Oracle Enterprise Asset Management:

eAM

An Oracle Consulting White Paper

July 2002
Executive Summary

Enterprise Asset Management (eAM) is a business application to manage

the maintenance operations within a company. These operations can include
both facility and production maintenance. An Asset is anything that requires
maintenance; for example: a building, heating/air conditioning equipment,
production equipment, vehicles, etc.

Oracle eAM can be used as a standalone application. Oracle eAM bridges

the gap between ERP/MRP Solutions and Asset Maintenance for industries
such as Utilities, Metals/Mining, Pulp & Paper, Petrochemicals, Facilities,
Governments, and Education that rely heavily on asset maintenance
systems.

The purpose of this whitepaper is to explain the features of Oracle

Enterprise Management (eAM), the integration points with other E-
Business Suite modules and the procedure to implement eAM. This
document also features some implementation points and discusses cases of
some success in eAM.

Overview
Oracle eAM supports the following business processes:
• Asset Management
• Work Management
• Component Tracking
• Maintenance Budgeting
• Asset Performance and Forecasting
• Self Service Maintenance

The eAM application is designed with two user interface layers :

1. A self-service layer for use by casual users (everyone requesting
work, tradesmen and production supervisors); and,
2. A core (forms-based) layer for the planners, schedulers, and
professional users.

Self-service maintenance (SSM) permits users to enter work requests for

maintenance, permits supervisors to schedule personnel, permits
maintenance personnel (tradesmen) to enter their time, and allow creation of
purchase requisitions for material.

The core layer of functionality is where all of the application set up is

performed. Work order processing, planning and scheduling is also
performed in this layer. All work transactions, other than time input, is
performed here. All system administration is performed in the core
application.
eAM Benefits

ƒ Optimize Asset Utilization

Through preventive maintenance forecasting and scheduling,

synchronized with production schedules

ƒ Dynamically Adjust Maintenance Plans

Through Predictive maintenance based on usage, inspection

readings, and quality

ƒ Maximize Work Safety and Ensure Compliance

Through Integrated skills repository, online work documents,

and workflow-driven approvals

ƒ Integrate Asset Maintenance Throughout Your Enterprise

With out-of-the-box integration with the E-Business Suite

with an intuitive browser-based user interface

Features of eAM

Self-Service Maintenance (SSM)

Self-Service maintenance is used by persons requesting maintenance assistance,
and by tradesmen to report their work. Some of the features are:
• Asset navigation: A tree structure to navigate to the asset in question.
• EZ-work order: A rapid method to enter a work order; permits
immediate access to a work order for emergency-type maintenance
requests.
• Work Order Request (WR): The WR approval process is the only
seeded workflow in the application.
• Work order planning and employee scheduling-Maintenance
WorkBench: Facilitates maintenance supervisors will schedule their
daily work. Supervisors plan the activities of the resources of the
maintenance crew and allocate work to appropriate skilled resources.
• Access to i-Procurement: SSM permits invoking the Purchasing
process to generate a purchase requisition.
• Time Entry: You can charge resource hours directly in Oracle eAM.
Hours can be posted by work order, project or by crew. These costs
will then be posted to the work order accounts.
• Shift Work Order Handover Process: Handover notes for handing over
a work order from one shift to another.
• Asset Inspection Readings: You can use quality collection plans to
predefine required feedback information that must be entered into the
eAM system upon a work order’s completion. For example, data to
collect can include inspection points for an asset, reliability
 maintenance, and Downtime variables.
• Employee Skill Search & Assignment: You can skill search across
departments and assign employees to a work order.
• Cost History: Oracle eAM captures costs at both the work order and
asset level. Costs are tracked by five separate expense categories to
include internal resources as well as costs from outside vendors.
• Asset Genealogy & Configuration History: As components of an asset
are removed and re-installed from an asset, the asset genealogy and
parent/child meter readings are tracked automatically.
• Meter Readings: Each asset can accommodate multiple meters. Meters
can be associated with a named meter of a parent asset that will allow
the user to record information while working on a child asset and that
will then update the meter reading of the parent.
• Task and Work Order Completion: You can record the completion of
an individual task or the entire work order. Upon completion you will
be able to define what information about that asset must be recorded
into a collection plan. This includes meter readings or any predefined
inspection data. Any reading out of tolerance can generate a
notification.

Foundation (Core) eAM

• Work order (WO) processing: the bulk of WO processing is performed

within the core application.
• Planning and scheduling: one of the key roles within eAM is that of
maintenance planner. There are two key tools for the planner: the
maintenance workbench, and Manufacturing Scheduler (WPS).
• Asset genealogy: You can define, or the application will compile, an
asset BOM showing the configuration of the asset.
• Rebuild component processing: Some asset components are repairable.
They are rebuilt under work orders and are tracked individually.
• Cost management: All cost data is captured through the work order
process and can be transferred to the general ledger.

Prerequisites & Integration Points

eAM is built on top of and leverages the stability of existing Oracle

Applications modules. When a client installs eAM, they are installing both
the standard application modules and the eAM extensions of those modules.
The eAM extensions include both the self-service layer and the core layer.
When considering eAM proposals, it is useful to be aware of the application
modules that are implemented to provide the overall set of eAM features
and functions.

