Year 2004
Teemu Koskinen

User-friendly maintenance management of water and wastewater treatment plants

This thesis is a preliminary study for the development of a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) for water and wastewater treatment plants. It particularly focuses on the possibility of using a PI diagram drawn at the plant’s design stage as part of the system’s user interface.

The literature survey examines two main issues. Firstly, I map out the current state of Finnish water management. Secondly, I introduce the basic concepts and types of maintenance management. I then review various maintenance management operations related to CMMS.

The thesis goes into further depth on its topic by investigating the possibility of using a PI diagram as part of a CMMS user interface and examining the principles of user-centered software product design.

The experimental part of the study began with user inquiries directed at water and wastewater treatment plants by phone interview. The purpose of the inquiries was to clarify the need for CMMS at plants and to collect feedback on existing systems from users. These inquiries helped me to form a general understanding of the state of maintenance management at the plants in question.

I then proceeded to design a concept for the user interface of a CMMS, taking into account the results of my earlier stages of research. The different functions of the system were defined relative to the amount of time and work needed for developing the system, as well as relative to the usability of those functions.

The change that is occurring in Finnish water management at the moment will increase the need for using CMMS in water and wastewater plants in the near future. The systems utilized at the moment at treatment plants do not fully correspond to current requirements. The system’s ease of use is a special priority owing to the personnel’s minimal experience with computer systems as well as the growing trend to outsource maintenance management.

By using a PI diagram in the user interface of the CMMS it is possible to transfer non-graphical design information to the system via its database. The PI diagram increases the system’s ease of use, giving it a distinct advantage over other products currently available in the market.

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