
As Del-Co has grown, its asset management tool and processes needed to be improved to enterprise systems that provide them with more data analytics to support decision-making and handle work from various departments that needed one integrated solution. Del-Co has been utilizing multiple vendors and working as a direct customer with as a cloud provider, with EAM360 as a mobility provider, and with Barton & Loguidice for the implementation of Maximo and GIS.
Problem
Rural Areas and Small IT Departments
Prior to Maximo, Del-Co implemented a third-party maintenance solution. The solution was adequate to manage work related to meters, right installations, turn-ons, shut offs, and more. However, when Del-Co tried to roll it out to other departments that included distribution, maintenance, and other operations, the team started to see the limitations of the program.
The solution offered no preventive maintenance module, no way of handling PMS, was unable to create a recurring PM on a schedule and had many other problematic restrictions. Once Del-Co began evaluating its asset and maintenance management, trajectory, and what practices it needed to improve, it became clear that the current solution wasn't a viable or sustainable option going forward. As a result, Del-Co turned to an IBM Maximo implementation for its future endeavors.
Del-Co’s small IT department did not have the level of expertise that a SaaS provider possesses. The team struggled to keep its previous system up and running but it didn’t make sense for the company to own a DBA, security and functional expert, or someone who could deal with performance. Beyond the financial considerations, there were too many reasons for a SaaS-type model. Since parts of Del-Co’s territory is quite rural, this can mean poor cellular coverage. Ultimately, the company needed a mobile solution that could work offline – and it settled on EAM360.
Solution
Refining Teams and Enhancing Performance
Naviam oversees performance issues and works between teams to ensure seamless implementation and operations. While Del-Co brings vendors that have Maximo expertise, Naviam refines that expertise and improves system performance while providing insightful feedback to other vendors to form effective solutions.
A great example of effective teamwork is how a variety of processes came together to give Del-Co the best results possible. Naviam worked on basic configuration and facilitated improvements while working with IBM on outstanding bugs, and B&L wrote a customization to create invoices based on emails. Overall, Del-Co hired Naviam for the cloud, B&L to implement Maximo as well as an involved GIS integration, and EAM360 to provide a mobile work management solution. Maximo is the glue that holds all that together. Naviam delivers ongoing Maximo support and helps to work through issues, including error notifications for troubleshooting e-mail listener configuration.
Result
Tangible Improvements Across the Board
Since Del-Co implemented Maximo, there have been various tangible improvements from inventory to GIS integration, troubleshooting and support, and disaster recovery.
Before Maximo as a Service from Naviam, Del-Co didn’t manage inventory or know how many of what parts they had – and implementing Naviam Cloud revolutionized the business. Del-Co also wanted to start adding new features to their GIS integration or expand into other areas of Maximo to use. The company moved its GIS to a SaaS-based system and no longer hosts its own GIS.
Del-Co has biweekly calls with the support analyst team to discuss any issues they are unable to work through and determine if it’s a Maximo, mobile, or GIS issue. Del-Co understands that if there is ever something seriously wrong, Naviam support will be available to troubleshoot solutions.
IBM Maximo and the assistance of the Naviam Team gives Del-Co more clarity and visibility into what is happening with operations, company assets, and employees.
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