AAK Achieves TPM and Reduces Corrective Work Orders from 78% to 9% with eMaint

AAK, a leading food and beverage company, specializes in plant-based oil and fat additives for a wide variety of consumables. Based in Malmö, Sweden, with locations across the United States, they work with customers to co-develop custom solutions for their vegetable oil. 

The AAK Richmond, California plant faced significant challenges in managing assets and maintenance work, which led to the implementation of eMaint in mid-2022. 

AAK used the power of eMaint to achieve:

• Standardized Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) strategy
• Reduction in corrective work orders from 78% to 9%
• Connected workflow with Power BI for processing information and predictive algorithms
• Utilized ISO 14224:2016 to quickly determine failure models and countermeasure

When AAK reached out to the specialists at eMaint, ​the company​ did not have a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). The lack of a structured system made it difficult to input data on assets and schedule maintenance routines. ​​The existing routines were generic and not tailored to the specific needs of the plant. 

In 2022, AAK adopted eMaint, marking a significant shift in its approach to maintenance management. ​​By the end of the year and throughout 2023, eMaint became a hub for managing requests for corrective and support work. Over 5,000 preventive maintenance (PM) orders were introduced with their ​​respective frequencies. The team found that 60% of the failures were associated with motorized valves, leading to the creation of specific routines, spare parts management, and an inspection database. 

However, the team wanted more from their new CMMS. AAK still lacked knowledge of how failures occurred at the plant. The company’s next goal was to define a failure model to streamline maintenance and improve uptime.​​ 

In November 2023, ​​adjustments were made to eMaint that allowed the company to better understand the failure model using the ISO 14224:2016 standard, which focuses on the collection and exchange of reliability and maintenance data in the oil, petrochemical, and natural gas industries. 

Thanks to this standard, AAK was able to quickly determine the failure model and apply the Pareto principle (80/20​ rule​) to focus its efforts on the most critical areas. This resulted in a significant reduction in failures and an improvement in operational efficiency. 

The implementation of eMaint has been fundamental for AAK on its path to continuous improvement and optimization of its maintenance processes. In 2024, AAK began adopting Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). ​​​​Using ​Microsoft ​Power Query, AAK developed indicators by process, area, performance, and efficiency. As a result, the company managed to reduce the proportion of corrective work from 78% to 9%, with significantly shorter response times.​​ 

The TPM culture has become ingrained in the organization, while ISO 14224:2016 has provided a clear framework for the collection and analysis of reliability data. eMaint has become the primary foundation for data management, and Microsoft Power BI is used to process information and create predictive algorithms. 

 Additionally, ​the company is developing ​predictive failure models​ ​to anticipate when a component is likely to fail, further improving maintenance planning and execution. 

Looking ahead to 2025, AAK faces the challenge of aligning its budget with actual execution. Efforts are being made to adjust the budgeting language with eMaint, which will allow decisions to be made based on opportunity costs. Moreover, there is a focus on strengthening the reliability area through artificial intelligence and an increased emphasis on condition-based maintenance. The integration of databases and the establishment of natural relationships between them are essential to ensure the integrity of the information. 

AAK transformed its approach to maintenance and asset management with eMaint, establishing a clear path toward continuous improvement and operational sustainability.