Maintenance management

Deployed on its own or with Pulse Production for integrated operations management, Pulse Maintenance is an extensively capable system for managing assets and maintenance across any number of mining sites. Pulse Maintenance provides you with a suite of powerful, highly configurable operational tools that can record and analyze your maintenance history, enabling you to accurately forecast, budget, and make strategic decisions based on the latest company data. Developed over 35 years in close collaboration with real-world mining companies, Pulse Maintenance is rapidly configured and implemented to manage all kinds of maintenance management scenarios. With fully integrated planning, project management, forecasting, automated workflows with predictive intelligence, and real-time analytics, Pulse Maintenance gives you the most accurate and complete picture of asset management, at any number of different sites.

Increasingly, machines are equipped to send their maintenance alerts by self-detecting a greater vibration rate, change in heat emission, decreased throughput – whatever relevant factors. Pulse experts can integrate maintenance-trigger data from any sources: machine sensors, environmental sensors, SCADA, CAS, FMS, etc, any available meter, and digital checklists used for completing routine work. Data captured automatically via integration is updated as scheduled and instantly interpreted for reporting via Pulse ERP and Pulse Analytics BI dashboards. Getting data directly into the system at source can allow maintenance planners and purchasing officers to respond more rapidly and for maintenance requirements to be satisfied more compliantly.

Bring any other relevant information into your Pulse Maintenance management system, such as rosters if created outside of Pulse, simply by automatic scheduling or importing into the system from spreadsheets whenever needed, or direct integration for API-enabled software sources. Exploring more of the Pulse system can change thinking about integrations. Many tools that were once add-ons are included with Pulse, for example, Pulse Budgeting using the latest data with inbuilt Microsoft Excel, and Pulse Planning and Pulse Projects to end the clunkiness of using non-mining software to manage operational resource planning and projects in mining operations. The Pulse ERP delivers the full power of a fully integrated mining business management system.

The Plant Register within Pulse Maintenance is the centralized register for key details on all of the company’s assets, organized by site where there are multiple mining sites in operation, and optionally by area/location at larger sites. Proper configuration of your organization’s physical plant and equipment will be completed by Pulse during your system implementation, and from thereon, it’s easy to keep your Plant Register up to date with any updates and changes. You can track and manage complex, high-value assets right down to the sub-assembly and component level, if you like. Pulse Maintenance is tightly integrated with Pulse Financials for asset tax reporting and depreciation, and for blending financial data with maintenance and other ERP data for management reporting.

The area of Job Management within Pulse Maintenance – developed for mining, complete with workflows – has astonishing capabilities. You’ll have all the functionalities needed to gather, plan, schedule, execute, record history, and analyze maintenance jobs and requests. Efficiently plan and track maintenance work with fully integrated Pulse Planning to manage schedules, equipment, and resources. Job requests can be created by anyone and with Pulse Mobility, requests can arrive from the frontline in real-time, eg: “Loose ladder on dump truck 6” to minimize downtime. Frontline workers can pick up jobs on mobile devices and go offline if needed – still with full access to any documentation such as OEM instructions, MSDS (material safety data sheets), and SWMS (safe work method statements) – with Pulse digital checklists to capture compliant job execution.

Key to Pulse Maintenance is the preventative maintenance management features that provide easy, failsafe scheduling and performance of mandatory maintenance tasks. Use calendar and/or equipment usage statistics to guide the formulation of maintenance strategies and plant maintenance forecasting. Let the system automatically detect the availability of parts and resources to perform planned work. Easily create work orders from standard job templates. Have maintenance requirements triggered by certain events such as odometer readings, however your Pulse system is set up to work for you. With visibility over your entire plant maintenance landscape, the organization is assured of having no lapses or unnecessary downtime through inefficient maintenance management.

For some organizations, it’s enough to track each asset (eg: a truck) by its main identification number (eg: VIN). For others, this level of detail isn’t enough, and that’s where Pulse Maintenance provides all the detailed control over tracking that anyone could require. For example, you can track the engine inside of a truck and track the new engine going into it while still tracking the same truck separately. Track any components exchanged between assets; and any parts that have been reconditioned and returned to inventory. Of interest to the finance department is the integrated ability to capitalize major maintenance works for expense and depreciation purposes.

