Without energy, the wheels of industry and transport would stop turning in Finland. A reliable maintenance system takes care of that the equipment and supplies related to energy production remain operational and that critical production functions are not interrupted.
All energy companies operating in Finland must store energy in their own compulsory stocks for a rainy day. According to the law, the government stocks and compulsory stocks of companies must uphold at least five months of consumption. In addition to energy companies, the Defence Forces have their own safety stocks in different parts of Finland.
In Finland, the daily operation and production of energy companies have been dimensioned to comply with normal consumption. In crises, companies can use their stocks, if required, so that at least the critical share of energy supply is available regardless of circumstances.
A good maintenance system is important in the maintenance of energy sector real estate, but also from the viewpoint of logistics and industrial production in more critical times.
The customers of Vitec ALMA value the ALMA maintenance system for its good functionality, ALMA’s long experience in energy industry maintenance, and the Finnish origins of the system.
Indeed, the latter is a significant advantage, as all of Vitec ALMA’s operations still take place in Finland and the data centres necessary for the MaintALMA maintenance system are located here. From the viewpoint of data security, this is of utmost importance.
At the start of a maintenance system project, it is reasonable to consider what is expected and required from the data system. After that, it is necessary to go through all the company’s properties, production facilities and logistics units, so that all data important for maintenance can be stored in the system. Vitec ALMA has extensive experience in such mapping work, for which reason we are able to assist companies in designing the system from the very beginning.
With respect to energy, the maintenance system must include at least all key device data, inspection and maintenance histories, and preventive maintenance plans. During the project, document management, for example, can be included under the system, if its importance has only been acknowledged after the start of the project. In that case, older images from technical archives can be included and utilised, plus all the newer images and documents created during the use of the new system.
An existing system can be updated together with the development of the company’s other operations. In many companies, the maintenance activity is now being developed towards Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) and Life Cycle Management (LCM). In this connection, the criticality classifications and failure impact analyses made for the data system can be utilised.
The key advantage of the ALMA maintenance system is that all data can be found in one place and also accumulate there. This is precisely what serves the development of the company’s operations and improves maintenance efficiency. A well-functioning maintenance system is also a major advantage in various official inspections. All the data and reports required for the inspections can be retrieved from the system easily and up-to-date.
A flexible data system updated according to the circumstances often also changes the organisation’s operating methods. Development work is more successful when the company’s total control over of all its activities and all the related processes is improved. When the technical issues are well under control and transparent to all key personnel, the company can focus more efficiently on the planned development of the actual core operations.
Toni Penttilä, Vitec ALMA Oy