Cargo Carriers, the JSE Securities Exchange-listed specialised transport and logistics management company, has implemented Cape-based asset performance management specialist PRAGMA`s On Key maintenance management system at Afgri Logistics, an agricultural logistics management specialist.
This is the first time On Key has been implemented in the logistics market.
The CargoWare division of Cargo Carriers, which provides IT support for the company`s customers and is a commercial entity in its own right, implemented the On Key system following the business benefits the company derived from its own use of the system.
The asset lifecycle cost optimisation system was introduced to Cargo Carriers in 2003 when the company needed to replace a maintenance management system that had not proven successful. Following a two-month pilot at the Vanderbijlpark branch of Cargo Carriers to gauge whether the system would match the functionality and robustness required, the On Key system was rolled out to the company`s 12 branches across SA and Swaziland.
Two main objectives were set with the implementation: to manage and reduce asset management costs and to increase the availability of the vehicles so as to increase the company`s revenue-earning potential.
"On Key has enabled us to maximise our management information, and because the system is driven from within the workshop environment, valuable data on repair and maintenance history for each vehicle is at hand," says Charel Schickerling, GM of the CargoWare division of Cargo Carriers.
"The history is detailed in terms of component level, which enables us to manage quality of workmanship and reliability. Over the longer term the system will assist with vehicle selection and replacement policy issues. Based on specific failures of critical components, we`re able to scientifically analyse whether we`re using the right vehicle for the right job."
On Key can manage and control all purchases of spares and buy-outs on specific jobs as well as analyse the productivity of artisans and other resources. Stock control on spares, fuels and oils are also now more comprehensively and efficiently managed.
"More than 95% of the invoices of the company`s creditors are processed from On Key into the Microsoft Great Plains financial system. The integration is automated and runs three times a day, resulting in considerable savings through the deduplication of invoice capture by creditor clerks," says Schickerling.
Adherence to a properly defined preventative maintenance policy for Cargo Carriers ensures unnecessary breakdowns and repairs are avoided and quality controls are in place, leading to a substantial decrease in vehicle downtime. Quality control and time management procedures have also been put in place to increase turnaround time in the workshops.
"The success Cargo Carriers is enjoying since implementing the system emphasises that On Key as an enterprise asset management solution covers the entire asset base of organisations within any industry," says Gerrie Olivier, business development director at PRAGMA.
On Key was traditionally regarded as a maintenance management solution specifically for the manufacturing and fast-moving consumer goods industries. The success of the solution at Cargo Carriers has broken ground in the fleet asset arena, emphasising the solution`s efficacy in the asset lifecycle management sphere of enterprise asset management rather than merely conventional maintenance management.
"The overall management commitment supported by buy-in at all user levels was instrumental to the successes being enjoyed by Cargo Carriers. The fact that the company is already enjoying substantial benefits after having implemented the On Key solution just over a year ago shows the importance of applying full asset management lifecycle principles to every facet of the business for consistent performance and bottom line benefit," says Olivier.
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