Andinas op. management program cuts maintenance expenses

Chilean capital Santiago's water utility Aguas Andinas has cut maintenance operating expenses 36% over 18 months thanks to a preventative equipment maintenance plan, Enrique Cruzat, the utility's deputy maintenance director said at a conference. In addition to cutting costs, the program will give Andinas a competitive advantage, Cruzat said, speaking at "Efficient 2005," the international conference on the efficient use and management of urban water in Santiago, Chile. "In the future the entry barriers which corporations develop to slow the entry of new competitors will come not from their ability to adapt to market changes and demands, but rather from their in-depth knowledge about how things are done on the inside," according to his presentation. The initiative's initial stage entailed implementing the SAP plant maintenance management IT systems, which helps officials track assets that might need to be maintained. Other IT-based techniques designed to cut operational expenses include implementing handheld data capture devices, which allows works load the SAP-PM software with digital information rather than data gathered by hand. Further, the program aims to train maintenance staff in more than one area, so workers can address multiple needs when problems arise. The program is due to wrap up in 2006.