Putting the APM Platform Into Motion

MAS Manage, Health, and Monitor for Asset Performance Management – You have the pieces; now put them into motion 

Much has been written about Asset Performance Management (APM) by humans and other entities about how critical or imperative it is for an organization to survive. Yet there is very little meaningful guidance available about how to actually make APM happen. Certainly, one can read the vast amounts of documentation available on software solutions and their features/functions. Before long, you are knee-deep in terminology, abstract frameworks and vague implementation steps. 

My goal with this blog is to provide an intentionally ordered series of steps that will take your current IBM MAS 9.x platform from simply tracking work orders to operating as a fully functional APM system, using out-of-box functionality. No deep coding is required. No overly costly “advice,” needed. And while the following may look like an extensive list, if you have been using Maximo for any length of time, most of it is already familiar and likely already in place.  

Ready for the challenge? 

Gather the pieces then flip them face up 

Here is the starting checklist. Ensure these elements are in place: 

APM Goals & Scope 

A defined set of APM goals for a focused set of equipment: 

• Clarity on current “health,” given the data available, where it lives, and how reliable it is. 

• Agreement on what constitutes a “contributor” or “detractor” to equipment health 

• Ability to expose “performance” trends and develop action plans from them 

• Consideration that APM can apply to Locations, not just Assets 

Platform Requirements 

The MAS 9.1+ Platform 

• Sufficient AppPoints “headroom” to support a small number of additional Users or expanded privileges for existing access to MAS Health and MAS Monitor.  

• (Optional)A connection to the “AI Service,” to leverage the built-in IBM watsonx features/functions across MAS components. 

MAS Manage 9.1+ Configuration 

Active Asset (and/or Location) records for the equipment you intend to include in APM. 

• Key fields populate such as: Description, serial number, Priority, Installation date, expected life, Purchase cost, Replacement cost, Budgeted maintenance cost, YTD Cost, Vendor, Manufacturer, etc. 

Meters & Data Capture 

• Meter definitions on those Asset records for  

• Continuous data (ie Run Hours),  

• Characteristic data (ie Condition codes), and/or  

• Gauge data (ie temperature readings).  

Meter definitions on Assets are an efficient and reliable way to capture data about the Asset (or Location) for a variety of purposes. 

• Active methods in place to update meter readings. Such as: work orders, direct User actions, scripts/rules, interfaces/middleware, or Inspection Forms. Further down in this blog, MAS Monitor is discussed as a method to update Meter readings as well. 

• Optionally, Understanding of Asset record fields and Classification attributes that may be used in Health calculations, and how/when those fields are updated. 

Preventive Maintenance 

• Active Preventive Maintenance definitions for the Assets under proposed APM.  

• Ensure that PM work orders are being generated at appropriate frequency/conditions and are being executed and completed by real people. 

Work Order Activity 

• Work orders with appropriate Statuses and Work Types that are related to the Assets.  

• At this point it does not matter how “complete” work order data is believed to be. Over time MAS Health will help sort out MAS Manage work order data inaccuracies. 

Side Note: Condition Monitoring 

If you already have Meter readings being updated, no matter the method, MAS Manage includes a robust Condition Monitoring function that can be leveraged. If a Meter reading exceeds a min/max, or a “bad” condition value is captured, the system can automatically generate work orders using PM definitions or specific Job Plans. This is another example of out of box functionality that directly supports APM. 

MAS Health 9.1+ Checklist 

Deployment & Integration 

• MAS Health 9.1+ deployed and active in the MAS platform 

MAS Health to MAS Manage integration configured so MAS Manage can receive Work Orders and/or Service Requests from MAS Health. 

Expected Users granted access to the MAS Health. Typically a small group: Reliability Engineers, Asset Managers, Maintenance and,  Operations Management. 

Foundational Knowledge & Setup 

rush up on Maximo Formulas as you will use them in MAS Health. 

Queries (defined in MAS Manage (Assets or Locations applications) for the focus equipment list(s). This may include a handful of Assets or many hundreds across different types or operating contexts. 

Priority, Criticality & Risk – Using the Priority field on an Asset record as a guide, document/agree on what “priority” means and how it translates to “criticality” in the MAS Health component.  

• Criticality is used with Health scoring to calculate the Risk position of an Asset.  

• Criticality can be influenced by multiple “contributors” but often begins as a direct reflection of the Asset priority field. 

Scoring & Scoring Groups (This is where the real work begins) 

• Develop scoring and scoring groups based on available data:  Asset fields/attributes, meter readings, work orders, PMs, etc.  

• If you already use a “condition index” approach, scoring groups can be built using the same data elements and formulas. 

• Within Scoring groups define contributors using: Meters, field values, Maximo Formulas, and work order data.  

• Contributors may be as simple as a Meter reading or can be a complex (a formula combining multiple other contributors).  

• Contributors must be weighted appropriately to influence the final score. In MAS Health 9.2+, weighting can be dynamic rather than manually set. 

• Scoring groups are then related to the focus Asset sets via the Queries mentioned earlier. 

Health Calculation & Dashboards 

• Initial scoring is calculated by Health and displayed on the Dashboards.  

• Dashboards provide visibility into; Health Trends, risk positions, maintenance actions, work orders, and more for decision making. 

• MAS Health also provides a set of work queues that point out missing data in the MAS Manage Asset records. That, if corrected, further assist MAS Health in providing health measures. 

AI-Driven Insights 

• If connected to the watsonx AI Service, MAS Health 9.2+ can provide “Asset Insights.”  

• This function retrieves data across the MAS platform related to a specific or set of Assets, showing insights as to health issues and general performance. 

Action Planning & Execution 

• Replacement and/or refurbishment plans can be developed directly from MAS Health insights. 

