BlueCielo ECM Solutions, formerly Cyco Software, rolled out an add-on application for its engineering content management (ECM) software this week that links technical documentation with routine maintenance operations.
The InnoCielo Asset Management Module works with BlueCielo's flagship ECM application, InnoCielo Meridian Enterprise, which is already used by a diverse group of customers, including ExxonMobil, Hewlett-Packard, Pfizer, and Entergy Nuclear, the company said.
These asset-intensive organizations use enterprise asset management (EAM) and facility management applications to schedule maintenance on production equipment. But technical documentation for production assets — such as pumps, motors, or flowmeters — may not be readily accessible online. Included with the new Asset Management Module is a PC-based shop floor client that uses an Internet browser interface, allowing plant floor technicians to find documentation related to the asset via an "asset identifier" search capability. Included as part of the search results are process and instrumentation diagrams, the company said.
The ability to manage asset-related technical documentation is an important part of the overall EAM proposition, BlueCielo officials said. "The management of technical asset information is vital to the entire enterprise and is of critical importance in order to ... resume production as quickly as possible in case of unplanned downtime," said Martijn Janmaat, BlueCielo CEO, in a statement. Officials for BlueCielo, based in the Netherlands, were unavailable for comment by press time.
Standard integration to InnoCielo Meridian Enterprise and EAM and maintenance applications is now available from applications including IBM's Maximo (formerly MRO Software Inc.), SAP Plant Maintenance, FAMIS Software Inc., and Datastream (now part of Infor), providing users with direct access to related technical documentation when viewing a work order or job plan, for example.
The BlueCielo offering, with its goal of keeping production operations running efficiently and managing assets throughout their lifecycle, is not unique. EAM vendors have been finding ways to bridge that gap for a number of years.
"We realize the importance of being able to access job plans and engineering documents as part of an EAM solution, and we've provided that functionality for years working with software partners in this space and creating APIs to do just that," said Vaughn Harring, a spokesman for IBM Maximo.
Prior to its acquisition by IBM, MRO Software was working with document management company EMC Documentum, creating APIs between the two software systems. IBM is now conducting similar work with its FileNet subsidiary. IBM Maximo does not have an official partnership with BlueCielo, Harring told Managing Automation in an interview.
In addition to the ability to access relevant asset documentation, company officials said, the BlueCielo module will help personnel identify which set of documents is subject to update as a result of a change in the plant; improve the quality of technical asset information and as-built data; provide better compliance with quality, environmental, and legal regulations; reduce cost of production, maintenance, and engineering; and increase production by shortening unplanned downtime.