Helsinki Region Environmental Services (HSY)

The challenge: Diversified waste management poses challenges to maintenance

The need for centralised control of maintenance was detected a few years ago. Then began the search for a suitable software that keeps the maintenance and repair operations coordinated according to modern standards.

– We started a thorough inspection of the kinds of procedures the issue was dealt with elsewhere and the nature of our own requirements. The matter was somewhat complicated by the fact that not one comparable reference was found in the field of waste treatment, says project manager Jukka Salmela from the HSY.

Salmela himself says that one of the reference objects explored by the HSY representatives was the Maritime Administration. It, too, has operational posts scattered around the sea and coastal area, and thus the operations had some similarities. In addition, they had acquired corresponding maintenance software a few years ago and had positive experience.

The solution: Novi helped transition from corrective maintenance to anticipatory maintenance

The implementation was a multi-stage project, and of the six operational groups, water management was the first to adopt it. As to the district services, the system has already received the entries on the district collection network, toxic waste management, house technology and facilities together with their collection equipment.

The system also includes collection point images and equipment maintenance instructions, so that when maintenance or repair is needed, people know to take the correct spare parts and tools with them,” mentions responsible supervisor Jyri Haikonen.

The district services uses a specific machine shop as a main contractor in repair projects; the shop also has direct access to the system. The contractor can receive work orders on a web-based form, and the works carried out by the contractor are clearly stated in the system. The procedure ensures that the same works are not ordered twice.

A transition from corrective to anticipatory maintenance considerably increases the operating reliability of the plant.

– Some of the devices are already aged and, on the other hand, the totality has expanded and diversified. It has put increased pressure on maintenance operations. A severe hardware failure may lead, for instance, to a release of sewage, which we have avoided for the time being. An anticipatory maintenance prevents such nasty surprises, Salmela says.