It can be easy to think that the most challenging part of introducing Maximo to your organisation is finding the right provider but that’s only the start. How the software is introduced to your workforce can make or break the project and have a lasting impact on how effective it is in transforming asset performance.
Donna McWilliams, Electra’s Managing Director, shares her top five pitfalls to avoid during your Maximo adoption.
1. Approaching Maximo adoption as an IT project
By far the most common mistake that organisations make is to assume that because Maximo is a software, its introduction should be led by the IT department. This usually leads to a technical focus rather than putting the end-user front and centre of the adoption.
Instead, organisations should take a people-first approach. Ensuring team members are engaged from the start of the project and are given the support they need to gain the most value from the platform. Creating engaged teams who buy-in to the difference Maximo can make to asset management will ensure that they are much more likely to follow the correct processes for using and managing the data which will drive performance and optimise how Maximo drives asset management performance.
2. One and done approach to external training
Unfortunately, by framing Maximo as an IT project, the penny often drops far too late that what’s really needed is continuous training and effective change management. Getting the most out of Maximo requires a change in behaviours, processes, and approach to data management. It’s much more than an IT adoption.
We frequently see companies assuming that all that’s required is a single training session with an external provider and users will be able to manage to navigate the system with the support of handouts and internal support.
This assumption sets teams up for failure. Without regular bite-size training that is tailored to each type of user, people will see the tool as a hindrance rather than a help and will become reluctant users rather than readily engaged. This increases the risk of poor data input and management leading to a reduced ability to drive asset management performance.
3. Delegating training responsibilities ‘super-users’
Hands up who wants to be a super-user! Nobody?
While it might sound like a grand title, Super Users frequently find themselves not only facing the responsibility of learning a new system that will be central to their role but are also given the task of training those around them without being given guidance on how to effectively teach others.
Armed only with guidance from an external training session, handouts, and encouragement they are expected to ensure the company has a competent and motivated workforce able to make the most of the Maximo investment.
Despite their best efforts, training is likely to fall short of what’s needed leaving many users having to self-learn the system as they go. This results in patchy competencies across the organisation and missed opportunities to transform asset performance.
4. Failing to engage your workforce early
In a busy energy company, understandably, managers need to keep the disruption of a system roll-out to a minimum. By waiting until just weeks before go-live to engage the wider organisation, push-back will be greater leaving Super Users with an even greater hill to climb to deliver meaningful training.
The need for teams to be engaged early dove tails with developing a company culture that is comfortable with a continuous level of change and evolution. A company whose values embody innovation and high performance are more likely to achieve a successful implementation than one where the culture is resistant to change.
5. Focusing on systems and technology rather than people and processes
At the heart of a successful Maximo adoption is connecting the right people to the right processes and the right data. Only when a company has engaged and upskilled its people will they willingly follow – and eventually enhance – the processes. When people, processes and data are aligned quality, actionable insights can be identified enabling organisations to optimise user adoption and transform how they deliver asset management – reduce risks, unplanned downtime, and budget overruns.
Discover how Electra is enabling change through learning here.
Enabling Change Through Learning