Irina Gurchenko: with IFS Applications all repair work became "transparent"

TAdviser: HaloPolymer - one of the advanced Russian chemical companies and at what level there is an information technology development of HaloPolymer holding? Whether the company has the IT strategy, the road map of implementation of systems? What key IT systems do you use?

Irina Gurchenko: Speaking about information technology development in our holding, it is necessary to emphasize that it is not just about the enterprise, and as you told, about the chemical company which is engaged in large-capacity production. Certainly, we monitor trends and trends in information technology field. And still, selecting this or that IT system, we are guided not by a fashion, we try to select a product which corresponds to our main production objectives. To us it is also important that the software maker had reputation of the reliable partner, ready, to all other, to solve problems of integration of the system with already working systems of other producers. That you understood our specifics of implementation of IT systems, briefly I will tell about HaloPolymer holding. The holding includes two chemical plants on production of ftoroplast (one in the Kirov region, another in Perm), the logistic company and management company which is in Moscow. Eight years ago, when we created holding, we among main were faced by a task of centralization of managerial functions. Without implementation of automated information systems it would be impossible to carry out this task. The IT strategy of our holding initially was based on maintenance of tasks of centralization production and business processes.

Now we use a number of key IT systems: IFS Applications 1C: Enterprise EDMS Directum LIMS LabWare. At implementation of all systems there was one general task – integration of each of them into the existing software. All platforms work well-coordinated as one system with the general reference books, accounting and analytical data.

TAdviser: How did you come to need to automate the MRO area, managements of logistics?

Irina Gurchenko: To system implementation our repair services developed annual plans of repairs, without having reliable data about a status of objects as there were no statistical data on failure of the equipment. When planning there was no clear vision how many the actual time and forces will be spent for a certain type of repair. The considerable quantity of working capital was frozen for the long period: spare parts which for years lay a dead load in warehouses were ordered, and happened that were never used.

At the end of 2010 we made the decision on need of implementation of the automated control system for maintenance and repairs of the equipment.

TAdviser: Why for the project you selected IFS Applications? What advantages of this system inclined your choice in its advantage?

Irina Gurchenko: We very carefully selected a system for automation of the MRO and MTS areas, considered many offers from domestic and foreign developers and analyzed the world ranking of these systems and functional features.

The Swedish ERP system of IFS Applications completely suited us, it provided all necessary functionality and could be configured so that most precisely to correspond to our business processes.

TAdviser: How how you managed to solve them did the project on implementation what difficulties arose in its course last long?

Irina Gurchenko: In six months we put system modules of IFS Applications into operation and made directory synchronization and documents between all our information systems. Before consolidation each of the plants went to holding on own way of development, information systems had significant differences, there were no general help bases. Undoubtedly, the complexity consisted in integrating all systems in a whole. This task managed to be carried out thanks to efforts of our experts and teams of implementers of IFS Russia & CIS (IFS RU Region).

TAdviser: How new system is integrated into information infrastructure of the company? Whether it is connected with other ICs?

Irina Gurchenko: As we already spoke above, all systems of holding including IFS Applications, are closely interconnected as are constructed on the crossed handbook data. To exclude input of identical information in different information systems, synchronization mechanisms are developed.

It is possible to give interrelation of the "transaction" 1C: Enterprise IFS Applications and "dokumentarnoy" system regarding synchronization of "documents" as an example. The Russian division of IFS performing implementation developed the mechanism allowing to make accurate compliance between a set of iterations and the document in 1C. For this purpose partially changed fields of forms and reviewed regulations of work in IFS Applications, and finished the mechanism of data transmission, standard for 1C: Enterprise, under our requirements.

TAdviser: Whether it was necessary to spend efforts to training of employees in work with a system? As far as a system is simple in service, the staff of the company copes with it or you ask for the help IFS?

Irina Gurchenko: We began training of employees before input of a system in operation. I want to note that part of them are a staff of repair services and storekeepers. Some of workers had no experience on the computer at all. All of them showed diligence in learning process and quickly enough studied the basics on the computer, and then and the IFS Applications system. Today all employees successfully cope with work in a system.

Certainly, after implementation we consulted on some questions at specialists of IFS Russia & CIS company, but now in it there is no need: our management on IT successfully copes with the current tasks. A system is rather simple in use and does not require permanent completion. At making changes intervention in the source code is not required, everything is regulated by settings in a user-friendly interface.

TAdviser: Explain, please, on specific examples in what the company benefited from IFS Applications system implementation?

Irina Gurchenko: Until recently we applied the expensive system of the scheduled preventive maintenance (SPM) with big purchase costs of spare parts and tools. An alternative is the system of repairs applied in Russia on failures, but it in our case does not approach as we have a dangerous production. The system of service on technical condition is more acceptable for us. According to this concept, repairs are made on the basis of diagnostics and analytics. At the same time, in comparison with the traditional system of the Party of Pensioners of Russia, the number of repair work is reduced and the between-repairs resource increases by 25-40%, purchase costs of spare parts and tools in comparison with the Party of Pensioners of Russia decrease. Today we conduct work on preparation for transition to the system of service on technical condition, and implementing solution from IFS – a necessary part of this process.

Use of IFS Applications increased efficiency of operation of a production equipment, in particular, due to reduction of material losses and non-productive costs. In other words, with IFS Applications all repair work became "transparent".