Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) - Functional Location Audit & Standardisation
Project Overview
A coal mining company engaged Shivaan Asset Management to conduct an audit and gap assessment of their Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) functional location taxonomies in SAP, for two of their coal mine plants.
The client recognised inconsistencies in how assets were structured, classified, and managed, leading to fragmented data, unreliable reporting, and missed opportunities for cross-site benchmarking and reliability improvement.
Scope Of Work
Shivaan Asset Management was contracted to perform a complete audit of the CHPP functional locations across both sites.
The scope of our activities included:
- Site verification of CHPP assets, sub-processes, and maintainable items.
- Evaluation of SAP functional location levels and structure alignment.
- Comparison of both sites to identify standardisation opportunities.
- Development of gap analysis and improvement roadmap.
- Presentation of findings through a structured audit report and interactive session with client stakeholders.
Approach
Shivaan Asset Management combined extensive Mining Process, Physical Assets and SAP expertise with a practical, on-site approach to evaluate the accuracy, consistency, and structure of CHPP functional locations.
Our team:
- Conducted site walkdowns to verify installed assets and hierarchy levels.
- Reviewed engineering blueprints and process documentation.
- Engaged with personnel from tradesperson, planners, schedulers, engineers to management for firsthand operational insights and transparent communications.
- Analysed SAP functional location data using Shivaan Asset Management’s proprietary Functional Location Hierarchy Framework.
This end-to-end assessment identified key inconsistencies and improvement opportunities across both sites.
Utilised Nexaan APM to produce an example of Reference Functional Location utilisation to standardise Functional Locations of similar physical assets.
Project Outcomes
Our comprehensive audit successfully identified key discrepancies between the installed assets and the SAP data structure. We presented these gaps as clear opportunities for standardisation, improvement and future-proof asset management maturity.
The key findings and recommendations from our audit report included:
GAP IDENTIFICATION
OPPORTUNITY & RECOMMENDATION
No enterprise standard for SAP Master Data.
Enterprise Master Data Standard covering the creation, governance (RACI), and auditing of reference functional locations and functional locations
Varying hierarchy levels (from L2 to L4) for similar plant areas across sites.
Standardise all functional locations using the new Master Data Standard, enabling clear benchmarking and performance-tracking opportunities between sites.
Functional Location levels were too high-level, missing critical asset detail.
Connect all similar assets to a common Reference Functional Location to standardise maintenance strategies, data analysis, and reporting across the business.
Construction types were not standardised or Bill of Materials (BOMs) linked to incorrect functional location level.
Standardise Construction types and BOMs for all common equipment types, linking them appropriately to reduce planning time, optimise spares, and improve work execution.
Component and Failure Codes were missing or inconsistently applied.
Integrate FMEA-based codes for use in Notifications and Work Orders, enabling powerful failure analysis, maintenance strategy optimisation, and predictive forecasting.
Gaps in SAP training and process adherence among staff and contractors.
Enhance user-side processes with targeted SAP training on use of Failure Codes, simplified data reporting dashboards, and a clear governance model to improve data quality at the source.
Value Delivered
By presenting these findings as a clear and actionable roadmap, Shivaan Asset Management provided the client with a blueprint for enterprise-wide asset management maturity.
The primary value delivered to the business includes:
- Standardised, governable functional location taxonomy across dual sites—enabling reliable data roll-up and cross-site benchmarking.
- Future-ready SAP master data structure that supports reliability-centred maintenance, digital twin readiness, and advanced analytics.
- Historical work order data transformed into actionable insight through structured failure coding—turning past breakdowns into future prevention.
- Work Management maturity uplift, positioning the client’s Asset Management System for ISO 55001 alignment and operational excellence.
- Competitive advantage through safer, more reliable, and cost-efficient asset operations—driven by clean, trusted data.
By implementing a unified functional location hierarchy powered by Nexaan APM, Shivaan Asset Management enabled a coal producer to turn two siloed CHPP operations into a single, intelligence-driven asset network – 60% faster than traditional methods.
Now, for the first time:
- Reliability and maintenance teams benchmark identical assets across sites, comparing MTBF’s failures, costs, and maintenance effectiveness with confidence.
- Operational leaders scale best practices instantly, knowing work done at one site applies directly to the other.
- Executives access clean, roll-up data with clear view on asset conditions, risks, support to be provided to teams, OPEX control, and cost-per-tonne optimisation opportunities.
- Functional Locations, BOMs, and failure codes are standardised enterprise-wide, eliminating duplication and waste, and enabling clean asset data used for confidence statistical modelling.
A collaborative culture of continuous improvement, where data flows freely, decisions are trusted, and both sites work together, not in isolation, to drive reliability, safety, and business performance.
This isn’t just master data cleanup. It’s operational alignment at scale.
Testimonial – Maintenance Manager
Shivaan Asset Management, led by Jitesh, delivered exceptional value during our CHPP functional location audit – fast, focused, and without unnecessary cost. Their approach didn’t just identify gaps, it showed us a smarter way to work.
Jitesh’s knowledge of CHPP process, combined with his asset management and business alignment expertise, allowed his team to move efficiently across both sites, capturing accurate data, engaging our crews, and delivering insights that resonated at every level.
Their Nexaan APM was a game changer, it cut project time by >60%, clarified our path to standardisation, and gave us a clear “as-is vs. to-be” view. This enabled our internal maturity on how we unlock and practically apply lean principles, waste reduction, and reliable work management directly support our goal to lower cost per tonne.