With complete visibility into inventory, it optimizes procurement processes, costs, and timelines
The Equipment Directorate (DEQ) based in Tahiti is responsible for implementing governmental directives in construction and management of public equipment under the authority of the Minister of Major Projects. It ensures the programming, studies, and execution of public facilities, as well as the design, construction, and maintenance of structures and the monitoring, management, conservation, and maintenance of public land, fluvial, and maritime domains. A broad spectrum of activities falls under maintenance work. In this capacity, Teihotu Rere, head of the Material Park (PAM), is in charge of acquiring, maintaining, and reforming the country’s construction machinery, along with managing a significant fleet of vehicles (600 light and heavy-duty) intended for a wide variety of terrains (roads, bridges, docks, engineering works, rivers, networks, …). Having joined the DEQ in 2022, Teihotu Rere aims to energize preventive maintenance and significantly reduce corrective maintenance, which occupies the majority of the team’s tasks. However, Polynesia covers a territory as vast as Europe, with a fleet scattered across a multitude of islands. Hence, the challenge lies in carrying out maintenance remotely. With five years of experience in a hospital setting, Teihotu Rere brings significant expertise in asset management by prescribing the use of a CMMS. The goal: to have a more refined view of the fleet’s condition.
A maintenance team with specific trade skills
The PAM team (34 people) is subdivided into four services with different skills, including mechanical and hydraulic: the store for purchasing and tracking orders of spare parts, two services dedicated to light vehicles and heavy trucks respectively, and a fourth in charge of construction machinery. Ultimately, it was essential to be able to rely on a real forecast for equipment renewal. The absence of technical inspection on light vehicles made the task slightly more complicated. Therefore, the interest in a CMMS stemmed from this observation.
The CMMS’s focus on preventative maintenance
The CMMS concerns activities of preventive and curative maintenance. Teihotu Rere initiated a local consultation and then elected to connect to the UGAP central purchasing agency. The decision to use DimoMaint MX came quickly after several meetings with management, including several concerned employees. The choice of DimoMaint MX resulted from the desire to equip the service with a highly intuitive and simple to use solution. The competing solution offered a stark interface requiring extensive training. Thus, the adoption of DimoMaint’s solution was rapid.
An implementation timeline spread over 5 months
Since DimoMaint MX is a full web CMMS, it requires no installation or hardware. This was seen as an additional positive by an IT department hesitant to allow changes to its network. “A set of specifications, prepared with DimoMaint teams, helped to clearly define the project and efficiently parameterize our database. It had been previously prepped but required some updates. Nevertheless, about 90% of the vehicle fleet was covered. The ease of use of DimoMaint MX means it is very simple to remove a vehicle or reassign it to another island or subdivision,” says Teihotu Rere.
The hierarchy starts from the Equipment Directorate and then goes down to the island level. Then all subdivisions and units within which all the equipment is listed were connected. This ease of use allowed the DEQ teams to become operational in record time: hands-on training for supervisors and users took place on a test version from September to December 2023, before switching to production mode after three months of use at the start of 2024.
Stock management is crucial
The scope of the CMMS includes creating work orders, orders, stock management (valued at nearly €3 million). Therefore, it is a strong challenge for maintenance. “I restructured the store team for this purpose and established appropriate procedures. The store has an interface to our in-house ERP, but we are in the process of completely switching over to DimoMaint MX for complete centralization and to eventually place orders directly from the CMMS,” he says.
A now very precise view of maintenance
The DEQ can now carry out preventive maintenance for its entire fleet, including trucks, excavators, tractors, and light vehicles: “Our goal will be to reach 80% preventive, which is currently between 40 and 60%. The preventive part is a great help: a schedule is in place and gives us a comprehensive operational overview. An alert is sent 1 month before intervention, which allows the store to check the availability of parts, to plan for vehicles to be available on the scheduled date and for technicians to prepare properly for the intervention.” For now, maintenance centralizes all intervention requests coming from the workshop manager and his deputy. These are then dispatched to technicians and closed after validation by Teihotu Rere. The management of equipment and vehicle availability is totally transparent, thus facilitating rental and assignment based on needs.
Deployment of CMMS across all of polynesia by 2025
The solution will be generalized in 2025 across all the islands: “Most of the machinery is on Tahiti. We will set up grouped preventive interventions, which is essential when traveling from island to island. The number of users will quadruple, going from a dozen to forty. Therefore, 2024 is a crucial year to properly size our teams to efficiently absorb this increase in workload,” he says.
Cost and work method optimization thanks to DimoMaint MX
The work of the agents is better valued, as the interventions are finely quantified through work orders. The solution has also allowed for standardizing preventive interventions: “We have gained responsiveness in meeting the needs of other units. Historization is very useful analytically speaking for closely defining fleet renewal, particularly by tracking the most costly machinery. Regarding corrective maintenance, we can now track recurring breakdowns on certain machines and brands. With complete visibility into stock levels, the DEQ can now optimize its procurement processes, thereby reducing costs and delays. In the long run, we plan to also deploy mobility,” concludes Teihotu Rere who adds that advanced analytical tools provide valuable information for making informed decisions in a continuous improvement process.
Navigating to the future: DEQ sets sail with DimoMaint MX for optimized maritime maintenance
In summary, the adoption of the DimoMaint MX solution by the Equipment Directorate (DEQ) marks a significant turning point in the efficiency of managing its fleet of equipment and materials. This highly intuitive solution enabled the DEQ team to transform their maintenance processes, enhancing cost-efficiency, preventive maintenance, and inventory management, all while providing detailed analyses and reports that facilitate decision-making.
Beyond these advancements, the DEQ is now moving towards an ambitious evolutionary project with the maintenance of its fleet, particularly for two of its boats. This new venture aims to integrate the proven principles of preventive maintenance from the rest of the fleet, adjusting processes to the unique challenges of the marine environment, such as corrosion, salinity, and accessibility. Optimized upkeep of this fleet will not only ensure the safety of marine operations but also extend the life of the equipment, in compliance with strict maritime maintenance requirements.
The experience gained through the implementation of DimoMaint MX in other DEQ sectors provides a solid foundation for this new project, promising a smooth transition to more proactive and preventive management of the boats. This initiative aligns with a long-term vision, ensuring the sustainability and reliability of public service in French Polynesia, and furthering the DEQ’s commitment to continuous improvement and innovation in resource management.
