Compagnie Fluviale de Transport: Navigating towards excellence thanks to CMMS

Compagnie fluviale de Transport (CFT) is a subsidiary of the Sogestran Group specialized in river transport. It builds, operates and maintains a fleet designed for specialized sectors (oil, chemicals, containers, etc.).

Whether self-propelled, pushers or barges, the fleet operates on the Seine, Rhône, Loire, Danube and ARA (Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam) basins, with 120 units in maintenance. Unhappy with their ERP in this respect, management decided in 2015 to equip themselves with a “real” CMMS.

Fleet CMMS puts everyone in the same boat

The call for tenders was launched in 2015. The first project team drew up the specifications, and the second, larger team (20 people from all professions and hierarchical levels) met with the editors. Their vote chose CARL Berger-Levrault, and off we went for a year of parameterization, interfacing with the ERP and appropriation. “It’s a necessary time for cohesion and for looking beyond the usual,” says Christelle Quevit. It’s an opportunity to bring processes up to date again, involving all the teams in the process of reworking the list of equipment, boats and organizations.

Experience in the field and feedback from users will enable us to improve design, safety and life on board the boats. CMMS is one of the vectors contributing to this progress… with a few examples:

Real-time information feedback.

The benefits of upgrading to CARL Source.

In participative mode, from change management to improvement workshops.

CFT’s technical scope

CARL Touch takes the guesswork out of machine logbooks and habits

Level 1 maintenance (engine oil changes, safety checks, etc.) is carried out by the on-board staff, while sedentary personnel take care of periodic technical shutdowns, in particular engine overhauls guided by the manufacturer’s manuals.

CARL Source CMMS and the CARL Touch mobile application have made it possible to replace the machine notebook given to the sedentary staff by a connected tablet where the employee receives the day’s tasks, maintenance schedules, thematic rounds and records his or her Maintenance work.

In addition to changing habits, this small revolution has met the technical challenge of white zones or metal barges blocking the signal before routers were installed.

CFT also has a “flying” breakdown service, capable of quickly reaching the boat concerned.

« CARL Source gives us a lot of room for manoeuvre, and customization means we can adapt to our own processes and ways of doing things. »

Christelle Quevit, CMMS referent at CFT

CFT, a major player in the European river industry

“It’s difficult to think outside the box, that’s human,” says Christelle Quevit. “We explained that no one would lose their know-how, that it’s just a question of doing things differently. Everyone understands that feedback is essential for a collective memory of breakdowns and maintenance tasks, but also with regard to the authorities and control bodies (there are numerous regulatory controls or “vetting” involving third-party players such as customer requirements, Class companies or the Ministry of Transport).

The progress made by CARL Source (v.4 at start-up), and in particular the possibility of finer customization of indicators, has convinced the staff. “Since the integration of technical purchasing and inventory management (previously part of the ERP), CARL now covers all maintenance functions,” sums up Christelle.

“With CARL, it’s now much easier to know the cost of a boat’s technical shutdown”, adds Christelle Quevit.