SAP-Centric EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) Conference - Mar2011
I attended the SAP EAM Conference in Huntington Beach, California this week. Check out the website to see all the presentation abstracts (49).
We didn’t have the conference on our radar until a few weeks ago, but it came highly recommended for the attendees, sponsors, and event organization. Of course, spending a few days in sunny Southern California wouldn’t hurt. My flight left Sunday afternoon, which gave me just enough time to ski a few deep powder runs before arriving in Surf City, USA. The conference was Sunday night thru Tuesday with additional workshops on Wed and Thurs. I opted for the first portion and flew home early Wednesday. The event was well done and all my expectations were exceeded, it will be a conference that AccM keeps on the radar from now on.
In all my years of SAP, I haven’t spent much time in Plant Maintenance and Asset Management, but with my engineering background it is a comfortable environment. The conference was a great opportunity to dive right into EAM in order to understand the current issues, trends, and solutions. There were 409 delegates representing 138 organizations.188 of the 409 were new to the conference and we were quickly accepted by the “regulars”. It is a small group with very specific interests and similar backgrounds, so there were strong synergies and at times it felt like a reunion. Representation was primarily from the Mining, Oil & Gas, Chemical, and Utility sectors but there were also attendees from Retail, Food, and Manufacturing industries. It was a global event as I met people based in the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Europe.
AccM wasn’t an exhibitor, but I did have some opportunities to speak to attendees and sponsors about our TOP® Software solution at the breaks. TOP® provides an advantage to any company that uses external service providers. Maintenance professionals realize the benefits of managing contractor spend and I had some great discussions about how TOP® could provide an extra edge. Enabling the contractors to enter daily job activities directly into SAP via a portal delivers real-time cost allocation which is crucial during STO activities (Shutdown/Turnaround/Outages). It was good to start these conversations and get several organizations considering the possibilities.
Another objective of mine was to get some pointers from the 21 exhibitors in preparation for our SAPPHIRE exhibit in May. The EAM layout had all of the sponsors around the outside walls of the room with the SAP booths in the middle. All the food and beverages were set up in the same room, so as delegates came for nourishment and networking, they had an opportunity to visit the sponsor booths. Each booth had a banner, monitor, brochure stand, and table space. Most sponsors also had some type of give-away, either a large grand prize or small items. Just like at any event in the past year, iPads are still the most popular drawing prize. Many delegates spent hours at the booths in order to see demos and get enough information to make a decision for their business.
The MCS (Maintenance Consulting Services) Team has attended the EAM conference in the past both in the US and Australia. They recommended we attend the conference this year and invited me to spend some time at their booth. They have a large presence in Australia (200+ employees) and after opening an office in the US last summer, have really started taking off in North America too. I think the Australian accents threw some people off when they first came to the booth, but they quickly learned how MCS could provide a host of services to enhance their existing Maintenance activities and many business cards were exchanged. They also had the best assortment of give-aways. The footballs were popular during the day and then at the evening receptions, the beverage coolers (aka stubby coolers or koozies) were a hit.
In summary, the SAP EAM conference was worth the registration fee and I’ve put it on the list for next year. If I was a Maintenance professional, I would have gotten even more out of the presentations and workshops. If it sounds like a good fit for you, put it on your continuing education/training wish list and we’ll see you next year!