Because maintenance work can and will happen everywhere in mining, Pulse Maintenance offers mobility for everyone working at the frontline. It takes only a moment for anyone to make a job request with talk-to-text notes and any captured images, setting the ball in motion for prompt attention by maintenance and saving masses amount of time compared to paper-based end-of-shift reporting. Then, when it comes to performing maintenance work with mobile interactivity, there is no chance of being held up by missing documentation or having things go wrong because instructions weren’t followed precisely. It’s no problem when WiFi connections are limited on-site either. The mobile devices allow you to take work offline and will sync automatically when back in range.

The Pulse system comes loaded with every style of report ever needed by companies over many years of mining coal, gold, copper, nickel, iron ore, and other resources. Even so, there are many different styles of production reconciliation. If Pulse Maintenance doesn’t offer your required format already, Pulse will configure it for you during your implementation. This is how the Pulse system continually improves and expands its capabilities for all users, by Pulse responding directly to real-world mining needs as they arise. You can also write your own reports, and customize existing reports by filtering to review, analyze, and account for every aspect of mine production and processing in summary or granular detail, optimizing the productivity of your mining operations as made possible by Pulse. And that’s just the general way of doing things when Pulse Analytics is included for next-level power and immediacy in maintenance-related reporting. Within a fully integrated mining management system, Pulse Maintenance can blend ERP data with maintenance data to report unit costings and add values to other metrics.

More than 10 years ago, Pulse Analytics became the world’s first agnostic real-time mine management reporting system. Today, with Pulse-enhanced Microsoft PowerBI to present Pulse-integrated data, Pulse Analytics is even faster and easier to use. Pulse Maintenance comes with prebuilt dashboards configured during implementation, and the Pulse Analytics Data Warehouse allows users to build their own BI dashboards from visual data stacks with logical assistance from Pulse Analytics rules. Selected visualizations can be displayed on large screens in common areas to improve performance through end-of-shift comparisons between teams. Supervisors and managers instantly spot trends and anomalies for rapid troubleshooting and quicker wins. Easily view asset cost centers; determine root causes and much more by drilling down from visualizations into transactional details. Users can save and share favorite reports and set reports to email automatically (eg: for meetings). Site managers may have access to their dashboards, while country managers see their sites and global sees all sites.

The Pulse system comes with Pulse Budgeting for fully integrated budgeting and forecasting using the latest actuals from the system. For Pulse ERP users, this means being able to delegate financial budgeting to the right people in different departments for drafting, review, and approval before going live and rolling into master budgets. In production management, import any mine model information or other data to inform budgeting, forecasting, and what-if analysis. Use Microsoft Excel from within the Pulse system as your favorite tool for working with numbers, saving and sharing drafts, and going live when ready. Auto-calculations from planned and captured metrics provide the predictive intelligence to forecast outputs and values based on logical assumptions. Mining is a dynamic environment and you’ll love being able to forecast and re-forecast production results whenever conditions change, in almost no time.

Plan operational resources for maintenance and associated activities down to inter/intra-shift levels with fully integrated Pulse Planning. Authorized users can work on unlimited plans, push final plans into the live system, and manifest jobs for people or teams to receive on mobile devices with all associated checklists and references. Plan routine maintenance work and special projects as near or far into the future as you can imagine. With visualized Gantt-style drag-and-drop functionality, view plans at a high level with easy-to-read indicators and click to expand or edit details. The system works for you with native logic to help manage the availability of human resources, skills, equipment, etc. You’ll see under/over-allocations, or where additional resources may be needed to achieve targets within the timeframe. Using the Pulse ERP system allows predictive intelligence and workflow automation between related departments, as managed by Pulse Production, Pulse Workforce, Pulse Supply, and Pulse Financials. Using other systems is possible with Pulse devising 2-way dataflows between systems.

