THE PREMIER SOURCE FOR ASSET PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION.
TIPS FOR SUCCESSSFUL SOFTWARE STANDARDIZATON
Kimberly-Clark’s Asset Care Center of Excellence has experienced tremendous success in the standardization of Meridium throughout its plants. Although all of its 28 NA plants have exposure and access to the Meridium tool, it is really being pushed by approximately 25% of the sites within a period of only two years. Participation is not mandated. It is up to this group of site champions to demonstrate the benefits of asset performance management and the standardization of one system enterprise-wide. While the process doesn’t have to be a painful one, it does take drive and a tremendous amount of commitment to make it happen. Following are some key steps to follow when designing your own standardization strategy.
Seek management buy-in at the highest level. Management must commit to and communicate the strategic decision of standardizing on a consistent set of tools for analyzing data for process improvements.
Set a reasonable timetable. Adopt a phased approach to implementation. Rollout in one or two plants first, then apply lessons learned to other plants. A successful implementation may also help pave the way for adoption by other plants.
Devote adequate manpower and budget resources for necessary implementation and training.
Before making a purchase, put software through a "usability" test. Get feedback from users.
Form a group of champions who can get the job done. Getting the job done means convincing others of the “benefits” of standardization for the individual, as well as for the company.
Develop and utilize a “standard” data structure to serve as a backbone across all the sites to enable analysis sharing.
