Ready for Use

The moment has now come to start full implementation of your new maintenance planning system. However some more planning is going to be required to ensure that you reap the rewards of all your effort.

The key things to cover in the plan will be issues such as timescales for system rollout, people requiring training, criticality of some processes etc. The important thing is to remember to give enough time for all these things to happen. Attempting a full implementation in a short space of time will increase the risk of things going wrong with a subsequent impact on user confidence.

A sensible way to manage an implementation is often to phase it. That way you will never make too big a commitment at any one time and things can be managed more effectively. Here are some examples of the advantages of phasing:

• You can let staff know your rollout timetable so that they can see their role and plan for system takeoff
• If the new system is replacing an existing one you can run in parallel for a short time and phase the old system out in a safe and predictable way.
• Data transfer and formatting can be done in a way that minimizes data loss or gaps in data entry
• Training can be planned more easily and require less resources at any one time
• Vital company processes will not be put at risk

Once again communication is vital throughout the implementation stage so that user awareness of progress is high. As each phase of the implementation commences staff should receive materials or packs explaining why the system is being introduced, what the benefits will be and giving it the managerial seal of approval.

Though out this stage you will find Engica's expertise invaluable. Many of our people have been involved in implementations and understand the dangers and pitfalls. They'll be able to assist you in training users, solving IT problems, dealing with data issues or managing your implementation in full.

Eventually the system will go live as you planned, implementation will be complete and you will begin to see the benefits that you have worked towards achieving.