Aeronautical Testing Center (CEAT) - France

	Quick Facts Equipment downtime reduced by 50% Direct maintenance costs on hydraulic power stations reduced by 55% Maintenance costs make up 13% of the facility's operating costs

The Aeronautical Testing Center (CEAT) in Toulouse, France is responsible for all ground tests of aeronautic equipment for the French Defense Cabinet. CEAT employs more than 800 people at the Toulouse site.

The Challenge
In 1997, an internal cost study found that CEAT's annual maintenance costs were $7,900,000 USD (50 million FRF). The entire operating costs of the plant stood at $58,200,000 USD (370 million FRF), meaning that maintenance costs represented over 13% of all costs at the facility.

To combat these expenditures, CEAT created a new committee to redefine the maintenance process. The group studied the current maintenance system and made recommendations on how to better coordinate maintenance.

"The audit revealed a lack of clearly defined objectives on the test installations as well as some weaknesses in preventive maintenance, documentation, and spare parts management," says Bertrand Santaguiliana, project manager with CEAT. "We published a document that outlined both a new maintenance plan and a supporting communication plan."

The Solution
After evaluating the specific needs of the installation, CEAT defined specific maintenance plans to quantify exactly what the agency needed from an asset management system.

"To help us establish a maintenance plan, we chose Datastream's asset management software," Santaguiliana says. "The system allows us to organize maintenance operations as well as all financial and technical information."

To meet the needs of the facility and lower costs, CEAT chose a Datastream asset management solution with full Web architecture.

The Results
Due to a more comprehensive maintenance plan, CEAT is able to reduce downtime on critical equipment throughout the facility. For example, downtime on the agency's SS type blowers was reduced by 50% using Datastream software. Direct maintenance costs on the hydraulic power stations also decreased by 55%. After using Datastream for more than a year, CEAT reduced that same figure by 155%.

"The first results from using Datastream came from increased control of the work order processes," Santaguiliana says. "The maintenance employees' work has improved thanks to better information entered into work requests. Technicians receive a description of the problem, the component parts of the assigned asset, and the necessary steps to follow."

CEAT is also using Datastream to improve labor scheduling to decrease the time necessary to serve subcontractors in the facility. In addition, Datastream software allows the agency to create indicators on response times and equipment availability—measures that can be applied to evaluate system performance.