The eAM application requires the following Oracle11i modules to function:

1) General Ledger: To store and validate account codes, to capture and

report maintenance costs, to prepare budgets.
2) Bill of Material (BOM): To define maintenance BOM’s and routings.
 3) Inventory: Maintenance operations will be conducted within a
“specialized” inventory organization; required to define items and
store/process maintenance material.
4) Work-in-Process (WIP): eAM is a work order-based application.
5) Planning: Standard planning is used to determine inventory
requirements for current and future maintenance work orders.
6) Quality: You will be permitted to capture quality data via collection
plans linked to maintenance work orders.
7) Cost: All cost management functionality will be available within eAM;
primarily centered on capturing material and labor within the work
order.
8) Project Manufacturing: Only Seiban tracking will be available unless
the optional Oracle Project Manufacturing is implemented. Then all
maintenance work can be treated as projects.
9) Manufacturing Scheduling: This module, part of the Advanced
Planning product suite, will be used for detailed scheduling and the
display of maintenance work orders.

Implementation Scenarios of eAM

Scenario 1: eAM as part of a “Fresh” Oracle ERP

implementation
This scenario might occur when a client purchases Oracle ERP to replace
existing business systems, and wishes to achieve new levels of control over
its maintenance operations.

Key characteristics/issues of scenario

• eAM will be just another application module within the ERP
implementation effort. Therefore, the effort to implement eAM should
be thought of in terms of the delta implementation effort.
• The client should be familiar with general ERP processes and practices,
but will not be familiar with Oracle ERP, and its core modules.
• Purchasing will be part of the ERP implementation. Data conversion of
maintenance management data is not covered in this estimate.

Scenario 2: eAM as a “built-in” to an existing Oracle

ERP client
This is considered to be the most likely scenario for the near future. The key
assumption of this scenario: the client will be on R-11i of the ERP
application.

Key characteristics/issues of scenario

• The client will be on R-11i of the ERP application, or will migrate as
part of the eAM implementation effort. The R-11i migration costs are
not part of this estimate.
The client will be familiar with Oracle ERP practices and processes.
• The client may be replacing a legacy maintenance management
application. If so, there may be complicating factors that should be
 reflected in the risk analysis factors.
• There is every reason to believe that Oracle Process Manufacturing
(OPM) customers will be interested in eAM.

Benefits of eAM With exisiting Financials

• Existing Financial set ups and capabilities make implementation easier.

• Exisiting Chart of Accounts can be used.
• Less functional change means faster implementation
• eAM uses existing capability of workflow rules, approval hierarchy and
limits for procurement.
• Transfer accrual information, streamlining month end close, and
drilling down in GL is possible without additional set ups.
• Accounting for eAM items which are procured is very similar to
expense item accounting.

Implementation of eAM

Oracle Enterprise Asset Management can have unique setups for each
organization. This includes parameters, user defined lookups,and asset
attributes.

During the implementation process, the implementation team should discuss

System and user options for eAM. The user that is implementing eAM
should also have determined the structure of their organizations and user
access through Oracle System Administrator.

The essence of the eAM application is a specialized inventory organization,

with defined asset items, and a work order-based process. For those
experienced with Oracle discrete ERP, implementing eAM will be very
similar to implementing Inventory, BOM, and WIP under the unifying eAM
“umbrella”.
As with all Oracle applications, implementation is concentrated upon
application setup. This section will describe the key setup processes and
data.

Implementation

Overview
The process of setting-up the eAM application can be divided into five key
steps:

Define Define
Define Operations
Maintenance Inventory Misc Tasks
Assets Setup
Organization(s) Items

MRO items Departments Dependent upon

Asset Groups
The EAM org Rebuild components Resources required functionality
Asset Locations
Maint BOMs
Asset Items
Maint routings
Asset Attributes
WIP/scheduling
Asset Activities
parameters
Define Maintenance Organization
A maintenance organization (org) is defined as any other inventory org; it
becomes an eAM org by checking a flag: “eAM enabled”.

The eAM org will be supporting maintenance operations, so the definition

of eAM orgs should reflect the organization of your client’s maintenance
operations. Presumably, you will have one eAM org for every maintenance-
supported plant/warehouse.

An eAM org in one operating unit (OU) can support an inventory org in
another OU, but you will have inter-OU financial transactions to reconcile.
It is possible for a given organization to be both an inventory org and an
eAM org. This is not recommended since you will be mixing
production/distribution data (inventory, plans, and work orders) with
maintenance operations data.

For example, if there is one maintenance support group that

provides for several organizations in an existing Oracle
implementation, it seems obvious that the eAM should be a
separate organization. However, if there is one maintenance
group per organization, it may be appropriate for the inventory
and the eAM organizations to the same organization in the Oracle
Apps.

Define Assets
This is where the bulk of eAM-specific setup work must be done. While it
bears similarity to inventory item setup in ERP, eAM has its own
vocabulary and processes. Most of the screens will be identical to those
used in discrete ERP. Remember: the “asset” is the thing to be maintained.
It will reside within an asset hierarchy: groups and classes above it, and
components below it.

