Modernising maintenance in naval shipbuilding

The challenge

Before the project began, maintenance activities were spread across multiple tools, some of which were outdated or completely manual. The result was a lack of process consistency, limited visibility of interventions and insufficient insight into maintenance-related costs.

To address this, the organisation set a clear ambition: consolidate all maintenance processes within SAP S/4HANA and ensure that reliable data would be available to everyone involved in the maintenance chain, from technicians on the shop floor to maintenance managers.

During the scoping phase, several priorities emerged:

• Build a trustworthy equipment and maintenance history
• Automate preventive and regulatory schedules
• Simplify spare parts management with handheld scanners, barcodes and a visual catalogue
• Provide technicians with a mobile solution for field work
• Eliminate manual spreadsheets and disconnected reporting
• Deliver accurate performance indicators for operational and managerial steering
  
  

How HRC Consulting supported the transformation

HRC Consulting partnered with the client throughout the full project lifecycle, from initial scoping to final deployment, combining methodological discipline with strong sector expertise.

The work focused on five main areas:

• Cleansing and structuring technical master data
• Setting up the spare parts warehouse and related logistics processes (stock, inventory, replenishment)
• Digitalising corrective and preventive maintenance workflows
• Integrating SAP PM with systems used by external service providers
• Designing operational dashboards and KPIs tailored to the needs of the business
  
  

The results

The project succeeded in unifying maintenance operations within a single, centralised information system.
Technicians now work with modern, ergonomic mobile applications that function even in offline environments, while management teams benefit from a consolidated and reliable view of maintenance activity.

Early benefits include:

• Faster entry and planning of maintenance tasks

• Harmonised data and reliable performance tracking

• Better coordination between internal teams and third-party contractors

• Reduced administrative workload and elimination of manual rework

A major milestone on the road to Maintenance 4.0

By digitalising its processes and centralising maintenance data, the site has laid the foundations for connected, data-driven maintenance.
This first phase opens the door to new opportunities such as predictive maintenance, automated asset supervision and real-time performance analysis.

For HRC Consulting, the project is a strong example of a pragmatic and value-driven approach: leveraging SAP standard as much as possible while tailoring it to the operational realities of the field.
It demonstrates the impact that SAP PM expertise, combined with a deep understanding of maintenance operations, can have on the long-term performance of an industrial organisation.