Companies create flexible IT environments so that they can react to the rapidly changing demands of a highly competitive global market. But this is not just a technical challenge: it must also keep employees on board as they experience the impact of innovation and change.

When a new technology is installed, employees must adopt it and use it to deliver value. When a new process is implemented, employees must adopt it and use it to deliver the desired benefits. That adoption and active employee involvement is the bridge between a great solution and the best results.

Change management at the project level seeks to ensure that a project achieves the desired results by supporting the individual transitions required by that project. In projects implementing EAM software for enterprise asset management, change management must be adapted to the particularities of the system and the complexity of the actors involved in the different processes.

In practice, change management takes place at several different levels within the organization.

  • Business level: affects organizational capacity and competence.
  • Project level: a measure of profit realisation and value creation applied to particular initiatives.
  • Individual-level: an approach to enable a person to change their way of working successfully.

Change management in the implementation of EAM systems

Implementing EAM asset management software will not only result in system changes but also process and organisational changes.

The main stage of system implementation should begin with the conceptualization of clear project objectives and possible ways to achieve these objectives. One of the biggest problems facing EAM project leaders does not stem from the implementation itself, but from the expectations of senior management, staff and other stakeholders.

Change management is one of the critical success factors for an EAM project. The integration of a change management team and an effective change management plan are necessary for the organisation to deal with the impact on the business.

Change management at the project level provides specific strategies, plans, actions and steps that focus on the employees affected and work towards their alignment with the implementation of the EAM.

For successful change management, the following basic aspects must be taken into account:

  1. Designing the strategy: Implementing change management and sponsorship strategy, aimed at facilitating the assimilation of collaborators and other stakeholders of the changes that may occur.
  2. Identify the impact: Carry out a prediction of the impact of the change that allows the identification of the facilitators and barriers of the process. Similarly, determine and manage the organizational impacts that the change implies at the level of processes, technology and people.
  3. Resistance to change: Minimize resistance to change and facilitate assimilation to new processes and structure that are raised with the implementation of the new system.
  4. Develop training plans: Design action plans to achieve effective awareness. Coordinate the training activities necessary to achieve the success of the project
  5. Managing communications: conducting effective communications management to achieve understanding, commitment and support for the project from all stakeholders.
  6. Human integration: effectively integrate project teams. These are the main stakeholders to ensure the success of the project.

Key factors in EAM implementation projects

Implementing the MAS system is a complex set of activities, so organisations must have an effective project management strategy to control the process.

Project management activities include all stages of the project from start to final stages of formal closure. It is therefore important to mention the following key factors:

  1. Senior management support: Senior management should provide leadership by establishing an asset management steering committee with the participation of selected representatives from the various disciplines involved in asset management in the organisation
  2. Asset management plan and vision: The asset management improvement plan should highlight the importance and priority of the EAM system in support of the overall asset management plan.
  3. Well-defined processes: Clarity and approval of essential asset management processes (asset identification, asset management and record keeping, planning and control of maintenance work, development of asset care plans, work feedback and data capture, etc.) are essential to ensure the successful implementation of the EAM system.
  4. Teamwork and composition: The EAM team should involve the best people in the asset management and maintenance functions of the organisation.
  5. User involvement: User involvement improves perceived control through participation in all stages from the definition of the organization’s system to being part of the implementation phases.

 

At Retain we have our own implementation methodology to develop our model for the implementation of EAM systems in a specific context, adapted to each business and its characteristics. If you want to know how we can apply it to your company, please contact us without obligation and an expert will contact you as soon as possible.