From equipment inspection and optimisation programmes, through supply and fitting of wears and spares, right up to comprehensive cost per tonne maintenance partnership packages, Metso?s Life Cycle Services have been taken up by a number of customers globally. And with the implementation of a Life Cycle Services arm in Australia, Metso can lend its customers the benefit of over a century?s experience in manufacturing and maintaining crushing and screening equipment and the resource base of a 15,000 strong global workforce.
PERFORMANCE CONTRACT WITH LAFARGE, BRAZIL
Metso and Lafarge signed a performance contract for the implementation of the Metso Performance Solutions (MPS) package in late 2010. The partnership between the two companies is based on a business model that is new in Brazil but may become a trend in the infrastructure market.
The model, which establishes goals and deadlines agreed to under the ?win-win? concept, ensures real profits for the customer and bonuses for the supplier whenever the mutually established goals are achieved.
Metso product support manager Washington Luiz underscores the innovation of the agreement. ?It is our first contract under this concept. A performance-based contract is a market trend. Our customers seek partners who continually support the search for better results. As a result, both sides win.?
This optimism is shared at Lafarge. Renato Ribeiro, the manufacturing manager in the Department of Aggregates in Brazil, praised the partnership. ?Metso is flexible and agile in its day to day activities and in meeting the demands of Lafarge, which is attributable to the great capacity of the leaders in charge of managing this partnership.?
THREE-YEAR CONTRACT
In early 2009, Lafarge asked Metso to provide consulting in the aggregates sector for its Barueri unit, in S?o Paulo.
?At first, all Lafarge wanted was consulting services. After several meetings, in addition to the initial agreement for consulting, negotiations developed to include the implementation of refurbishments and upgrades, electrical and mechanical maintenance and replacement of parts for the entire crushing plant,? says Washington Luiz.
A draft of the contract was completed in late 2009, and is valid for three years.
?Metso?s challenge when drawing up this contract was to think like the customer, putting itself in the customer?s shoes to find out how Lafarge could profit along with Metso. Without that, an agreement would be pointless. The task was dealt with precisely and Lafarge requested very few changes. The company approved and welcomed the submitted draft,? Washington recounts.
Once the agreement was signed, the first step of the project took place in early 2010 and consisted of the transition phase in which the teams of both companies set up a working interface that provided for intensive monitoring. This procedure revealed the hurdles that had to be overcome and further facilitated the development of an effective implementation plan.
Metso sent a transitioning team from Sorocaba to Barueri where the team spent 45 days on-site. This phase was completed in late February 2010. ?Although we are already reaching the proposed goals, we must continually think about improvements in the process,? Washington says.
At each completed step, additional suggestions for improvements are made. Bottlenecks in the process are studied to determine how they can be eliminated during the subsequent step. It?s a simple strategy that contributes fundamentally toward improvement in every phase of the project.
WORLDWIDE BENCHMARK
?Metso?s Brazilian unit is one of the pioneers in this type of agreement. Other units have maintained contact with the Sorocaba office to seek details about the partnership with Lafarge. Metso worldwide has great expectations with regard to this new business model,? says Washington.
Renato Ribeiro is optimistic about the future of the partnership. ?We want to consolidate this partnership with Metso, and this will happen when we reach the defined performance levels. We want to make this agreement a benchmark for other units of Metso and Lafarge.?
Source: Metso