What are the benefits of being part of our EAM community?

We all want to belong. We are social creatures and belonging to a group fulfills the need for social connection and companionship. Belonging to a group helps shape individual identity by providing a sense of purpose, values, and norms shared within the community. Being part of a group offers a sense of security and safety. It provides validation and acceptance from peers, reinforcing one’s beliefs, behaviors, and values. Belonging to a group enables individuals to work together towards common goals, whether they are social, cultural, or professional.

Bingo! Working towards common goals is what our EAM team is all about. Being part of the EAM community provides access to a knowledge base, proactive programs, product forums, and technical support but the best part is the engagement our customers have with peers facing similar challenges or successes. Through our Collaborate Community portal or at our annual ThinkTransit Conference, peer connection can often lead to broad troubleshooting and quicker resolution of an issue a customer may be facing. We will always be available in the community or via our Customer Care team directly to offer support, but it is often the conversations between peers about best practices or navigating a specific use case that are so beneficial.

Why does it matter that Trapeze EAM is focused solely on transit?

Our research and development is solely focused on ensuring our current product and roadmap align with our customers’ needs and future goals. Unlike other vendors who share EAM R&D across industries, we have a laser focus on transit and rail best practices. Being part of our EAM community gives customers a seat at the table with our leadership and development teams. They can share product ideas. If an idea becomes part of our roadmap, all customers benefit. For example, MBTA is working collaboratively with our team on an optimization project developing best practice workflows. These improved workflows will simplify and streamline practices around key areas for rail engineering and maintenance technicians.

Before and after the redesign of a Network Restrictions workflow at MBTA:

Roadmap & Resiliency

As always, our focus is on enabling our customers to work smarter, not harder. This focus includes three core principles: frequent and regular product updates, ease of use, and enhancing data quality and data volume.

It’s important to look ahead to the future. But it is equally important to maximize your current EAM system and ensure continued ROI. While there are new features and workflows added with each release, are you taking advantage of all that EAM currently offers? Your agency may find itself in the same situation as many other long-time EAM users: As the EAM software has evolved with each upgrade, your processes and workflows haven’t evolved with it. As a result, you may not be using EAM software to its full capacity. Fortunately, you can fix this and get more out of EAM by optimizing your configuration, workflows, use of existing EAM modules, and by making sure your team follows industry best practices.  

Resiliency Tips

• Do not get too far behind with upgrades. We recommend staying within two releases prior to the target release (N-2) to ensure optimal use of the system.
• A common challenge of upgrades is testing existing interfaces on the new EAM release. EAM provides two integration platforms for maximum flexibility: MaxQueue (EAM middleware with queuing and error handling); and API (application programming interface utilizing REST services). MaxQueue is managed by Trapeze and the API is a do-it-yourself option for maximum flexibility if you have access to developers.
• If you are deploying a large number of EAM mobile devices, we recommend you consider a third-party mobile device management (MDM). MDMs make it easier to push new mobile updates and configurations to multiple devices.
• Considering a move to the Cloud? With EAM Cloud, we manage all aspects of hosting including disaster recovery and network security.
• Monitor your EAM system use with periodic audits. Query EAM activity in the system to ensure consistent use and get out on the shop floor to visit your team.
• Consider an EAM health check with a member of our team who will review your current EAM use and create a report for recommended short-and long-term improvements. Don’t leave system efficiency and potential cost savings on the table!

Thank you for being part of our EAM community. If you are not a member, please reach out to us at EAM@trapezegroup.com to learn more. Life’s easier with our tEAM.