Plan, budget, execute, and review any number of maintenance projects with fully integrated Pulse Projects inside Pulse ERP. Throughout various stages such as decommissioning, remediation, exploration, planning, design, construction, commissioning, rolling operations, expansion, extension, divestment, restructuring, refit, and acquisitions, the works to be done by people and assets can be managed and tracked inside the Pulse system under project cost centers. Between Pulse Planning, Pulse Projects, and Pulse Budgeting, with full system integration, the entire spectrum of operational resource planning and project management is taken care of easily. Pulse Financials is configurable for project-based financial management and accounting, so there’s no need for additional project accounting software or spreadsheets.

Pulse Digital Checklists end paperwork, eliminate error-prone data entry, liberate staff from filing/scanning, guard against non-compliance, protect from liability, ensure work is done properly, and satisfy evidentiary needs for safety, responsibility, quality, etc. Easily create forms and checklists for people to complete on mobile devices – it’s like being able to build your own mini-apps, fully integrated within your Pulse system! To get started quickly, Pulse can convert all your existing paper-based forms into Digital Checklists during implementation, and then train your people to easily make their own. Forms are smart so that a certain answer will trigger associated sub-questions to answer or actions to perform. Map to capture answers and inputs where needed inside the system. View and evaluate results using Pulse Analytics with instant drill-down to checklist details, images, etc. Stored entries are securely time-stamped and user-identified to meet and exceed any future auditing or forensic requirements.

Pulse Maintenance gives you instant situational awareness, as specific to your role, just by landing on your Pulse Maintenance system homepage at login or return. Homepages are easily personalized to include summary charts, key metrics, tasks, approvals, due dates – whatever you like to keep handy or ready for action. Managers and supervisors can get more done on the fly, with Pulse Mobility actively enabling you to review, approve/reject, and comment on all kinds of requests from any location or timezone. Workers can receive their jobs on mobile devices and complete tasks compliantly without asking questions or touching paperwork. Access the system or Pulse Analytics securely from any browser and make fully informed decisions in critical situations without delay. Mining operations are typically non-stop and your Pulse system has got your back 24/7 with active task management and the latest information.

One of the many great features of the Pulse system is the automation of workflows throughout the system. Predictive intelligence and logical assumptions make people’s jobs easier in every department – while helping to eliminate human errors and ensuring compliance with procedures and standards. The organization has no need for special workflow management software with Pulse. Pulse experts work with you to configure your preferred workflows during implementation. You’ll make your own changes easily from there. With advances in AI and machine learning incorporated into Pulse system development for the future, the organizations using Pulse are positioned to take advantage of all the promises to be fulfilled by the IoT and Industry 4.0.

While some of the world’s largest mining organizations use Pulse Production at sites as their mine production recording and reporting system, the deployment of Pulse Production and Pulse Maintenance within the complete Pulse ERP system is most compelling. Tight integration between Pulse Production and Pulse Maintenance, for example, allows delays attributable to breakdowns flowing to maintenance planners… for parts to be requisitioned from inventory or ordered online and approved for purchasing via Pulse Supply… and for payments to be raised automatically via Pulse Financials upon scan-in of goods and cross-matched purchasing validation without a keystroke. Pulse Production informs Pulse Marketing with mining and processing outputs transitioning to sales contracts, blend optimization, and delivery logistics. Analyse and manage business performance by departments, sites, countries, regions, resource sectors, ventures, or globally with corporate consolidation. Freshly captured data is shared instantly across the system, updating management information in real-time.

The larger the mining site, the more challenging to know who is on-site and why 24/7. Pulse Presence is the AI-based facial recognition attendance management system developed specifically for mining – accurate even with sunglasses or PPE. Devices on floor stands or external mounts are at entry and exit points. Employees and contractors are instantly recognized. Time-stamped attendance can inform payroll or AP via export or system integration. First-time visitors register within seconds and collect sticker passes before entry. People watching reception can get alerts when visitors are waiting or on their way; overstayers are alerted. Ask different questions or give different messages to different types of attendees. Monitor and manage all site attendance on real-time dashboards with filtered reporting and secure, forensic-standard evidence.