Prior to Mainsaver’s implementation, the engineering maintenance workload at the site was managed using paper job sheets, a system which, however finely tuned, naturally carries with it an additional administrative burden. Paper printouts are very easy to work with however, so it was important that when Mainsaver was selected as the site’s CMMS that the implementation didn’t simply replace one problem with another.

The team of engineers took to Mainsaver immediately, finding it very straightforward to operate. Each of the principal engineering disciplines at the site – electrical, mechanical and instrumentation – were provided with their own workshop PC terminals at which the technicians had immediate access to their daily work schedule.

This ready adoption of the CMMS was extremely important because the Billingham plant receives household waste from a number of nearby local authorities. A major downtime event would cause enormous knock-on problems elsewhere in the region, so the transition from paper to computer had to be seamless.

Another significant factor is compliance. Waste processing sites are subject to regular detailed inspections by the Environment Agency to ensure that all the required processes are being maintained. Passing these audits requires a rigorous level of record-keeping to satisfy the inspectors, which is exactly what Mainsaver is designed to do.