MRO software plumbs the icy depths
MRO software plumbs the icy depths
Strategic asset management software provider MRO Software has announced that the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) will implement its web-architected MAXIMO 5 system.
The AAD is part of the Australian Government's Department of Environment & Heritage and is charged with research and conservation in support of Australia's commitment to the protection of the Antarctic environment.
MAXIMO 5 will be installed at the AAD's headquarters in Kingston in Tasmania and deployed to its offshore Mawson, Casey and Davis stations on the Antarctic continent and at the sub-Antarctic station on Macquarie Island.
Jason Watson, the Australian Antarctic Division's MAXIMO Project Engineer said, "Our five sites are spread over a large area and the offshore bases are inaccessible for much of the year. We looked for a design that was internet compatible. A client/server solution, or merely a web-enabled solution, just does not meet our needs."
MRO Software's Professional Services Division and Odyssey Consulting are assisting with the MAXIMO 5 implementation, the first phase of which comprises Work Orders and Inventory Management. The AAD raises some 8,000 to 12,000 Work Orders a year and this was previously done with a legacy system and reliance on separate spreadsheets and manual procedures at each of the sites.
When fully implemented, MAXIMO 5 will offer 20 user licenses amongst the 120 or so 'expeditioner' trades people who live at the stations during the Southern Hemisphere summer months of early-November through late-February. Skeleton crews man the stations through the winter months to carry out essential maintenance tasks.
Mr Watson said, "Self-sufficiency at remote locations is obviously essential for us because of the distances involved and the complexities of bridging them".
The AAD's strategic assets at its four stations comprise some 100 buildings and a range of bulldozers, graders, diggers, quad bikes and other vehicles that must be optimally maintained to withstand the harsh Antarctic environment.
In addition, MAXIMO 5 will be used in support of the management of all the infrastructure services at the stations including water supply and sewage disposal, lighting and heating, and the satellite radio links with Tasmania and the Antarctic continent. There is also a mini-hydroponics farm at each station, so winter personnel can enjoy fresh vegetables even when the temperature outside has plunged to as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius.
Commenting on the AAD's decision to implement MAXIMO 5, Lars Faeste, MRO Software's Vice President, Asia Pacific Sales, said, "Clearly, in the Australian Antarctic Division's situation the management of strategic assets such as heating, medical facilities and communications infrastructure is truly of critical importance. They are a very long way from anywhere and have to be very confident that they can keep everything running properly all of the time. I am pleased that they have chosen our MAXIMO 5 solution to meet that need."
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