Metso is a global leader in sustainable technologies, offering end-to-end solutions and services for the aggregates, mineral processing, and metals refining sectors in 50 countries. In the metals refining sector, they design, build, and support refining plants worldwide, bringing innovative technology to the metals industry.
Reaktor and Metso collaborated to develop a data-assisted search tool for Metso’s technical support and spare parts services. The tool, Datadynamo, speeds up spare parts deliveries, minimizes costly plant downtimes, and improves customer satisfaction.
Datadynamo helps technical experts quickly find the correct information to respond to customer requests – even when the available data is limited. Beneath the intuitive interface lie vast amounts of analyzed data, including over three million CAD and other design documents. The technical details found with Datadynamo help ensure that the correct parts and services are delivered to customers as quickly as possible.
Background
Metso Smelting’s After-Sales organization helps customers globally with maintenance and spare parts. The quality and speed of the service are crucial for Metso’s clients. When customers get the right spare parts fast, they can keep expensive downtimes at a minimum and keep the plants running.
Metso approached us to review the spare parts service process. The goal was to identify ways to improve service efficiency and accelerate spare parts deliveries. We assembled a cross-functional team to investigate and address the identified development areas from business, service design, software development, and data perspectives.
Finding the right solution
Instead of rushing into quick fixes, we started by thoroughly reviewing the service process. We held extensive discussions with experts involved in providing the service to identify critical areas for improvement.
During the discovery phase, we focused on the following areas:
- What value does service efficiency bring to end customers and Metso’s organization?
- How well do different experts collaborate to solve customer needs?
- How is time distributed across different stages and experts in the service process?
- What type of information would enable better and faster operations?
During the discovery phase, we identified around ten areas for improvement, including speeding up information flow, automating routine tasks, and enhancing information accessibility. These areas were analyzed in light of customer value, business benefit, and technical feasibility to select the most critical development areas.
Data-assisted search tool: Datadynamo
It quickly became clear that data plays a huge role in servicing customers efficiently. Technical support often receives requests relating to metal processing plants that may have been delivered to customers decades ago. There is an immense amount of data related to different customers, their plants, and their configurations, and managing all that manually is impossible.
To help, we designed and build a service, called Datadynamo, that acts as a data assistant for technical support experts. It is an easy-to-use search tool that helps users connect customer inquiries with limited information to the delivered project details. The technical information found through Datadynamo ensures that the right parts and services can be delivered to customers as quickly as possible. This can help cut down production downtime, resulting in hundreds of thousands of euros of cost savings.
The tool is built on top of vast amounts of analyzed data. The project data accumulated over decades includes technical drawings, assembly descriptions, spare parts lists, and other technical documentation. Currently, the service encompasses over three ´million CAD and other design documents.
“Once again, Datadnamo proved useful! I found a cryptic manual for the product I was searching for. There would have been no hope of accessing it without this tool.” – Technical Sales Expert, Metso Metals
Keys to success in a data project
To succeed in the project, we consciously chose not to tackle too much at once. Instead, we focused on getting the first version out to users in weeks. Developing the solution alongside users helped the team prioritize work continuously. The best solutions do not always need to be complex or expensive to implement.
Another key to creating a powerful tool was the close collaboration between Metso and us. The entire project team worked together, solving issues as they came. Close collaboration and trust created a positive atmosphere.
Thirdly, the project balanced different perspectives effectively. Thanks to the multidisciplinary team, user needs, technical solutions, and business benefits were all considered throughout the project.
Read more about our work with Metso here.
