Esteban Torres/July 11, 2020 /Dynamics 365/Supply Chain Management/ 4 min read

D365 Enterprise Asset Management Keeps Your RAS Up and Running

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Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) are very complex processes consisting of a closed system of water cleansing. In this system, the water from the tanks is flowed out to pass filtering, degassing, and oxygenation process just to flow back into the tanks, and the cycle repeats.

One of the challenges this kind of system encounters is to keep its components completely functional, all its parts in top condition, and run frequent inspections to ensure sustainable farming. This is where Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) comes into the scene to ease this process.

Dynamics 365 Enterprise Asset Management Keeps Your RAS Up and Running

EAM is a module within Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management that allows users to foresee all current asset states and tracks their maintenance while generating reports containing information about the expenses and workers assigned to the different parts of the RAS.

With Microsoft Dynamics 365 EAM, you can easily track all maintenance processes within your company by using two options: Preventive Maintenance and Corrective Maintenance. In this blog, I would like to explain how Dynamics 365 Enterprise Asset Management helps aquaculture businesses facilitate their RAS maintenance tasks, including other elements within the maintenance process such as faults, maintenance workers, and consumption of each maintenance work.

1. Improve your RAS with Preventive Maintenance

Preventive Maintenance is a setup of a Maintenance Plan scheduled to follow a time or counter condition. When that condition is met, the work order for the asset is created.

For example, one of our clients has a Maintenance Plan for the lubrication of Drumfilters, which happens every two weeks; this maintenance plan can only apply to the assets with the Asset Type “filter.”

When the maintenance plan is scheduled, the system will take the start date, for example, 04/01/2020, count two weeks from there, and create a work order for the assets that need a lubrication maintenance job, such as all the Drumfilters.

2.    Corrective Maintenance to upgrade your RAS

On the other hand, Corrective Maintenance has a more reactive approach; it no longer depends on planning the maintenance ahead of time but instead is made when reparations are needed beyond schedule.

The way we usually manage Corrective Maintenance is:

  • A worker observes an issue with an asset

Ex: A pipe is leaking, or a pump is making a strange noise.

  • The worker creates a Maintenance Request in which the asset is selected, describing the issue he observed and, if possible, the maintenance job that should be performed
  • The Maintenance Clerk then reviews the request and approves or rejects it
  • If approved, the Maintenance Clerk turns the request into a work order
  • The work order is scheduled, and the Maintenance Worker can perform the required maintenance job to the asset
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3.    Forecast and Consumption

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Enterprise Asset Management helps you create and apply information regarding incurring costs, working hours, item consumption, and other expenses.

For example, a Coil Cleaning job will always take one hour of work and the consumption of an inventory item. Setting this up as a default consumption can be transferred to any work order regarding a Coil Cleaning job, and its forecast will show that one hour and an inventory item will be spent on the maintenance task.

This setup will also facilitate the posting of Consumption Journals for the maintenance worker because they will just copy the data from the forecast, validate it, and post the consumption journal.

4.    Workers

Now that we are talking about workers, Microsoft Dynamics 365 EAM can also register a maintenance worker and assign them to a working group or a specific asset location.

Not only that, but you can also use the Responsible Maintenance Worker Form to assign a worker or a group to a specific asset, all assets of a particular type, location, or to perform a job only they are capable of doing, or a combination of all of the above.

For example, you can assign one of your workers to be responsible for the installation processes of Flow Indicator Transmitters that are located in a facility. That way, every time a Maintenance Job meets these conditions, the task will be automatically assigned to them.

5.    Fault Management

Microsoft Dynamics 365 EAM allows you to use the Fault Designer Form to be informed about the failures an asset might suffer; this will help you identify common issues and their symptoms into an asset and possible solutions on a work order.

The Fault Management tool parts

All these components are on the Fault Designer so you can control and access the complete information of common and not-so-common failures that your assets might present.

In conclusion, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Enterprise Asset Management is a great tool to maintain your RAS functional and sustainable. By keeping track of maintenance deployments onto your assets while being able to inquire about the maintenance information, such as assigned workers, maintenance schedule, required parts, cost, and common faults that may appear during the recirculating process. Enterprise Asset Management grants you complete control over the state of the system and its components.

If you want to learn more about the benefits the RAS and aquaculture industry can obtain with Microsoft Dynamics 365, download our case study on Atlantic Sapphire’s implementation.

Thank you.

PRUEBA COMPLETA

I hope it helps you see how Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management can provide more excellent coverage regarding the maintenance of your company’s assets.

Esteban Torres
Dynamics 365 F&O Associate Consultant

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