On Monday we posted part one of an interview with Hugh Ritchie, Industry Manager for Energy and Manufacturing at Open Text. Read part two below.

Hugh Ritchie: Today, conditions in the power plants are continually and almost always automatically recorded and documented through automated reporting and SCADA systems. These are structured data that operators and managers have under broad control nowadays. But to be able to interpret this flow of data and to make the right decisions, you need the knowledge of experienced technicians and engineers requires planning, forethought on what if scenarios that need to be accessible. There are, for example, critical components that often have to be replaced before their conventional service life has expired. For such decisions, technicians and engineers need a fast, current and comprehensive overview of all available information. What they don't need is important information from the supplier in the inbox of a colleague who is on vacation.

One of the main tasks of an ECM system is to document knowledge and the state of the company's knowledge. For example, it provides a virtual storage area or project space in which analyses, reports, logs and correspondence are filed that can be accessed simultaneously by external parties. The storage of documents, mails, scans, etc. is so user-friendly now -- thanks to integration in the PC environment -- that it is no longer necessary to store information in personal inboxes, on the hard drive or in a file share. In this way, even a few structured decisions or development processes are documented in which, for example, approvals are issued per e-mail.

Open Text: How exactly do you envision cooperation with the support of ECM?

Hugh Ritchie: Its workflow, task, version and schedule management tools enable the ECM system to best document cooperation with regard to change activities and projects. With the use of process templates, compliance with standards, quality and completeness can be guaranteed and documented. Furthermore, roles, rights and tasks can be assigned per project.

All this accelerates the technical change processes in the plants while, at the same time, meeting high quality and safety standards. At the same time, you get an overview of the schedule, quality and budget status of projects, which is almost impossible today due to the multitude of projects going on simultaneously. Because not only change projects are subject to documentation for a power plant operator, but also requests for proposals in purchasing, system rollout in IT, planning energy acquisition or researching incidents.

Open Text: So many operators are battling mountains of paper?

Hugh Ritchie: Yes, that's right. There are documents that pile up for maintenance, service and change activities that are part of the required documentation. Ideally, they are managed in an ECM system. A central repository for data and documents provides comprehensive lifecycle management for all sort of important information. This can include:
• Technical drawings, documentation, manuals, procedural instructions, safety data sheets or maintenance schedules that hang on the plant machinery and equipment
• Photos, notes and checklists included with a report
• Acceptance reports, test reports, surveys, repair report that are included with maintenance orders
For storing these "process documents" that collect in large volumes, ECM systems offer very efficient scanning procedures and batch import processes.

Open Text: Which advantages does an SAP connection offer in this case?

Hugh Ritchie: The integration in SAP PM and MDM is significant if the equipment hierarchy and documents is displayed there. Ideally, integration is so deep that an administrator who operates primarily in SAP does not have to leave the SAP GUI if he or she is looking for documents on technical specifications, equipment, messages or a PM order. All documents are linked to the SAP objects, but can be researched in file structures that offer the essential ECM functions in the SAP GUI.

A similar integration would also be required for a different ERP system, but also for PLM, GIS or other leading systems. Basically, the introduction of an ECM system is always an integration project.