RPMGlobal is celebrating the anniversary of one of the mining industry’s leading asset management solutions, AMT, which has been used by miners, OEMs and mining contractors for two decades.
AMT was first introduced to the mining industry in 2002 as a solution for original equipment manufacturer, Caterpillar, to manage complicated maintenance contracts between their dealers and their customers. “Fast forward 20 years, and the solution is now used by virtually every major mining equipment manufacturer, as well as mining contractors and miners across countless mining operations right around the world.”
AMT was acquired by RPMGlobal in 2016 through the acquisition of Sydney-based iSolutions. According to Richard Mathews, RPMGlobal’s CEO, AMT was an attractive acquisition due to the unique functionality it provided to the industry. “AMT was a great fit for RPM as it was used extensively across the entire industry with unique capability that no one else offered. It bolstered our product portfolio with an industry proven, off the shelf, enterprise asset management solution.”
The unique functionality Mathews refers to is based around a dynamic life cycle costing engine known as DLCC. This engine links the life cycle costing of an asset to its servicing strategy thereby keeping a live financial forecast for each asset to a component level. This provides AMT users with powerful information when it comes to managing their assets across their whole business.
AMT was specifically designed to work seamlessly alongside and enhance an organisation’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, such as SAP. By integrating closely with the transactional, financial and maintenance data, information flows each way ensuring an accurate picture of each asset with each and every business transaction in the ERP.
“AMT was originally developed by maintenance people for maintenance people, so it satisfies the needs and wants of the maintenance department which is a very important team in a mining operation,” said Mathews. “When combined with the leading ERP’s, AMT is a powerful solution for organisations, it delivers real value and enhances the capability of the ERP.”
The past two decades has seen AMT grow not only in terms of the number of users and companies that use it but also in terms of functionality. While it was originally developed for OEM’s it was quickly adopted by mining contractors and then miners which drove specific enhancements for those user groups. While the DLCC engine operates in the background, each user group has a subtly different set of requirements for the solution.
“While all three customer groups use the solution for budgeting, an OEM will also use the solution to manage maintenance contracts, rebuild centres and to track components. Miners are looking to manage the costs of their equipment, benchmark equipment, manage their risks and determine variance from budget. Mining contractors use AMT to quote contracts and maximise equipment availability at the lowest possible operating cost. In each area, AMT has become not just ‘best in class’ but the de facto industry standard.”
AMT Founders Graeme Elgie and Robbie Feyder reflected on the history and time since its inception. “When we first built AMT, we knew it was going to be a success, but we certainly didn’t predict the widescale global uptake and impact it would have on the industry as a whole,” said Elgie. “To think where we started to where it is now, a software solution that is used by the world’s largest companies is remarkable. On any given day, AMT is being used to manage billions of dollars of equipment, and that is pretty special, as is knowing how much value it adds to those organisations.”
So where to for the next 20 years? Well, according to Mathews, AMT is only just getting started. “AMT has grown to become one of RPM’s most popular products and we are investing heavily to ensure it stays as the first choice for asset managers in the mining industry. In the very near future, you will see a completely new AMT mobile product, improved reporting capability and that is just the start. There are very exciting times ahead for AMT.”
