Reporting Options in MAXIMO

Reporting options in MAXIMO.

Now you have had MAXIMO for a while, you have a great big database with a tremendous amount of information in it, how do you get that data out and into a usable format. This post will point out some things to consider when looking at reporting from MAXIMO.

1)     What data I need? Differentiate between information that you need in a report vs. information that can be found through a query or provided via other methods.

2)     What is the purpose and use for this information? Understand the purpose of the information and use cases for the information that the reports or queries will generate.

3)     Is this tactical or strategic information? One time use for information purposes or a trending and analytic tool that will allow you to find avenues to enhance your business operations.

4)     In what format should it be? Does the information need to be manipulated after generation ie in a spreadsheet, or is it a report that goes to an external organization therefore needs be branded properly?

5)     How much time and resources is this going to take?

In many projects people spend a lot of time creating reports and universes to capture and present information. Creating reports can be an expensive undertaking, however within MAXIMO there are other ways to present information without generating reports. I have created a matrix to help users define the options available within MAXIMO, to help guide them in choosing the solution to provide the information that they require. The matrix looks at seven common ways to see information in MAXIMO.

The Matrix includes several columns:

·        The tool or method

·        The relative cost of developing a report, query or start center component.

·        The type of reporting defined as Tactical or Strategic in nature;

·        Tactical – defined as a ‘one off’ simple report in a one dimension format. Typically, these reports represent a ‘snap shot’ in time of information for immediate use, like a staging pick list, or list of work orders scheduled this week.

·        Strategic - defined as a report with multiple selection queries and ability to drill up and down dynamically, and the flexibility to perform table linkages, to add and delete data components and apply calculations. These reports can look for trends in asset or work performance and allow the user to engage in ‘what if’ scenarios.

Your reporting team should look at each reporting requirement and determine the best tool to provide the information you require. Each reporting option has benefits and costs associated with it.

 If the organization needs quick rapid views in a changing environment, the MAXIMO start center ‘result sets’ are a rapid and inexpensive way to provide information to user’s. Examples of result sets could be:

·        Work orders scheduled and overdue

·        New priority one work orders in the last 24 hours

·        New incidents reported in the last seven days.

KPI’s can be imbedded into the start center as well to provide immediate key information to users in a format with established targets. Examples of KPI’s could be:

·        Number of direct reports with expiring safety certifications

·        PM performance

·        Reported incidents monthly by priority

Start centers are very effective tools, as you can have multiple start centers defined by security groups available to users. They serve information to the users rapidly and provide effective ways to streamline the work and assignments, notify users of events and hence prompt actions. However, the start centers are limited and can not provide detailed analytic information that the more complex reporting tools can. Complex start centers can also limit MAXIMO performance if not designed properly.

The more extensive tools allow greater analytic capabilities. Examples of these reports could be:

·        Asset failure summary over time with calculations (Mean, Average, Regression)

·        Costs of maintenance year over year and trending

·        Anticipated capital spending requirements based on historical asset condition and operation activities.

·        Correlations between asset downtime and work based activities

McGregor Analytics Ltd. Is a company dedicated to providing functional MAXIMO consulting services.