Background
Orange County Containers Group (OCCG) manufactures paperboard and paper-based packaging at multiple sites in the United States and northern Mexico. OCCG had been using Datastream for nearly a decade, but decided to look for a new provider CMMS provider to handle their preventive maintenance program at seven production plants in the U.S. and Mexico. Improved customer service (including Spanish language support) and multi-location inventory tracking were critical selection criteria.
Challenge
With Datastream, OCCG had poor mobile connection and, consequently, maintenance workers were often unable to enter information into the system as work was being done. Maintenance managers had poor visibility of inventory quantities at each site. As a result, OCCG was unable to share inventory between sites, resulting in increased downtime while waiting on inventory from a distant supplier. In one instance, an OCCG maintenance manager estimated that a site had $1.2 million in inventory, when in fact it was closer to $2.7 million (An inventory discrepancy that surfaced after implementing eMaint X3).
Implementation
OCCG implemented eMaint X3 in 2009, to replace Datastream, and immediately began to see improvements. There we no unforeseen challenges in setting up eMaint at each of the seven of the sites, thanks in large part to the support staff. Customer support was a key criteria in the CMMS software selection process. They have been more than pleased with the eMaint's service. eMaint's bilingual support staff has helped facilitate setup at both the U.S. and Mexican plants. An intuitive interface and helpful training tools helped managers and mechanics quickly learned to use the X3 system and overcome their initial hesitation to change. Many of the on-site mechanics take part in the eMaint X3 workshops and Best Practices webinars to further increase operational efficiency in all of their plants. Based on the smooth transition, OCCG has decided to implement eMaint at two additional plants they are opening within the next 18 months. OCCG is confident that these plants will have a great start because of eMaint's support staff, easy-to-use interface and the ability to implement purchase orders to manage inventory from day one.
Results
eMaint helped OCCG both gain complete control of their multi-site inventory, as well as improving the efficiency of its maintenance operations. Maintenance managers at multiple sites know exactly what their inventory is and are able to easily share parts across multiple locations. Downtime has been decreased by 1%. Maintenance workers can continually track labor and inventory with hand-held devices throughout the day, reducing time-consuming manual paperwork at the end of the day. As a result, the mechanics' overtime has been reduced by 1/2 hour per day, per person along with a reduction in the the natural human error that results from manual paperwork. In spite of initial hesitation to learn a new system, the mechanics quickly embraced the ease of use of X3.Benefits
- Mobile access reduces data entry
- Intuitive interface shortens learning curve
- Reduced mechanics' overtime by 1/2 hour per day, per person
- Multi-Site Configuration Support
- Improved inventory management across multiple locations
- Bilingual support staff
"eMaint has helped us eliminate manual data entry, reduce overtime by 1/2 hour per day per mechanic, reduce downtime by 1% and improve inventory accuracy across seven locations."
-Bill Chant, Group Maintenance Manager
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