Earlier this month we spent some time in NYC at the first ever NY Metro Area Infor EAM Summit. Infor EAM users and experts gathered together to dive into the product and look toward future growth.

 

The theme and topic of conversation was the Power of Visualization. In today’s digital age, visualization is vital to our lives, so why should our organizations operate differently? How can we expect our stakeholders to understand what is going on if we just share numbers without reference? Visualization is changing the asset management landscape and helping you become more efficient and gather better data. Are you taking full advantage?

If you weren’t able to join us, check out this event recap that highlights each of our speakers!

Soma Somasundaram

Infor, Chief Technology Officer

Soma followed after a warm welcome and introduction from Mark Board, Global SVP and GM of Asset Management Solutions. Soma kicked the day off and set the vision of what we can anticipate seeing coming out for Infor EAM. One remark he made was particularly assuring, paraphrasing, “If I could pick one product to break off as a separate company, it would be EAM.” Customers are encouraged to build suites into their system such as utilizing Birst. We can expect to see more integration capabilities that have already been built coming out of their partnership with Amazon Web Services. Particularly exciting to this crowd was his mention of the ability to ask Alexa to create a Work Order or add a Requisition without leaving your desk.

 

Todd Hawkins

FirstGroup, Senior Vice President of Maintenance

Todd, with his authentic style and lifetime maintenance background, shared with us about “The Paperless Shop.” FirstGroup has literally saved millions of dollars and at least 30 minutes a day for each of its thousands of technicians. Think about the amount of time savings that is! Ironically, customer service metrics also increased in a positive trend. He emphasized how “auto-replenishment is your friend” for being prepared to have the parts you need on hand for unscheduled events. He shared 9 “Gospels” – starting with, “You can learn from almost any person or situation if you are paying attention” and finally, “Keep your gratitude higher than your expectations and you will always have a good day.”

 

Kevin Price

Technical Product Evangelist & Product Strategist, Infor

Kevin shared with the group about the direction Infor is heading by sharing the Vision and Roadmap for Infor EAM. He showed us how far the product has come over the years and discussed the items that we should be aware of. He discussed the features and functionality that will be coming out in the next release and what is already available. Topics of mention included Automatic Generation of PM Work Orders, Permit to Work on Mobile, and new options for Operator Checklist on Mobile.

 

Jennifer Price

Principal Solutions Architect, Advoco

Why do capital planning in Infor EAM? The most important reason is because Infor EAM is where your infrastructure information resides. It has the history of the equipment you have worked on such as what was the WO and PM history on a piece of equipment. Infor EAM can tell you a lot about how to plan and allows you to keep everything in the same system. One thing we hear all the time is organizations are overwhelmed at where to begin – Jennifer’s advice – “starting small is still starting.” The message here is you start small with one area and build. If you feel like you have nothing, or it isn’t reliable, start somewhere with what you know is good data about your equipment.

 

Jennifer Price

Principal Solutions Architect, Advoco

Jennifer captured everyone’s attention during the working lunch on GIS discussing what it is, why it’s important, integrating with GIS, and using GIS mobile. Jennifer made the statement that we don’t use Thomas Guides or Mapquest anymore – we use Google Maps, Apple Maps and our smartphones. As we move to the future, why aren’t our organizations using the tools we’ve all come to rely on to be more efficient and precise to achieve our organizational goals? We need to utilize a Geographic Information System (GIS) to collect, manage, and analyze spatial data in EAM. Seeing is believing and once again, visualization provides you with a clearer picture of what is going on to allow you to make better decisions.

 

Steve Brindle

Partner, Advoco

Birst is one of the tools we are most excited for as we help clients plan upcoming projects. Birst is the epitome of what a picture can do that words can’t. Live, updated dashboards allow you to make better decisions. You want to have trend graphs and indicators, and Birst gives these options to you. It’s amazing how much quicker and easier it is to visualize your data versus trying to comprehend spreadsheets. It’s also worth noting that Birst allows you to bring in data from multiple systems, and any user who has a basic knowledge of the data and business processes can create reports and dashboards. From previously captured data, Steve showed us a live demo and built a dashboard during the event that took him all of 5 minutes to display.

 

Marty Osborn

Partner, Advoco

Marty challenged us to think differently at the start of the day with an emphasis on our word for 2019: Reinvent. He also wrapped up the day by hosting a panel session with all the presenters on stage. Questions were presented on mobile, maintenance, Birst, and various discussions had throughout the day. Additionally, Marty mentioned two training offerings by Advoco: the Connect Education Network and Connect 2019. Special codes for discounted registration were presented to the attendees. Please message us if you were there and want to take advantage of these deals.

Greenville, SC