For centuries Jamaica has occupied a strategic position for all maritime activities in the Caribbean and Central American region. Possessing a natural deep and wide harbor with easy access to major shipping lanes it is indeed a jewel of the Caribbean.
Kingston Container Terminal was founded in 1975 in response to growth of container use in transporting cargo. Since then it has undergone numerous improvements and expansions. In 2016 Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) concluded a Concession Agreement with the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) to develop maintain and operate the terminal.
CHAMPS CMMS has been managing all maintenance activities, inventory, and procurement for PAJ since 1999. As KFTL transitioned into management of the terminal CHAMPS, as a mission critical digital asset, also needed to transition. Both PAJ and KFTL now utilize CHAMPS CMMS for world class maintenance operations.
Managing the Flow of Work
The terminal is a full-time operation; twenty-four hours a day, three hundred sixty-five days a year. Keeping the port operational requires an efficient and well-coordinated maintenance department. To keep the life-cycle of work moving at the proper pace KFTL uses CHAMPS work flow status management tool. One example of this tool in use is the certification process for critical assets.
The certification process is important for operations at the terminal. Work packages are evaluated and managed based on the completion of this process and receipt of the physical certificate. Using CHAMPS flow status KFTL is able to control work documents, preventing premature state changes until the associated certificate has been received. This keeps the turnover from maintenance to operations smooth and well documented.
CHAMPS also provides the ability to query work packages based on flow status. KFTL can look at work waiting on certificates, material request (MR) fulfillment, or any other hold codes they have identified. This allows them to quickly assess the state of work at the terminal and address any bottlenecks.
Inventory Accounting
International procurement requires a strong accounting foundation in a CMMS. CHAMPS multi-currency functionality is leveraged to ensure that all costs are correctly converted with an up-to-date exchange rate.
KFTL manages their inventory by the 'First In First Out' (FIFO) method instead of averaging. CHAMPS keeps inventory accounting accurate by tracking inventory transactions in layers. Inventory costs are relieved based on the order of receipts associated to the current on-hand quantity. These important accounting methods are baseline functions of CHAMPS CMMS and for KFTL they are seamlessly integrated into the inventory process. Procuring inventory at the terminal also involves an additional financial cost in terms of inspection and customs. To correctly evaluate their inventory purchases these elements had to be accounted for. CHAMPS provides a cost markup function for KFTL to accommodate this need. This provides a more accurate picture of the overall cost of an item supplied by a particular vendor.
Detailed Asset Tracking
Another important feature of CHAMPS CMMS for KFTL was tracking serialized assets and inventory at the terminal. One example is motors. Straddle carriers convey cargo containers around the terminal. The motors for these assets are a major source of KFTL's maintenance effort. By tracking these items by serial number inside of CHAMPS they are able to ensure that they are reporting issues and completing work for the right asset.
This serialization also saves money. Wire ropes for the large gantry cranes are certified by the supplying vendor and serialized. Routine inspections are performed against these valuable assets, recording various measurements like wire diameter to validate that they are within safe tolerances. CHAMPS helps tie all of these pieces of information together. So, when maintenance or replacement is required the vendor is contacted and provided the serial number, alleviating the maintenance financial burden.
Mobile Maintenance and the Future
A recent development at the terminal has been the use of CHAMPS Mobile Workbench, putting the power of CHAMPS CMMS in the hands of field technicians. Workers can easily access maintenance history, part usage, and inventory data all the while completing jobs. KFTL is looking to the future as they hope to take advantage of even more features of CHAMPS Mobile Workbench. There is a bright future ahead for KFTL and the use of CHAMPS CMMS. Whether it's using additional features of the CMMS or leveraging the power of data through CHAMPS analytics CHAMPS will be there to help KFTL to continue to be a world class maintenance operation.