Global Standardisation For Managing Assets
Shivaan Asset Management helped a mining client standardise asset management for global efficiency.
Mining78%Failure-code adoption within 8 months, from no prior use of codes
Mining
Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP): Functional Location Audit and Standardisation
Shivaan Asset Management was contracted to perform a complete audit of the CHPP functional locations across both sites.
- Project delivered faster than the traditional Excel spreadsheet method
- 60% faster
- CHPP functional locations audited and standardised across two coal mine plants
- 2 sites
- Work Management maturity positioned for ISO 55001 alignment
- ISO 55001
In brief
- An audit and gap assessment of Coal Handling and Preparation Plant (CHPP) functional location taxonomies in SAP, across two coal mine plants.
- Site walkdowns, engineering blueprints and interviews from tradesperson to management verified the installed assets against the SAP structure.
- Each gap was presented with a matching recommendation, from an enterprise master data standard through to FMEA-based component and failure codes.
- Both sites now work to one governable functional location taxonomy, so identical assets can be benchmarked across them.
- Work Management maturity was positioned for ISO 55001 alignment.
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
Our work spanned every CHPP functional location at 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.
How a functional location hierarchy is built
Produced 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: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed), 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. |
The same failure code work, delivered in full for an oil and gas operator
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, Shivaan Asset Management enabled a coal producer to turn two siloed CHPP operations into a single, intelligence-driven asset network.
Now, for the first time:
- Reliability and maintenance teams benchmark identical assets across sites, comparing MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures), 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, operating expenditure (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
Frequently asked questions
What did the CHPP functional location audit cover?
Site verification of CHPP assets, sub-processes and maintainable items, evaluation of the SAP functional location levels and structure alignment, a comparison of both sites to identify standardisation opportunities, a gap analysis with an improvement roadmap, and presentation of the findings through a structured audit report and an interactive session with client stakeholders.
Why does a functional location hierarchy have to be standardised across sites?
Because the two plants used varying hierarchy levels, from L2 to L4, for similar plant areas, and the levels in use were too high to carry critical asset detail. Standardising every functional location to one master data standard, and connecting similar assets to a common Reference Functional Location, is what makes benchmarking and performance tracking between the sites possible.
What happens to historical work order data?
Structured failure coding turns historical work order data into actionable insight, so past breakdowns support future prevention. FMEA-based (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) component and failure codes are integrated for use in Notifications and Work Orders, which is what enables failure analysis, maintenance strategy optimisation and predictive forecasting.
How does this work support ISO 55001 alignment?
The audit delivered a Work Management maturity uplift that positions the client's Asset Management System for ISO 55001 alignment, on the back of a standardised, governable functional location taxonomy and an enterprise master data standard covering creation, governance and auditing.
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