Ever wondered what it might be like to schedule your specialized crews with even more knowledge about things they can’t control? How about the LOTO situation where the crew is working around high voltage where wet conditions increase the safety concern? That’s right, I’m talking outside in the elements or where the weather might impact their ability to work. IBM® IoT Weather Data on Cloud provides access to weather information for IBM Watson™ IoT and IBM Maximo® for U.S. Federal clients. It includes access to forecast data, current data, and historical data based on the location where users and assets are located.
With Maximo Scheduler Plus (version 7.6.5) and a weather.com subscription, you can now display the weather data information while planning and scheduling the work. Users can also see the details about the weather by entering the locale code. There are basic instructions here on how to begin setting this up.
You can use this information in the following Maximo applications:
– Graphical Appointment Book
– Graphical Assignment
– Graphical Scheduling
– Graphical Scheduling – Large Projects
Here are a few use cases I found on IBM sites:
IoT Weather Data on Cloud together with Maximo Asset Management Scheduler Plus for US Federal provides access to weather information for Maximo Asset Management Scheduler Plus for US Federal clients. It includes access to forecast data and current conditions data. Weather information provided by IoT Weather Data on Cloud, Maximo Scheduler Plus, US Federal combines near real-time weather with Maximo work management to drive better insights and decision making. When combining IoT Weather Data on Cloud with Maximo Asset Management Scheduler Plus for US Federal:
– Planners can configure the weather information that they need to see on their schedule, graphically on a Gantt chart. This can include current, hourly, or daily forecasts that may directly impact the asset uptime.
– Supervisors and dispatchers can access pertinent weather data before assigning work to technicians to ensure worker safety and efficient execution of maintenance projects.
– Customer Service Representatives can utilize the weather forecast data when booking appointments with their end customers. This can help avoid rescheduling appointments and thereby result in higher customer satisfaction.
When a peril or alert is received from The Weather Company®, a cron task looks for work that is scheduled or assigned in the affected area during that time frame.
– In the Graphical Scheduling application and the work view of the Graphical Assignment application, work records that could be impacted by the alert are flagged with an icon. The work order tool-tip shows the alerts, allowing the planner to decide whether the job needs to be rescheduled.
– In the Graphical Assignment application, the dispatching map displays current weather alerts and all affected assignments show within the radius of the alert map marker. The dispatcher can reschedule the work and notify the crews.
– A technician in the field is notified via email to seek shelter because of bad weather in the area.
– In the Graphical Appointment Book application, customer locations are checked to see if there are any alerts for that area. If there are, an icon displays in the calendar with a tool tip that describes the peril. The customer service representative can reschedule the work if needed.
Links to other great information can be found here.
Updated with another thought… How about managing the maintenance associated with the asset conditions when subject to the weather? High humidity for example might require more frequent repairs or the critical assets break down quicker. Using Weather information you can perform detailed analysis of maintenance schedules necessary for those in humid, dry, hot, cold, etc conditions.
