28/03/2016

Boost Productivity

... and prolong your asset life with Total’s new maintenance software system

With an ever tighter control on maintenance budgets and stretched operational resources, businesses are continuing to invest in computerised maintenance management systems (CMMS) to internally manage and control plant maintenance activities. 

TOTAL, the 4th largest oil and gas company in the world, has now launched their latest version of its maintenance management software, TIG 6.  TIG 6 has been developed by TOTAL lubricants for more than 20 years and is used in over 50 countries within numerous industries such as cement, paper, chemicals, Refining, food manufacturing, maintenance companies to name a few.  TIG 6 is a windows based software and the latest version can be accessed by mobile or tablets using Windows, Android and Apple IOS operating systems to allow operators to fulfil tasks live on the job.  Also added is barcode reader functionality to easily access asset information and identify the correct lubricant for the job. 

The main purpose of TIG 6 is to generate a list of all the jobs to do within a requested period and, by validating all the planned and unplanned operations, establish an audit trail for traceability of all maintenance tasks and product consumption, with the added benefit of creating an automatic historical database for assets and the plant itself.  This allows the professional management of preventive, condition-based and corrective maintenance practices.  The system allows users to easily analyse maintenance costs as well as monitor lubricant and spare parts stock levels.    

Monitor all your operations with a single software application

For the clients who conduct regular oil condition monitoring (OCM) as part of their preventive maintenance scheduling, TIG 6 also triggers and delivers OCM reports into the management system and is logged against the asset being monitored.  For other types of onsite analysis, TIG 6 features the ability of triggering analysis for thermography, vibration analysis, and pH level. This ensures operators have a comprehensive view of their maintenance activities rather than having to use separate systems. 

As would be expected, documents such as lubricant technical data sheets, MSDS’s and internal procedure documents, can be uploaded and accessed via the system along with links to the company intranet.

This joined up visibility increases the likelihood of adoption by the operators and allows the company to simplify the job for the operations team.

Doomed to Failure?

Often, poor adoption rates for new scheduling systems can be attributed to the daunting task of investing a significant amount of time to collect and input data during the setup stage. Other times, it is because the tool does not always deliver exactly what is needed for that individual company.  TOTAL lubricants deploy a team of experienced, field based engineers to assist in implementing TIG 6, right through from the initial site audit and bespoke setup of the system to training and ongoing support requirements. The result of which, is a user friendly system, fully customisable for the operator.

Easy to use?

At the forefront in the development of TIG 6 was the need for software that is simple to use and easily accessible by all. Personalised, user-friendly reporting tools ensure important database information is never more than a few clicks away. 

Is it affordable?

The costs of this system are not large when you consider all the benefits that can be derived

•    Increased plant availability through reduced down time
•    Prolonged asset life through more effective maintenance
•    Lower operating costs – preventative maintenance best practice reduces the need for those exceptional repair costs
•    Control over preventive maintenance schedule and documentation – companies are able to continue in periods of workforce absence
•    Simplified access to historical maintenance data and statistics

TIG 6 licence costs can be limited by the licence length or by the number of assets to monitor allowing companies to have peace of mind that they can trial the service without significant investment costs.

One large plant using this tool in the UK stated they had seen a reduction in lubricant costs of 4.5% since they introduced TIG and they reported significant cost reductions linked to longer plant life.