The potential opportunities for Web services in asset management are very evident. The plant floor contains a myriad of applications and technologies from numerous vendors that often function stand-alone to address specific business issues. Unfortunately, these application silos on the plant floor are hindering many key business processes that are designed to ensure optimum asset reliability and availability.
The work management business process usually involves a number of disparate applications and requires the movement of data through each step of the process. A typical work management process might involve a condition monitoring system that identifies a problem and generates an alarm. This alarm would be entered into the EAM system so that a work order could be created. The planning process would then identify labor and material requirements. If material was unavailable, the material requirements would be entered into an ERP system so that the materials could be ordered. The EAM system would have to know whether the items were ordered and expected delivery information. The EAM system would also have to be alerted once the items were actually received so that the work could be scheduled. Once the work was completed, time card information would be entered back into the ERP system for payroll. The number of nodes and manual steps in this process makes it inefficient and time-consuming and also increases the likelihood of a breakdown in communication.
SOA, on the other hand, simplifies the process by eliminating many of these nodes. Web services handle the movement of data from one system to the next in a secure and timely fashion. As business processes change or new applications are introduced, Web services ensures that they can be easily plugged in to support the business process.
Conclusion
SOA and Web services are poised to fundamentally change asset management. Pressured by today's reality of a retiring maintenance workforce and demand for increased productivity improvements, organizations must begin to fully utilize their EAM applications. SOA promises to advance an organization's business processes by making the EAM an integral part of a comprehensive asset management strategy. Integration is the key to this success and SOA is the enabler.
The work management business process usually involves a number of disparate applications and requires the movement of data through each step of the process. A typical work management process might involve a condition monitoring system that identifies a problem and generates an alarm. This alarm would be entered into the EAM system so that a work order could be created. The planning process would then identify labor and material requirements. If material was unavailable, the material requirements would be entered into an ERP system so that the materials could be ordered. The EAM system would have to know whether the items were ordered and expected delivery information. The EAM system would also have to be alerted once the items were actually received so that the work could be scheduled. Once the work was completed, time card information would be entered back into the ERP system for payroll. The number of nodes and manual steps in this process makes it inefficient and time-consuming and also increases the likelihood of a breakdown in communication.
SOA, on the other hand, simplifies the process by eliminating many of these nodes. Web services handle the movement of data from one system to the next in a secure and timely fashion. As business processes change or new applications are introduced, Web services ensures that they can be easily plugged in to support the business process.
Conclusion
SOA and Web services are poised to fundamentally change asset management. Pressured by today's reality of a retiring maintenance workforce and demand for increased productivity improvements, organizations must begin to fully utilize their EAM applications. SOA promises to advance an organization's business processes by making the EAM an integral part of a comprehensive asset management strategy. Integration is the key to this success and SOA is the enabler.
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