“We are making very significant progress toward the organization that we want: an agile, robust SAAM Towage that can continue growing”

Time is one of the most important assets in anyone’s life these days. Alentué Pompei, Maintenance and Supply Chain Director at SAAM Towage – who has to organize his agenda to fulfill his commitments to 10 of the countries where we operate – knows that.

Approval meetings and monitoring purchase orders (Spend Control Tower), monthly earnings meetings, optimization projects, and follow-up on operational and workplace safety incidents (SHEQ) are just part of this industrial engineer’s day-to-day responsibilities. Even though minutes are fleeting in his life, Alentué makes time to talk to the maintenance leaders in each location where we operate.

“Staying close to the operation helps create an understanding of the daily problems facing our people. Finally, I always leave time to plan and reformulate the objectives our team is striving to reach. The world changes; contexts do too. We have to be able to adapt,” he explained.

How did you become responsible for this project? 

This project has gone through different stages of maturity since it began in 2020. It started with Investment Committee approval, then supplier selection, system configuration, establishing the business rules, etc. Today, we are entering a new phase where end-user involvement is increasingly relevant. We must ensure that the Corporate Maintenance and Supply Chain team is supporting all the business areas and countries where we operate.

What role does NSE play in the Tripanko project?

NSE will be the platform that houses all our Maintenance and Purchasing (technical and non-technical) management processes in each of the countries where we operate. As I always say, NSE is not just a system. It is a means through which we communicate worldwide across the entire SAAM Towage network.

In 2021, What do you think the main challenges are in terms of implementing this software?

The first challenge is definitely the timeline we set for ourselves (10 countries in 12 months). However, our most important challenge is not the rollouts but reaching each of the people who make our operations possible. That is where the real challenge lies, in making sure that our teams and crews experience and understand that the change requires everyone, that details matter and that we continue building the foundation for the operational excellence that will take SAAM Towage to the next level.

In what phase of implementation are we currently?

We are on the verge of our first rollout in Panama in late January. We are getting the final details ready and piloting the new processes we will implement with the system.

What impact will NSE have on the company’s objectives?

We believe that NSE will be a critical aspect of continued progress toward building the capacity that establishes the basis for a more robust organization with processes, roles and duties that are clear, transparent and known to everyone. We are making very significant progress toward the organization that we want: an agile, robust SAAM Towage that can continue growing.

What impact will implementing this software have on our employees’ day-to-day activities?

This system will enable us to improve traceability in all our processes while simplifying and improving access to information from reports and indicators. To do so, we have established new IT standards for each tug using dedicated antennas to strengthen the internet signal and enabling system access via computers and tablets. However, we need each and every one of us to use the system correctly and enter timely, quality information within the agreed-upon time frames.

Which areas will NSE impact in the short, medium and long term?

In the short term, it will enable us to standardize the process framework across all our operations (purchasing, maintenance programs, etc.). It will allow us to access more and better information in the medium term, which will provide more certainty in our operating and cost projections. Finally, it will enable us to practice and improve continuous improvement and harness opportunities in all our processes in the long term.

The year 2020 was very complex. Has this impacted NSE implementation in any way?

The year 2020 has certainly not been without complications – at work and at home – but we pulled through, not just on the project but also as a SAAM Towage team. We have managed to reinvent ourselves, identifying alternative ways to make progress. We are certainly behind in relation to our original plan, but that was not by chance. We consciously decided to give ourselves more time to mature and create better key processes before implementation. Today we are proud to say we are ready for our next big step.