Computerized Maintenance: From Reactive to Preventative and Predictive

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) recently announced it is deploying a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) developed by software specialists Fiix. According to WFS officials, the CMMS will allow WFS to optimize the performance, reliability and sustainability of its cargo handling, equipment and facility assets.

The CMMS is allowing WFS to transition from reactive maintenance to preventive and predictive maintenance. WFS officials say trials have confirmed the system’s ability to reduce equipment downtime, improve productivity and reduce maintenance costs. In the UK alone, equipment breakdowns and maintenance call-outs were reduced from 60 in May of last year, before the trial started, to 12 in October, report WFS officials.

“WFS has a significant and diverse range of cargo handling equipment and facility assets, which enables us to meet our customer service goals and helps to ensure safety and security across of our cargo operating environment,” says Sebastien Burnier, head of operations and transformation at WFS. “This not only means having the right equipment in the right place at the right time, it also requires every piece of equipment to be operating efficiently to perform the tasks required.

“Using the Fiix CMMS system gives us full visibility of our equipment via a clear and precise dashboard. It will help us to maintain the highest levels of service, improve productivity, and reduce the downtime and cost pressures of failed or under-performing equipment,” he adds.

Supported by Fiix’s multilingual implementation team, WFS piloted the CMMS at Paris, Madrid and London. WFS officials say the plan is to continue rolling out the CMMS at other stations across Europe throughout 2023.

The CMMS will allow WFS to register, create work orders and gather history against all assets to support WFS’ customer service, safety and security focus; track and measure equipment usage and performance in real time; track and optimize asset performance – collating all equipment information in one place to keep the WFS’ cargo handling equipment and facility assets operational, safe and productive; and create work requests with a few taps, by scanning a QR code on the equipment on their mobile device.

Additionally, the CMMS facilitates WFS’s ability to receive maintenance requests from users in their preferred language, through the work request portal; create scheduled maintenance routines; track and report on all maintenance work, including completion rates, repair dates, total costs and follow-up tasks;  match the right schedule and tasks for each piece of equipment, establishing a complete view of the company’s assets, including status, repair history, SOPs and failure codes; and spot any operations causing equipment failure, work delays and compliance issues by using the CMMS analytics dashboard.

“When CMMS implementations span multiple countries and languages, it’s critical to have a highly engaged project champion and collaborative project team to stay on track,” says Chris Lee, project lead at Fiix. “The WFS team globally have risen to the occasion and are now set up for future success.”