In October 2006, Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd was restructured into two separate organisations: CMAL (Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited), the asset-owning body, and CalMac Ferries Ltd, the operating company. This separation enabled CMAL to focus on the long-term stewardship of ferries, ports, and harbour infrastructure, ensuring these vital connections remain safe, reliable, and cost-effective for passengers, freight, tourism, and local economies. Before working with AMX, CMAL relied on a combination of systems to manage various operational functions. One such system was a SharePoint-based defect-reporting tool that was set to become obsolete, creating an urgent need for a replacement. When AMX was awarded the tender, CMAL gained not only a new defect-reporting solution but also a comprehensive asset-management platform.

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A key challenge for CMAL was that actions and work were split across multiple systems, limiting visibility and making effective management more complex. AMX the actions; inspection and maintenance, both planned and reactive together under one roof, this facilitated capturing crucial asset management data from a single source, and provided upgraded functionality. Other benefits included condition grading, geo-tagging and the ability to attach photographs directly to asset records. Over 5,000 assets have now been migrated into the system, significantly enhancing CMAL’s ability to manage them. Having a complete asset history available in one place, along with the ability to act quickly on defect reports, has proven transformational.

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Benefits of using AMX

Moving from a basic defect-reporting system to the highly customisable AMX platform has simplified many previously complex tasks. Asset reports can be tailored to suit inspections in different locations, adding fields as needed and track the lifecycle of critical port infrastructure. AMX System notifications have also introduced new functionality, improving communication amongst the CMAL asset team. The ability to add or amend data fields within forms is another example of how AMX has improved efficiency. Actions that once required significant effort can now be completed in minutes, speeding up workflows across the organisation. The interconnected nature of AMX with the new and improved AMX Mobile ensures that CMAL’s inspections and defect reporting are synchronised across platforms. This integration has dramatically reduced the risk of data loss and improved overall data interrogation.

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Implementation & Use

Currently, CMAL is bringing 28 ports across the West Coast of Scotland onto the AMX system, enabling port staff and management to take advantage of its features. Because CMAL’s assets are spread across a large area, geo-tagging locations in records has proved very useful, as has uploading detailed notes and images directly to the database. In addition, the highly customisable AMX dashboard displays key data in a clear, accessible format, enabling more effective decision-making within the organisation.

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CMAL continues to explore ways to further improve its systems and processes using AMX. One area of focus is the enhanced action batching functionality, which will allow a single work order to cover work on multiple assets within a port. The implementation process itself was smooth, and while ongoing support requirements have been minimal, the AMX ticketing system and post-implementation assistance have ensured that any issues raised have been addressed quickly and effectively. The ability to record defect notes in the field has also proved valuable to asset managers at CMAL.

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THE FUTURE WITH AMX

Looking to the future, CMAL is considering expanding the use of AMX to support port inspections carried out by CalMac, which operates day-to-day activities at CMAL-owned ports, leveraging the new and improved AMX Mobile functionality on the ground. Further development of parent–child asset relationships, including the introduction of grandchild assets, is also under consideration. Lifecycle tracking has already proven essential for organisations managing large and complex structures, and CMAL plans to leverage this capability to enhance further analysis and long-term management of the assets across its port network.

 

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"In total, dozens of individuals were involved across both organisations, reflecting a wide range of skills including asset management, engineering, IT, operations, project management and change management. The approach was deliberately inclusive. End users were involved early and continuously, ensuring the system was shaped with them rather than for them."

 

​Alan Macpherson,

Asset Inspection Manager

Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd