MRO Software, an IBM company (NYSE: IBM), today announced that the Antwerp Port Authority has chosen IBM’s Maximo asset management software to manage its operating assets in the port of Antwerp. The contract was awarded after an extensive tender procedure.The Maximo solution is part of the portfolio of solutions from MRO Software, which IBM acquired in October 2006, and is now part of IBM’s Tivoli software unit.
Maximo will support the organization in the overall maintenance and technical management of all operating assets, including tugs and dredgers, cranes, buildings, bridges, locks, docks, roads and the electricity distribution network. More than 750 employees will eventually have access to the solution, which will support all maintenance management processes. The solution covers work order and data management, planning, budgeting, reporting, performance tracking, internal and external outsourcing, purchasing, and stock management. Some adjacent processes will also be handled by Maximo, such as the monitoring of construction and renovation projects, and recording of certain operating data and all purchase orders.
The chosen package forms part of an improvement project recently launched by the Antwerp Port Authority called the “Integrated Maintenance System.” This is intended to improve the quality and efficiency of the management and maintenance of operating assets. Maintaining these assets costs around 25 million euros per year and involves some 600 people.
“Convincing product features, user-friendliness, deep functionality and modern architecture were among the reasons why we chose Maximo,” explains Wim Van Santvoort, head of bridges and locks at the Antwerp Port Authority.
Johan Arts, vice president industry & solutions marketing, Tivoli, IBM Software Group, added: “We are proud of the trust placed in Maximo and our staff by the port of Antwerp, a critical port for the region. We look forward to working with the Antwerp Port Authority to provide the best possible support for the Integrated Maintenance System project.”
About the Antwerp Port Authority
The Antwerp Port Authority has a workforce of around 1,600 spread over some 60 centres and operates on both the left and right banks of the River Schelde. It part-owns and manages docks, berths, warehouses and official buildings, roads, yards, locks and bridges. It is responsible for planning, modernising and maintaining the infrastructure of the port, and for operating its own equipment, including floating cranes, shore cranes, tugs and dredgers. It also leases land and warehouses, distributes electricity within the port and of course collects harbour dues.
Maximo is delivered on a web-architected platform and increases productivity, optimizes asset performance and service levels, reduces costs and enables asset-related sourcing and procurement across the entire spectrum of strategic assets.
IBM’s enterprise asset management software solutions allow customers to manage the complete life cycle of strategic assets including: planning, procurement, deployment, tracking, maintenance and retirement. With these solutions, customers can improve production reliability, labor efficiency, material optimization, software license compliance, lease management, warranty and service management across the asset base.