Infor, the industry cloud company, has announced that Jersey Water has gone live with Infor EAM and Infor SunSystems via multi-tenant cloud. As well as the ability to facilitate full visibility of asset performance across the organisation, and manage both planned and predictive maintenance as appropriate, these capabilities will be fully integrated with Jersey Water’s financials to ensure seamless processes and optimise productivity and efficiency. Crucially, the platform was deployed via multi-tenant cloud to support the water company’s digital transformation goals in order to reduce its IT footprint, minimise total cost of ownership (TCO) and build scale.
The scale and breadth of Jersey Water’s asset portfolio means that Jersey Water has an ongoing programme of improvements and network extensions, to maintain a cost-effective and reliable water supply. To maximise productivity and minimise downtime, this takes best advantage of new and proven technology. As part of this, the company launched a digital transformation programme with a view to modernising, building increased resilience, and reducing costs across its infrastructure. At the heart of this was a need to future proof its operations, through a new asset-centric maintenance management and financials platform.
Following a thorough evaluation of several providers, Jersey Water selected Sapphire Systems to deliver Infor EAM and Infor SunSystems via multi-tenant cloud. The decision was based on the unique integration of in-depth EAM capabilities with best-in-class financials using the Infor OS platform, as well as the intuitiveness of the solution, and ease of deployment.
“As the only water provider in Jersey, resilience is absolutely crucial in mitigating risk and ensuring reliability. A broken pipe for example, can take three days to source, which means that any risk of existing pipes cracking must be continuously monitored to avert a situation which could quickly become a major issue,” Rob Searle, financial controller at Jersey Water explains. “As well as being able to record all of our assets for greater visibility and accuracy, the work order function means stock is allocated in a more timely and targeted way, allowing for huge improvements in our inventory management. Our stock counts are also more accurate, and we typically now see differentials of around 0.2% versus a 5% average previously.”
“Perhaps most valuable from a cost perspective is that we have access to better information which allows us to analyse purchasing decision and spending patterns. The move away from anecdotal insights facilitates a more data-driven decision-making process, fostering greater collaboration and reducing risk. The process improvements and streamlined reporting as a result of using the latest version of Infor SunSystems have seen our month end shrink by more than 50% from 10-12 days to just five.
As a company, Jersey Water is pretty unique. While water companies in other regions might have the option of falling back on their peers in the event of a major issue, as the only water company serving Jersey, they simply don’t have that option. Rob adds: “Resilience and scale are intrinsic to our existence, and having a world-class, integrated platform at our helm puts us in the best position to ensure this resilience and instil confidence in the public we serve.
“Our new Infor EAM and Infor SunSystems platform means we have tight control over all of our assets, and associated costs, as we embark upon a move to new premises in 2022. In adhering to best practice when it comes to sustainability, Infor EAM ensures we minimise waste, both in terms of equipment and energy usage, and that we can make improvements based on deep insights into the way in which equipment is performing.
“Looking ahead, we’ll be expanding our use of the platform to drive greater predictive maintenance and potentially capitalise on initiatives such as the Internet of Things (IoT). We will also expedite our budgeting and forecasting capabilities through the use of Infor d/EPM, which be the final piece in consolidating a modernised, sustainable asset-led future which sees us continue to help the island thrive for many generations to come.”
