Tencorr’s assets include an array of pumps, hydraulics, and electrical components that make up a 100-foot-long machine called a corrugator that is used to create the product. The machine’s rollers and roller bearings are critical assets and integral to production. Teams also maintain periphery assets, such as large forklifts and clamp trucks that grab and move large, heavy rolls of paper to the machine.

When Strachan joined Tencorr, the company used outmoded methods for assigning and recording maintenance work. Legacy asset information resided solely in the heads of workers, and preventive maintenance schedules were based on someone tracking things based on memory. Maintenance teams commonly logged work manually and used sheets of paper to document repairs and completions.

Team members were often uncertain what parts were available for a repair and locating the one needed was a challenge. Sometimes, costly parts were reordered even though they were actually sitting on the shelf.

CMMS training took priority at Tencorr’s two plants. Most maintenance team members were unfamiliar with the software’s capabilities. Strachan knew it would be important to identify a leader at each plant to champion the CMMS implementation and place them in the trenches with the teams.

Plant maintenance leaders began by optimizing and automating workflows, and ensured thousands of parts were input and cataloged. CMMS adoption gained significant traction once eMaint training experts came onsite to provide in-person instruction to Tencorr’s maintenance teams.

“Having the trainer here, going through specifics, running it in the sandbox where they would not be intimidated or concerned with making mistakes was a turning point,” Strachan explained. “I think that really helped our users.”

With Tencorr’s maintenance teams taking advantage of the system’s robust asset-management features, production outputs have increased by 20% in less than three years. Additionally, the company’s Brampton plant realized a 38% reduction in downtime and its Mississauga plant saw a 31% reduction, enabling world-class maintenance status for both facilities.

Strachan uses eMaint’s real-time dashboard data and reporting features to display and analyze operations and develop plans for future improvements. Teams appreciate the ability to view parts easily in the system and see exactly where to find a part, saving everyone headaches, grief, time, and money.

Because some assets are so critical to production, Tencorr is considering placing Fluke wireless vibration monitoring sensors on some of its equipment to ensure asset reliability.

“I’m starting to look at not just preventative maintenance, but predictive maintenance,” Strachan said. “I want to be able to know before an asset fails, so that we can have things under control — have the part on hand, have the repair scheduled — instead of having to react to it breaking down.”