• Work orders or Service Requests can be generated in MAS Manage to initiate actions as decisions are made with the MAS Health dashboards. 

Dashboard Customization (9.2+) 

• MAS Health 9.2+ allows greater User control over the MAS Health Dashboards. Cards can be moved, edited, and added to suit visualization needs. 

At this point you could claim an APM platform is in place and operational! Given the Meter readings updated continuously, field values being maintained, PM work orders generating as expected, and work order processing flowing through the system, MAS Health will give you a clear view as to how the Assets are performing. As you learn more about each Asset set, or as new data becomes available, adjust the scoring details to sharpen accuracy and improve the relevance of the Health measures. APM isn’t a one‑time configuration; it’s a living model that improves your data and understanding mature. 

Bring in MAS Monitor 9.2+ to complete the picture 

MAS Monitor is an efficient way to ingest “fast data,” – telemetry – from the sensors attached to and/or surrounding Assets. MAS Monitor is not intended to replace the alarms and alerts that come from the operational systems and control software. Rather, MAS Monitor is designed to provide trends, analysis, and alerts with a longer view of the Assets in mind. MAS Monitor can also update Meter readings with this real-time data, perhaps replacing or augmenting the need for humans to perform that task. 

MAS Monitor 9.2+ is preferred. Previous releases of MAS Monitor had rather heavy compute requirements on the MAS platform. MAS Monitor 9.2 is far more lightweight. 

MAS Monitor 9.2+ 

Deployment & Access 

• MAS Monitor 9.2+ Deployed and active in the MAS platform 

• Expected Users granted access to the MAS Monitor component. Only a small number of “Maximo” Users will be in MAS Monitor. These would be Reliability Engineers, Asset Managers, and perhaps Maintenance or Operations staff. 

Integration & Connectivity 

• MAS Monitor to MAS Manage integration configured so MAS Manage can receive Service Requests granted from MAS Monitor. 

• Ensure that the associated API Key from MAS Manage is in place. 

• Gateway(s) is defined to access sources of telemetry data sources, or to receive external REST GET/POST commands from middleware to “push” data into MAS Monitor devices. 

Device Types, Devices & Data Modeling 

• Device types defined to organize the devices/sensors into groups, based upon what they do. Temperature, vibration, etc. would be “types” of sensors. 

• Devices defined to represent the actual sensors within MAS Monitor. This is the element that incoming data is related to, and any metrics or calculated metrics are defined. As “events” occur – the data coming in – the metrics and calculated metrics are updated, as well as any dashboard cards that are related to the Device. 

Metrics, Calculated Metrics & Alerts 

• Metrics, calculated Metrics, and Alerts defined based upon models and/or Maximo Formulas –  

• A metric may just be a data value coming in from the sensor.  

• A calculated metric can use a Maximo Formula to derive further results, perhaps combining other Metrics.  

• An Alert is a set threshold that if a data element exceeds or is outside a bound, is a notification of that fact. 

Associations to MAS Manage 

• Devices related to Assets in MAS Manage  

•  MAS Monitor has access to the Asset list allowing you to logically relate the defined Devices to the Assets in MAS Manage where the sensors are co-located/attached. 

• Devices related to Asset Meters – if you want incoming sensor data to also update Asset Meter readings, this association is made in MAS Monitor.  

• As the data flows into MAS Monitor, and related Asset Meter is also provided the data value. 

Dashboards & Operational Use 

• Dashboards created by selecting the metrics and Alerts that are of interest and publishing them into Dashboards.  

• Alert tables can be formed for the User to then generate Service Requests in the related MAS Manage environment. 

• As a side note, there is a data simulator function that is available in MAS Monitor for testing and proof of concept purposes. 

While it is true that MAS Monitor is not necessary to have Asset/Location Meters updated, it is a handy tool in remote monitoring situations where quick trending and analysis is of benefit. Also, if an anomaly is detected, a Service Request can be generated in MAS Manage perhaps for further investigation. The point for MAS Monitor is that equipment can provide telemetry data, expressing the current situation, and only when issues arise will a field team be dispatched. 

Step back and see what you have built – APM out of the box 

It is strongly suggested to take a moment once you see data flowing through the APM system to enjoy what you have built. By taking what already exists and connecting it all together, an APM platform has emerged. With data being captured either manually or automatically, the current state of health and risk position of Assets (or Locations) is clear and can be used for decision making. 

Open the MAS Health dashboards with the team and discuss what they are exposing in the data.  

Are some Assets in the sets not behaving well as compared to others? Explore why.  

Is the Health of some sets not appearing to be changing much over time? This might mean the scoring is not detailed enough, or data is simply not entering the platform.  

Do some Health scores seem to work “backwards” from what is logical? Your scoring contributors might be configured in opposite directions than that of the data. (End of free troubleshooting advice!) 

While it may seem like there are many elements required to produce meaningful APM results, most of them are already familiar to any organization that has been using Maximo for any length of time. Further, what has been constructed is an APM framework that can be refined and enhanced over time. There is no “hard coding” to be stuck with. If a score is not providing good decision-support, then it can be adjusted or replaced with one that does. As new sets of Assets are explored, scoring approaches can be adopted or cloned to suit the new equipment. Further, with the advent of AI functionality inherent to the MAS environment, decision making will be greatly enhanced. 

And do not forget: Locations in MAS Manage can also be part of the APM platform… not just Assets. 

Wrap up… 

A functional APM platform does not need to be a daunting task, given the interoperability inherent to the IBM MAS 9.1+ platform.  TRM has been helping clients implement various forms of APM for many years and is in an excellent position to be of real assistance. With proven methods, deep Maximo expertise, and a clear understanding of how MAS Health and MAS Monitor work together, TRM can help you turn your existing data and processes into a fully operational APM capability. Contact us!