First Utility in Southeast Florida to Implement Maximo in the Cloud

Solutions

Maximo as a Service

Industry

Utilities

Implementation Type

Greenfield

Client Since

2015

Maximo World Presentation

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About City of Pompano Beach Florida

Founded in 1908 and located 35 miles north of Miami, Pompano Beach is the fifth largest city in South Florida. Among other utilities, the City of Pompano Beach Utilities (COPBU) provides its 110,473 residents with water reuse, wastewater, and stormwater services. Known for its beaches, marinas and offshore coral reef, plus numerous wrecks and other dive sites. The long Pompano Beach Pier stretches into the Atlantic Ocean. North, along the shore, the 1900s Hillsboro Lighthouse guards the Hillsboro Inlet, an entrance to the Intracoastal Waterway.

Overview

It was the need to manage these utility services better and cope with a growing population that led COPBU to look for an EAM solution. After a selection process, they chose Projetech’s cloud-based Maximo solution.Following a successful Phase 1, Pompano Beach Utilities became the first utility in the Southeast to implement Maximo in the cloud. Pompano Beach Utilities continues to roll out Projetech’s Maximo as a Service (MaaS) with expert support and implementation from a premier Projetech partner.

Projetech, a Gold IBM Business Partner, offers IBM Maximo: the global standard in software for Enterprise Asset Management and maintenance. Since 1999, Projetech has been providing Maximo as a Service (MaaS), which allows clients to manage, maintain and scale their solution requirements while benefiting from flexible services and lower operating costs

Choosing an EAM Solution

Three factors drove the COPBU’s search for an EAM solution:

The City Utilities had recently transitioned from an end-of-life CMMS to a paper-based system. This paper system was unsustainable in the long-term and needed replacing. While they were able to use this system to track what was happening each day, it was impossible to use historical data to inform future decision-making.
The annual threat from hurricane season meant they needed secure data storage. This meant the ability not just to capture data, but also to house, store, and access it regardless of local conditions. The cloud was a potential solution, but uptime, data integrity & recovery, and security were key considerations.
COPBU wanted more than just a repository for asset data and the ability to issue work orders. With a fixed budget and many other asset management needs (3 treatment plants, 80 lift stations, 4300 manholes, and 300 miles of water lines), the ability to track and improve reliability was a key consideration.

Ideally, they would achieve these three objectives without placing any additional burden on their small IT department.

Why Cloud Based Maximo?

After considering several options, IBM’s Maximo was chosen as the preferred solution, offering the power and flexibility COPBU needed to track all their assets and improve reliability.

By working with Projetech to implement Maximo in the cloud, COPBU was confident they could move away from paper-based chaos while also protecting their data from weather disruption.

Key considerations included:

Superior Security – Security is a factor for any utility provider. Projetech’s status as an ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified provider reassured them that their data was safe.
Low Maintenance – With no onsite hardware requirements and support from Projetech, Pompano Beach was confident that cloud-based Maximo would not impact on their IT team.
Highly Reliable – Faced with annual hurricanes, the reliability and redundancy offered by Projetech’s cloud services would help COPBU continue to perform vital work even in adverse conditions that would disrupt local servers.

Implementing Cloud-Based Maximo

COPBU implemented Maximo using a phased approach, beginning Phase 1 with a single site, the Oasis Reclamation Plant. Working closely with Projetech’s premier partner, COPBU used this phase to do the heavy lifting; putting significant time and effort into standardizing everything from naming conventions to processes in preparation for a future wider rollout.

COPBU has completed implementation of the water treatment plant. The standardization work done in Phase 1, coupled with Maximo’s excellent ability to scale, has meant that Phase 2 has proven cheaper than Phase 1. This is despite the significant increase in assets and the need for a complete asset walkdown.

How Maximo as a Service is Helping COPBU Improve Its Processes

COPBU has reached many of their desired targets, including excellent uptime and successful user adoption. Here are just a few of the ways that cloud-based Maximo is supporting COPBU:

Excellent System Performance – With a verified 99.99% verified uptime and Projetech’s lightning-fast support, COPBU has been able to access vital data no matter the weather – even during hurricane season.
Predictive Maintenance Becomes a Reality – COPBU implementied the input of live meter readings directly into Maximo. By using tolerances, these live reading can trigger alarms and work orders inside Maximo, allowing COPBU to act before the problem escalates.
Future Expansion Plans – Maximo’s scalability and ability to address every kind of asset means COPBU now has the option to expand to other assets, such as production wells and lift stations. This paves the way for future savings and improvements.
Superior Reporting – Maximo’s powerful reporting tools enable COPBU leaders to show where dollars are going and validating budget needs. With additional funding coming from rates, the ability to communicate needs to the public quantitatively is vital.