Laurent has headed up the Progressive TSL EAM Team for the last six years; here, he discusses the challenges of implementing EAM and what he enjoys most about working in our tight-knit London team.
Tell us more about your role at Progressive TSL?
I am in charge of the Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) Department. I manage all the EAM consultants and project managers – The EAM team make up 2/3rds of the company’s headcount. We are implementing Infor EAM, IBM Maximo and Infor OS to our oil and gas, mining and engineering clients.
I ensure that we deliver to the client’s expectations, on budget and on time. I also look at how we can improve ways in which we implement so that the clients can get the most out of their system.
What path had your career taken before joining Progressive TSL?
I started along this career path in 1997 after I graduated from Ecole des Mines in Douai, a technical university, a French equivalent of MIT in the USA. I graduated in Energy and Processes, but it was the maintenance module that really interested me. After that, I started working at Cray Valley, a subsidiary of Total, supporting the implementation of Maximo. Then, in 2002, I moved to Datastream, whose software became Infor EAM after Infor’s acquisition in 2006. During my time there, I progressed from Functional Consultant, through Pre-sales to Consulting Manager. I left Infor in 2010 to try something a bit different working for a retail solutions company on PLM (Product Lifecycle Management). But when the opportunity came to join Progressive TSL in 2014 to launch their EAM business, I jumped at the chance.
What Attracted You to Work at Progressive TSL?
From a personal view, I wanted to stay and live in London (Laurent is from the North of France). I wanted my children (now teenagers) to be native English speakers – it opens up so many opportunities for them. Although our children still speak French at home, that is non-negotiable!
From a professional point of view, I saw a company that was expanding rapidly. My first two EAM clients at Progressive were multinational Glencore and independent Nigerian oil company Seplat. After that, we began to acquire more and more clients that required EAM implementations – it was a busy time!
What’s it like working at Progressive TSL/what do you enjoy most about working here?
With Progressive, I never feel bored; with each client/project comes new challenges, we are always looking for improvements and new technologies – these improvements are then redistributed to our other clients.
I also love the fact that as a relatively small company, Progressive TSL is agile and can make decisions quickly. Progressive is happy to invest in the longer term to provide the best solution to our clients. We enjoy seeing our clients grow through time and enable that growth.
I’m also fortunate that I get to travel to some exciting places with Progressive TSL. Particularly to areas like West Africa, where the energy market is relatively new and growing, and Progressive can be a part of that. It’s great to meet our end users face to face and hear about their challenges and work – it’s a very good experience, and our presence is always well received by our clients.
The rest of the EAM team are also keen to travel, and as a company, we have the right processes in place to manage travel and logistics to these often remote places, e.g. Chad, Gabon and Burkina Faso. It’s not common for technology companies to travel to these countries.
What do you like to do to relax?
I play squash on almost a daily basis, often with Progressive colleagues – it’s a brilliant way to relieve stress!
One of the great benefits to living and working in London is that there are opportunities to catch live concerts and theatre productions. My wife and I go to see shows on most weeks.
As the Head of EAM Business for Progressive TSL, what do you see as the next big thing for asset management?
IoT, in general, is making big waves in the future of Asset Management. With AI and Big Data, we are able to identify trends and make better decisions. It’s all very exciting.
The extraction industry is only really starting with modern asset management technology. There are a lot of robust older machines and assets that don’t have electronics and indeed in some places that we go to (like the deserts in West Africa) electronics do not fare well.
But newer equipment is being made with IoT built-in, so eventually, the trend will move from the classic maintenance approach to modern, predictive maintenance – by capturing vast amounts of historical data to help better maintenance decisions.
Areas such as West Africa need to think ahead, skill up and start to prepare now for changes five years from now. For more information on AI and IoT in Enterprise Asset Management, read our recent blog, which discusses the future of predictive maintenance.
For more information on Enterprise Asset Management solutions for now and the future growth of your business, read about our recommended best-of-breed solutions Infor EAM and IBM Maximo. Progressive TSL are the experts in finance, asset management and supply chain solutions contact us for more information.
