Managing maintenance (and much more)

Scientific Asset Services is an offering in which GE maintains and repairs instrumentation used by pharmaceutical and biotech companies. With Scientific Asset Services, our customers have a single point of contact for all of their service needs, which simplifies their operations. There is no need to track down contact information for a large number of suppliers because all service-related calls go to GE.

Once our systems are in place, customers have access to real-time information about their assets. This provides information about the total cost of ownership for the equipment, which is extremely difficult to obtain manually. Customers also have access to information about the location and condition of capital, which ensures that depreciation expenses are applied to the correct cost centers – a huge help for the finance department.

With GE managing all equipment maintenance and service issues, scientists can focus on their research instead of maintaining equipment. Scientific Asset Services also delivers benefits to the bottom line – our customers improve controllership and reduce equipment maintenance costs by as much as 20 percent.

Equipment covered

We have the capability to cover instruments from the lab bench all the way through full-scale manufacturing. Devices covered under the service agreements can include laboratory equipment such as balances, spectrophotometers, pH meters and centrifuges; analytical instruments like gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers and liquid scintillation counters, and even more highly specialized R&D systems such as pre-clinical imaging systems, bone densitometers and laboratory automation systems. We can also handle systems used for process development and full-scale manufacturing – that type of equipment is part of our core competency.

How does the programme work?

Scientific Asset Services is a total asset management approach. The first step is to inventory all equipment – a real eye-opener for many customers – and set it up in AssetPlus, a proprietary software tool for asset management. All equipment is barcoded as part of the inventory process, which expedites record keeping and ensures accurate and timely recordkeeping from that point forward.

An analysis of the equipment inventory list allows us to determine the proper mix of skills necessary for engineers that will be stationed at the customer site as our primary response team. We can hand-select personnel based on the requirements of each facility. AssetPlus is really the heart of the system. It stores a wealth of information about equipment, it’s location, service history and maintenance schedule, to name a few things.

In the long run, our customers have a better understating of their equipment utilization and a clear picture of the total cost of ownership for each device.

Save up to 20 percent

Customers save money in a few ways. There is an efficiency gained from consolidation of many service agreements into a single agreement. The administrative cost of managing multiple vendor relationships and negotiating service agreements with each one is incredibly high. Customers minimize these costs by working with GE as a partner for their service needs

Also, companies save by utilising the equipment they have more efficiently, which results in lower capital expenditures. By having the complete picture of what equipment is owned, companies can make better decisions about resource utilization. They often choose to redeploy existing assets rather than purchase new ones.

Other benefits

Customers get a wealth of information they can use in making purchasing decisions. Understanding what instrumentation the company has, and what is being underutilized, can help offset capital expenditures. When it is time to purchase equipment, having real information about the total cost of ownership and reliability for equipment can prove to be extremely valuable.

The fact that many companies use in-house resources to service equipment speaks volumes about third party capabilities. Using in-house resources offers advantages in terms of response time. The main drawback to in-house is its high cost.
Scientific Asset Services provides the benefits of in-house with the depth of experience of an OEM and GE’s outstanding processes and service technologies.

Considering the economics of the pharmaceutical industry, it isn’t surprising that companies are looking for ways to manage their costs – especially when they can improve the level of service at the same time.