Define Asset Groups

At the top of an asset hierarchy is the asset “group”. It is the first of three
eAM specific item types. It has a prescribed item template that should be
used in its definition. You may have as many asset groups within an eAM
org as you wish. They may be used in multiple eAM orgs. The purpose of
the group is the creation navigational category of assets. The group will be
at the top of the tree structure. It is also used for reporting purposes.

Define Asset Areas (Locations)

A user defined value representing the physical, or virtual, location of the
asset. This value will be assigned to the individual assets, and be used in
asset look-up.

Define Asset Classes (optional)

In between the asset group, and the asset item(s), you may define
intermediate levels for ease of navigation and reporting. If you choose to
define classes (and sub-classes), you must use eAM’s Asset Management
Category flexfields. This is a pre-compiled, two-segment flexfield.
Define Asset Items
An asset is anything a maintenance operation needs to track and
repair/service. Examples: buildings, building equipment, production
equipment, vehicles, etc. Each asset will have an asset number (ID) and
description; along with a small number of codes specific to eAM. Each
asset must be linked to an asset group. Each asset may be linked to:

• Another asset: this will establish a parent/child asset relationship

within the hierarchy
• A production resource (equipment) in an inventory org; permits
manual scheduling of machine downtime
• A Fixed Assets number from Oracle Fixed Assets: remember,
Oracle F/A is optional when using eAM
• A location code within the Oracle Property Manager application

Define Asset Attributes

• Technically, the asset item is not an item type within the eAM
application. There are no pre-seeded item templates to define/apply
during asset item definition.
• Asset item attributes may be defined via one or more eAM
descriptive flexfields (DFF). You may define as many DFFs as you
wish, and apply them to a given asset. All segments within the
DFF are user-defined. The DFF can be linked to an asset and/or an
asset group.
• Depending upon the number and types of assets within a company,
and upon the “attributes” associated with each asset, the definition
and data entry of asset attributes could be a lengthy process.

Define Asset Activities

• An asset “activity” is one of the item types within eAM. It is a
“virtual” item that represents a pre-defined maintenance task/job.
There is a seeded item template to be assigned in the act of
defining each activity.
• The asset activity may have maintenance BOM and a maintenance
routing defined and linked to it. The BOM and routing would
provide the operational details for what material and resources are
required to execute the “activity”.
• One or more activities may be linked to an asset item. The activity
may be linked to any asset that will require the type of
maintenance work defined by the “activity”.
• The asset activity will be used to generate maintenance work
orders and preventative maintenance schedules (i.e., maintenance
forecasts).

Define “Inventory” Items

• The maintenance organization is a fully-functional inventory
organization. It is intended to service the maintenance operations
of a plant/warehouse/company.
• All material used by eAM functionality must be part-numbered
and defined as inventory items. Do not confuse inventory items
with asset items. Inventory items may be asset components.
• Maintenance operations use material typically referred to as
 “MRO” items: an acronym meaning “maintenance, repair, and
operations” (i.e., everything except production material).
• The eAM application expects these MRO items to be defined in
the global item master organization, and to be enabled for the eAM
organization(s). Presumably these items would be defined as
“expense” items. There are no eAM seeded item templates to use
in inventory item definition.
• Normal item import capability is available.

Operations Setup
• The term “operations setup” is a catch-all phrase for those tasks
necessary to prepare the application and data to invoke the work
order and planning/scheduling processes. Among the key steps are:

Define Departments
• The eAM application will use the “department” functionality to
represent a maintenance work crew. You will need to work with
your client to determine how the maintenance workforce is
organized.

Define Resources
• The key resource type used by eAM is personnel. The resources
therefore should represent individual maintenance personnel.
These resources would then be assigned to departments (crews).

Define Maintenance Routings

• As with production routings, you can define the labor operations
required to perform different types of maintenance (asset
activities). The definition process reflects that which is used in
discrete ERP.

Define Maintenance BOMs

• You can define the material associated with a maintenance activity
via the maintenance Bill of Materials. This process also reflects
that which is used in discrete ERP. You can associate material to
an operation.

eAM Case Study

Oracle US Real Estate & Facilities

Objectives of implementing eAM at Oracle US real estate are to:

a) Accurately manage property and equipment

b) Manages materials with accuracy

c) Manage enterprise profitability

d) Buy all materials/services required for Asset Maintenance at lowest

total cost
 Oracle US real estate is presently working with Oracle Support and
Consulting to implement eAM. US Real Estate -
• Currently handles 10,000 work requests per Month
• Manages 5 million sq. ft. of property in the US alone
• Has no formal system at present to manage these, currently use
spreadsheets, email and manual
• Have built a real estate portal

US real estate expects the following benefits:

• Request processing to increase by 45%
• Engineering productivity to increase by 15%
• Reporting productivity to increase by 90%
• Employee request time to increase by 65%
• Reduce asset replacement by 5%
• Annual savings of $2.5 million

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