Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, has announced that Barrett Steel, the UK’s largest independent steel stockholder, has chosen the Fiix computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) to manage its ongoing maintenance programs and reduce downtime.
The deployment of the CMMS from Fiix is part of a digital transformation of Barrett Steel’s maintenance activities, with the aim of streamlining, simplifying and mobilizing the entire program.
The steel stockholder had already deployed an OEE system developed and installed by CHG, a trusted supplier of Barrett Steel and a Rockwell Automation recognized system integrator. CHG recognized that the Fiix CMMS would be ideal to develop and scale the system further and partnered with Rockwell Automation to create a tailored solution, based around a five-year ROI project.
Fiix’s cloud-native CMMS creates workflows for the scheduling, organizing, and tracking of equipment maintenance, connecting seamlessly to business systems to drive data-driven decisions. As one of the world’s most widely used CMMS solutions, Fiix has more than 2 million assets under management and creates more than 6 million work orders per year.
Another essential element of the maintenance-operations transformation is the ThingWorx® SaaS-based SCP (smart connected products) package from PTC, which connects all the business systems together, displaying the correct information to the correct people. ThingWorx provides the functionality, flexibility, and scalability that businesses need to drive industrial innovation, including the ability to source, contextualize and synthesize data, while orchestrating processes and delivering powerful web, mobile and AR experiences.
According to Malte Dieckelmann, regional vice president, software sales EMEA, at Rockwell Automation: “We put forward a digital transformation plan that focused around ThingWorx coupled to a powerful but easy-to-use CMMS solution that would allow them to simply raise work-order tickets, identify outstanding health and safety jobs, and digitize paper-based processes. The resulting package reduces risk to both day-to-day operations and personnel.”
Peter Clarke, director at CHG explains: “We set up a trial of Fiix and incorporated some value-added demonstration data, based on an installed-base evaluation. Using this information, we then created some preventative maintenance schedules that Barrett Steel was able to simulate and test using mobile phones and tablets – a major part of the initial brief.”
“We have been at the forefront of the UK steel industry for more than 150 years and place our customers at the core of everything we do,” Paul Burke, operations director at Barrett Steel, said. “Downtime at any of our 26 UK sites could lead to delivery delays, which are simply unacceptable. Therefore, we always look to deploy the best possible contemporary solutions to help ensure maximum uptime. Due to the mobile nature of our operations, remote access was essential as was the ease of use, and the Fiix/ThingWorx package is perfect for our needs.”
The installation of a CMMS solution is one of the first steps in the company’s ambitious digital transformation plans, which will eventually encompass a wider spread of applications and technologies, all of which can be developed, tailored, deployed and supported by CHG Electrical and Rockwell Automation.
About Fiix
Fiix by Rockwell Automation is the software-as-a-service (SaaS) maintenance management platform that combines mobile asset management, work order, and parts management and supercharges it with the most open integration network and AI-driven insights. With Fiix, you can connect shop floor IoT solutions, parts suppliers, contractors, and corporate IT systems quickly and easily to improve the way physical assets and people interact and drive better business outcomes. There are over 3500 maintenance teams across the world with a strong presence in North America using Fiix to improve communication, asset health, and even sustainability. Learn more at www.fiixsoftware.com.
About Barrett Steel
Barrett Steel is the UK’s largest independent British steel stockholder, with its own distribution fleet and sites across the UK. With extensive world class steel-processing facilities, its expertise and advanced specialist skills have ensured the outstanding success of a diverse range of high-profile projects around the globe, cementing its reputation as the number one supplier in the steel stockholding industry.
About CHG Electrical
From its early beginnings as a MEICA Engineers and systems integrator to a turnkey digital transformation organization, CHG cover the whole project lifecycle. Boasting best-in-class products and services with an innovative customer-centric approach, its aim is to be your first thought for technology-enabled business transformation.
