Model the equipment before the demonstration
Choose one representative line, its major assets and a few maintainable components. Agree how asset IDs, locations and parent-child relationships will be represented. A flat list may suit a small shop; a more complex hierarchy needs a deliberate structure and ownership rules.
Use a planned task, an urgent fault and a parts shortage as three demonstration cases. These expose different needs in scheduling, approvals, handover, purchasing and reporting.
Requirements to put in writing
- Calendar and meter-based PM triggers, with overdue and rescheduling behavior.
- Task instructions, measurements, photos and sign-off requirements.
- Spare-part stock, reservations, replenishment and purchasing responsibilities.
- Shift handovers and clear ownership of unfinished work.
- Downtime categories and consistent start/end recording.
- Role-appropriate access and traceable changes.
Software features do not themselves establish regulatory compliance. Have the responsible team verify any recordkeeping, validation or approval requirements for your operation.
Define the ERP and MES boundary
Decide which system owns assets, parts, purchasing, vendors and production events. “Has an API” is not an implemented integration. Require a scope covering record IDs, sync direction, frequency, errors, retries, support ownership and ongoing costs.
Test a duplicate, a changed part number and a failed sync. Confirm that a maintenance record cannot silently overwrite the financial or production source of truth.
Run a bounded pilot
Pick a representative area with an accountable supervisor and a small set of cleaned asset records. Train requesters and technicians separately. Compare completed work against a checklist, then export a sample with the asset history. Resolve gaps before expanding the rollout.
Use the pilot checklist →