Microsoft Tech-Ed Australia

This year Microsoft’s Tech-Ed will be held from the 8th to 11th September 2009 on the Gold Coast. Like last year we will be sending as many staff as practical to participate in this valuable event to be sure our skill sets are kept up to date.
http://www.msteched.com/australia/Public/default.aspx



We are promised that there is a lot to learn and that Kevin, Joey, Keegan, Chris, Shane, Anna and Gab will return to the workplace with up to date information about today’s cutting-edge trends, and skills and knowledge that will help make us more valuable, more productive and of greater value to you our clients.



You might recall that last year Kevin was Keynote presenter at both the Australian and New Zealand Tech-Ed happenings, and deemed an 'Expert". He has the white lab coat and hat to prove it. He presented SmartAsset as part of Microsoft's 'Software plus Services' strategy whereby client side applications such as Windows, Office based PDA functionality meet Internet-based services such as our use of Virtual Earth to track assets by their GPS coordinates.

So we are looking forward to renewing relationships from last years participation and to further build personal connections with other Microsoft 'Experts' and IT colleagues that will last far beyond the event.

SmartAsset Workshop

April this year saw a gathering of many of our FMMS clients in Melbourne for a two day workshop to review SmartAsset. We had representatives from Fremantle Port Authority, Hydro Tasmania, Barwon Water, Edith Cowan University, Daracon, Institute of Child Health and Research and Queensland Rail.



The Workshop initially was to be conducted at our offices but due to the response we moved it to Clifton's (a conference facility) in the City, where they were able to load and ghost a Virtual PC copy of SmartAsset, thereby enabling each participant access to their own copy of SmartAsset to carry out the workshop exercises.



Whilst workshop participants were enjoying themselves working through exercises and gaining in-depth understanding of SmartAsset, Gab was back at the office up to his armpits in laptops fulfilling our promise to load SmartAsset along with data onto laptops which the participants had brought along. At one time Gab had given consideration as to how much he could get for the laptops on eBay.

Rotable Items in SmartAsset

One significant difference between FMMS and SmartAsset is the handling of Rotable items.
Instead of copying incoming & outgoing serial numbers to/from the trackable host (a very complex FMMS procedure), SmartAsset utilises a child item attached to the trackable host such that a changeout may be effected by simply changing the parent codes of incoming /outgoing Serial Numbers.

By adopting this approach each rotable keeps its own identity, optionally using an auto allocated "R" number for life. This includes all of the usual associated asset data such as reference data, apls, readings, remarks and standard activity links.

By assigning common trigger codes to host and child, reading inheritancy will apply with an option during changeout to keep them the same or it may be useful to maintain separate figures for triggering purposes.

SmartAsset Kiwi Travelogue

You may recall the fable about SmartAsset going to the South Pole (see last newsletter).

Well it hasn’t stopped there with regard to New Zealand customers.

While we were delighted that Antarctica New Zealand became the very first SmartAsset customer, we also welcome some additional customers from the land of the Long White Cloud.

Some of you may have met Bob Campbell of the Ports of Auckland at one of our 14 annual FMMS user conferences. Well Bob was so dedicated to FMMS, that he became the Port’s logical choice to head the roll-out of SmartAsset to manage their Cranes, Straddles and Fork Lifts (and The Rest!)


No sooner had we assisted the Port with their implementation, yet another Port put up their hand to implement SmartAsset in order to manage their assets in the form of the Port of Napier.

This picture of the Port of Napier was taken while the HMAS Kanimbla was docked.

Spooky!

FMMS is on board the Kanimbla while SmartAsset is being presented to the Port.


Given the Kiwi theme, it seemed appropriate to pictorially relate to you our travels through this wonderful country that encapsulates the attractions that inspire so many world travellers….mountains, plains, cities and most importantly, nice people!
Wellington -> Picton:

Take the Inter Islander ferry from Wellington on the North Island to Picton on the South Island.

Picton -> Christchurch

Then take the train from Picton to Christchurch through the wonderful wine growing regions and along the Kiwi’s equivalent of the Great Ocean Road:

SmartAsset in the Print Media

Len Bradshaw has been producing the Asset Management and Maintenance Journal for many years now and we have been consistently advertising with Len from the earliest issues. The July issue, Vol 22 No3 features the implementation of SmartAsset at Scott Base.



The issue's cover shot is of Scott Base in Antarctica. Antarctica New Zealand supports science and environmental programs at their Scott Base facility. They use SmartAsset to manage their various assets in Antarctica. The photo is taken by Lucia Simion, Antarctica NZ Pictorial Collection: K245 07/08.

You can download your eAMMJ copy for free and read the article by going to the AMMJ web site http://maintenancejournal.com/ and clicking the AMMJ cover. The cover picture shows part of the Scott Base building facility.

Getting the SmartAsset Message Out There.

An important aspect of establishing a new product such as SmartAsset in the market is getting the knowledge of how the product will bring benefit to an organisation through to your target audience.

We adopt several different vehicles for this task. This Newsletter is of course one such vehicle, others include; Conferencing, Exhibitions, Technical Presentations, technical papers, Print Media Articles and Workshops.

On Conferences and Exhibitions, in March this year we exhibited at the SIRF Conference held at the MCG. Here we have Shane enjoying a well earned beer at the members area of the MCG after a long day multitasking at the stand.


We have enjoyed a long term relationship with the Asset Management Council and over the years have exhibited at ICOMS many times. This year ICOMS 2009 was held at the Masonic Center in Sydney in June, where Gaye Montgomery shows off our new LED monitor.