I wouold first look at what you are trying to acomplish with the system. What type of reports you want to run. What do you want to do with your system long term. Are you trying to acomplish six sigma goals. Think about the audiance that will read the reports and the end users that will put information into the system. The key is the end user. If the program is too hard to use you can count on not getting much information. I would start with equipment and hierarchy. Spend time on this. put it into spred sheets and work it from there before you put it into 7i. What type of buisness, FDA? Is you are trying to met government regulations that is a whole different game. Think asset, system, locations and sublocations. the easier the hierarchy is to use will make it easier for the end user to get the correct equipment to the correct location. Are you using requestors and what version of 7i

Hello Rick,

Wow that is a loaded question. I have a 5 page basic methodology for D7I implementations I can help you with but for a few starting steps:

1. You need to define the scope of your project. What is it that you want/need D7I to do for you.

2. You need to assemble a project team and exact budget to successfully complete the scope.

It is imperative you do both of these exersizes because without them you are running down the path of a fail implementation and unhappy end users.

3. Make sure you understand what information is needed out of the program.

a. KPI’s

b. Information (not data)

This is a very important point because it will greatly guide how you implement the program and further define the features you will need. Many people will go along with a process without evaluating the needed data at the outcome which then is processed into informational reports. If you work from process on up you are going to find yourself missing data for key informational reports that will allow you to effectively manage maintenance, warehouse, and purchase. The objective needs to be to define the informational reports, then define data needed, and finally implement processes/procedures that generates the data.

After these three steps are done with a good methodology to assure you are not missing key points you can move on to the actual implementation of the product.

1. Equipment hierarchy

a. Define coding system, it is very important to define a good working code for your assets. Many manufacturers have their own coding for equipment, if you have the pleasure of working somewhere that you have 1 main supplier for your critical equipment and they have a good coding system, you can adapt it to encompass all your assets. If not you must create one that is functional, efficient, and understandable. If you create a coding system you must create a detailed manual to assure your company continues coding correctly. Errors here can easily derail the entire implementation.

b. Field evaluation, this is when your engineers grab the plans and go out into the field to make sure every asset is accounted for. You must make sure you understand the difference between systems, positions, and assets and how it will affect your data output and reports.

As a general rule of thumb, do not execute manual inputs through D7I. By doing this manually you open yourself up for mistakes.

Rick, if your company needs assistance I work at consulting firm that specializes in D7I implementations and would be happy to talk with you and see how we can help you.