By Gina Berger, Program Manager
For energy providers, the safe and compliant operation of refineries, power stations, and other assets, such as fleets and heavy equipment, is an essential business function.
If an asset is out of commission, or an accident occurs due to a maintenance issue, there can be a serious impact not just to the business but to the neighborhood or community in which those assets function. In addition, outdated operation and maintenance procedures can come to light through audits, potentially resulting in heavy fines.
This is why we see our job of helping energy providers manage their operational content—maintenance procedures and other documentation that helps ensure the safe, ongoing operation of energy assets—as a strategic role.
One of our clients provides an example of how they’re managing operational content in a strategic way.
Digitizing and Automating Workflows
For this large energy company, the ability to keep documentation current with regulatory requirements and accessible by field engineers is critical to the maintenance of their facilities.
This energy provider had been using a paper-based review and approval process for updating maintenance procedures at one of its facilities. As is the case with any paper-based system, it was slow, required contributors to the process to be in the office, and required extra attention to detail to ensure accuracy of updates tracked manually.
As a user of the OpenText Documentum enterprise content management platform, the organization had automation capabilities at their fingertips. They tapped into this functionality to digitize the process, make it easier to do updates, and speed the delivery of maintenance updates.
Creating Custom Workflows with Documentum and D2
Using the automated workflow capabilities of Documentum and D2, we customized automated, digital workflows for the client, eliminating the need for paper. We created various roles to ensure each user role has the permissions needed to complete its functions in a timely manner.
For example, the automated workflow includes an “Author” role that can create or implement a document into D2. Once the author initiates a workflow, a task is sent to the “Reviewer” group. The designated reviewers receive an email with a link to their task in D2, where they can review, annotate, and provide comments on a document. In this case, the client has multiple reviewers, and the workflow requires all reviewers to approve a document before it moves to the next task.
If the document is rejected by a reviewer, a task is automatically sent back to the author who makes any required changes and re-initiates the review workflow. This workflow continues through final approval, when the updated procedure is then made accessible to all users that have permission to access to the document in D2. This includes field engineers whose prompt and easy access to the most current information is essential.
The automated process includes reminders sent via email within a defined amount of time if team members haven’t completed their task. The main author loves this function because she no longer has to track and manually manage the process herself.
Automated workflows in Documentum can be as simple or as sophisticated as an organization’s needs. Energy providers like this one are using them to show how digital transformation enables the delivery of current operational content fast and accurately.
If you’re a Documentum user and still use manual processes, we’d love to help you explore how automation can improve best practices in operational content management. Contact us today!
