Schiphol: “We can rely on Gemba”

From the lights along the runways to the baggage belts in the arrival halls and the fire trucks on the platform, Schiphol manages approximately 120,000 types of assets across fifteen square kilometers, in addition to underlying IT solutions. Gemba helps keep everything running smoothly with IBM Maximo and IBM Control Desk. Essential services that go far beyond just technology.

22 November 2022 • 12 min read

Asset continuity is of vital importance to Schiphol, and that also applies to the collaboration with Gemba. Gemba provides IBM Maximo and IBM Control Desk as Software-as-a-Service to Schiphol. Licenses, hosting, technical management, and a suitable SLA: Gemba takes care of it. Both solutions play a major role in the airport’s asset management. This concerns both the physical assets and the software systems that go with them. “We use IBM Control Desk to record data about our assets and as a workflow system for the processes for maintenance, management, incident, problem, and change management. In fact, it is part of the ecosystem that keeps the entire Schiphol running. IBM Control Desk provides the entire service chain with the necessary information and is used both Schiphol-wide and by external suppliers. Internal and external employees also work with IBM Maximo, which we use for our asset management,” says Shakita Doeswijk-Tan A Kiam, Service Manager at the Asset Management IT Services department of Schiphol.

Mensenwerk

The collaboration between Schiphol and Gemba goes back quite a while. Shakita: “Our internal Asset Management Baggage Group had been working with IBM Maximo for years, which we then purchased directly from IBM. We wanted to better manage the software and bring all IT-related matters together. At that time, IBM Control Desk came into the picture as a replacement for our existing service management system, and we got to know Gemba. After a tender, we chose Gemba as the supplier of the two solutions. Gemba’s offer not only met all functional requirements but also offered the best value for money. We signed the contract with Gemba in 2016.” The collaboration worked out well. “It’s not just about technology, but also about people. The people of Schiphol and Gemba know how to find each other. That is important because you have to do it together. After all, you don’t know in advance whether that is the case with a tender, because such a purchasing process is mainly on paper,” says Robbert Klein Obbink, Category Manager Airport Process Solutions.

Cultural fit

There is contact between the people of Schiphol and Gemba at a strategic, tactical, and operational level; some departments even have daily contact. In addition to Shakita and Robbert, Ernst van der Vliet (Contract Manager), Arthur Muller (Functional Manager ICD), and Merel Hoogewerf-Pronk (Product Owner ICD and Maximo) also work closely with Gemba. They all agree: the people at Gemba feel like our own people and are open and transparent. There is a real ‘cultural fit’. Shakita: “The door is always open at Gemba. Moreover, they only need half a word and understand the challenges we face as Schiphol.”

Samenwerking verlengd

Whether it concerns a matter at management level, the development of a new dashboard, or the performance of the systems, Gemba thinks along and is proactive, according to Schiphol. Shakita: “For example, I review monthly with Gemba how IBM Control Desk and IBM Maximo have performed. But if something happens in the meantime, I don’t have to pick up the phone. Before I want to call, they have already called me to say that they have seen the incident and are working on it.” Gemba also helps Schiphol to use its IBM licenses for Control Desk and Maximo as smartly as possible. “Every year, Gemba advises us on the license forms that IBM has available. In addition, they do a license check every quarter to see how we are using our licenses. Gemba is a knowledge center in this area: they know how IBM’s licensing system works and how to best utilize IBM Maximo and IBM Control Desk,” says Shakita.

The overall conclusion? Shakita: “We can rely on Gemba and are satisfied with the collaboration. Agreements have recently been made about extending the contract. So we can continue with Gemba in the coming years, and we are happy with that.”