IBM Maximo® is the top facilities management software in the world, used by millions of operations and maintenance professionals to manage complex facilities and field environments. But because it was built in the 1990s, and designed for desktop use, Maximo never had a robust mobile interface. As mobile devices and apps became more prevalent, an ecosystem evolved to help fill that gap.
EZMaxMobile™ from InterPro Solutions, an IBM Business Partner, emerged as a top choice. Built exclusively for Maximo, EZMaxMobile enables facilities operations and management teams to do their jobs efficiently and effectively without the cost, complexity and service impacts of available alternatives.
SourceForce recently spoke with Dan Smith, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at InterPro, to talk about how operations and maintenance has changed during COVID-19, and how remote work is driving the need for better mobile solutions.
Tell me about InterPro
InterPro was founded in 2003 to provide implementation services for Maximo. In 2009, the company built and launched EZMaxMobile, its first Maximo mobile app. Since then, InterPro has become the top choice for Maximo clients who want a mobile solution that brings the full functionality of Maximo to a mobile device. The company has nearly 20 years’ experience working exclusively with Maximo clients.
InterPro integrates with Maximo at the Maximo Business Object (MBO) level, reusing native Maximo rules, permissions and datastores, eliminating the duplicative updates, data lags and sync failures common to other solutions, which translates to real-time data accuracy, high availability, and access security. InterPro even offers a patented lightning-fast offline mode for use when a data connection isn’t available.
With InterPro’s EZMaxMobile app, any Apple, Android or Windows mobile device can interact with Maximo. Your technicians simply download the app from the applicable app store for each mobile device. EZMaxMobile runs on your existing Maximo server, slipping right into your current environment at significantly less cost than other options, and it can be implemented in half the time.
Who are some of your clients?
InterPro works with all types of Maximo installations across many industries. Among our clients are 5 of the top 10 utilities, 6 of the top 12 medical centers, 5 of the top 10 universities, 5 of the top 10 airports, and 2 of the top 3 US automakers. All of these organizations rely on InterPro to extend Maximo to their technicians, planners, managers, community members, and vendors.
How do they use it?
InterPro clients want to enable their technicians to interact with Maximo to perform their jobs. Take, for example, creating a work order. Without InterPro, a manager would create the order in Maximo, and assign the work to a field technician. The technician would pick up a paper work order from a central office and then head to the job site. He or she would perform the work, make notes on the paper work order – for instance, arrival time, work performed and finish time – and then go back to the office with the paper. If the technician needed a part, he or she would have to go back to the office, request that the part be ordered, and return the paper work order without doing the work. Then at the end of the day – or more likely, days later – someone in the office has to type all the notes on the work order into Maximo.
With InterPro, the manager still creates a work order in Maximo, but the order is now electronically conveyed to the assigned technician’s mobile device, wherever they are. That technician doesn’t have to visit an office or touch any paper. He or she heads directly to the work location – and can even access a map in EZMaxMobile to guide them there. The work order might include a photo of the equipment needing repair, and might include links to videos or manuals to assist in the repair. If the technician finds he needs a replacement part, he can find the nearest parts storeroom using EZMaxMobile, request the part and go get it. He can add job notes (via voice to text) into the app and they are written in real-time to Maximo. When the job is complete, he can note that via the app, log his work hours, and move on the next job that’s in his vicinity. We even give techs the ability to work offline if they are in a remote location such as an oil field, or maybe in a basement or tunnel without a signal. Once they’re back on the network, all the data from their offline activities syncs back to Maximo in seconds.
The net take-away is that we enable O&M teams to get more done and maximize their available “wrench time”. Eliminating all the data entry alone can save the equivalent of multiple FTEs for many organizations.
What kind of results are they seeing?
InterPro clients have seen dramatic results – it’s not unusual for us to see a multi-million dollar return on investment. You can see how they might save considerable time – no more running back between the office and every job – and that leads to substantial cost reductions. On average, InterPro clients increase staff utilization by 20-60 percent.
The key benefit driver is that work is done more efficiently and effectively. New employees can get extra guidance right in the EZMaxMobile app. There is much less downtime since jobs can be assigned by proximity. They show up to a job with the right tools and parts. Time tracking is easier and much more accurate, the technician just hits ‘start’ and ‘stop’ on their app, and no one has to type the notes from those paper work orders into Maximo anymore.
Just a couple of examples:
EZMaxMobile helped Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) reduce data entry time by 92 percent, and enabled them to move to 100 percent electronic work logs.
Oil & gas producer TAQA North implemented EZMaxMobile to identify and correct hazardous conditions at the moment, and safety incident reporting increased 100 percent in the first month.
How has COVID-19 affected InterPro’s clients?
The sudden move to remote work impacted us all, but a lot of operations and maintenance work was essential. Our clients had to continue to maintain their facilities and assets, but needed to limit, if not eliminate, bringing people into a central office. Companies that were already using EZMaxMobile on top of Maximo were actually really well prepared for this new world.
In fact, TAQA North recently told us that thanks to EZMaxMobile, when the pandemic hit, they were ahead of the curve – field operations work was not interrupted because everyone could work safely from the field.
We had a steep increase in sales inquiries beginning in the spring of 2020 as companies looked to quickly equip their field staff with mobile tools to perform a wide range of in-the-field activities. In short, mobile for Maximo has gone from a nice-to-have to a must-have.
What’s next in terms of product innovation?
EZMaxMobile is our flagship product, but we have a full suite of mobile products for Maximo environments. EZMaxPlanner™ streamlines the process of assigning work orders and managing complex schedules for teams. EZMaxVendor™ allows organizations to extend mobile work management tools to their outside vendors performing requested services, anywhere. EZMaxRequest™ enables the creation of work requests via mobile app, from non-field staff and members of the community, such as students on a college campus. EZMaxInsight™ provides simple, drag-and-drop Maximo reporting from any mobile device.
Each of these solutions is available as a standalone, but of course they work brilliantly together. There is a lot of interactivity among the apps.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Traditionally, if O&M field staff were provided with mobile apps at all, they had to use separate apps for each function. So, they might have an app for work execution, another app for inspections, and a third app for inventory. With EZMaxMobile, they have one app that gives them all the capabilities they need to perform their jobs. It’s simpler for organizations to administer, and simpler for field techs to use.
Many of InterPro clients came to us after trying and failing to implement one of the other mobile solutions on the market. We are very proud that we have never had a failed implementation.
How can companies get in touch with InterPro?
You can contact our sales team directly at sales@interprosoft.com, call 781-213-1166 or book a demo to learn more about EZMaxMobile and InterPro’s other Maximo apps.
About InterPro
InterPro Solutions, an IBM Business Partner, offers the first and only suite of mobile Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) solutions designed exclusively for IBM Maximo — using native Maximo rules, permissions and datastores — eliminating double updates, data lags and synchronization failures. InterPro’s EZMax™ Suite expands upon native Maximo capabilities to mirror the way people actually work — with intuitive interfaces, bold graphics, and rich functionality — allowing operations and maintenance professionals to do their jobs efficiently and effectively without the cost, complexity and service impacts of available alternatives. To learn more, visit https://interprosoft.com.
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