This innovative Sonoco plant is using wireless PDAs with iMaint Mobile, along with the iMaint Online Web-based EAM, to transform its work order and inventory processes. Two simple changes made possible by iMaint Mobile have already paid for the equipment and software many times over.
iMaint, iMaint Mobile
Manufacturing
CASE STUDY: SONOCO'S MAINTENANCE MAKEOVER USING WIRELESS PDAS
The Sonoco Flexible Packaging plant in Morristown, TN is a 50,000 square foot facility
with around 150 employees that produces packaging for many nationally-known brands.
Plant personnel work straight days, as well as swing shifts that keep the plant running
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Maintenance department has eight employees,
including Maintenance Manager Mickey Reaves.
Plant Challenges and Solutions
In 2002, maintenance at the Morristown plant was primarily reactive;
repairs were made when problems developed. Very little proactive
maintenance was being performed, and improvements in availability
and efficiency were difficult to achieve.
In addition, “The plant did not have an organized inventory
system,” according to Reaves. “No one knew which parts were
in inventory or their value.” Incoming parts shipments were
charged directly against the maintenance budget, which often created hardships for the
department budget. The disorganization also reduced efficiency.
Later that year, Morristown and around 30 other Sonoco plants began using iMaint
Online, a Web-hosted enterprise asset management system (EAM) from DPSI. iMaint
Online enabled Sonoco employees to access their maintenance management system
from any computer with a Web browser and Internet access; the system and database
are hosted and maintained by DPSI.
Reaves understood that a step-by-step approach was needed to
reap the benefits of iMaint Online. “The first phase of
implementation involved our plant becoming more proactive.”
Being able to track detailed maintenance records, readings and many other types of data
collected from plant assets was another important step.
The maintenance team then turned their attention to setting up an inventory system
using iMaint Online’s inventory module. There were concerns, though, that a full-time
inventory clerk would be needed and manual data entry could lead to errors. One
manual activity—typing data from completed work
orders into iMaint Online—was already consuming
numerous man-hours each month.
That’s when Reaves was introduced to iMaint Mobile.
Going Paperless
In 2004, a team from the plant was evaluating DPSI’s iMaint
Mobile software for PDAs, an add-on for iMaint. They were
primarily interested in using PDAs equipped with barcode
scanners to organize and control inventory. However, when
they saw the software’s work order features, they decided to
first use iMaint Mobile to streamline their work order processes.
They purchased Pocket PC wireless-compatible PDAs with
integrated barcode scanners; each technician was assigned a PDA.
All PDAs are connected to Sonoco’s iMaint Online system
through a plant-wide wireless network.
Because Sonoco chose to go wireless instead of using
traditional PC synchronization, the plant enjoys realtime
communication between each PDA and its iMaint
Online maintenance management system. This has
enabled the plant to implement truly paperless processes
for work orders and inventory control, which are already
yielding significant benefits.
Wireless Work Orders
Reaves reports that “We’re much
more efficient in our work order
processes since using iMaint
Mobile.” Prior to using PDAs,
technicians entered information
on printed work orders, which then had to be typed into
Sonoco’s iMaint Online maintenance system.
“Now all that is done directly on our PDAs at the work
location, and work orders in iMaint are instantly
updated. We save several man-hours a week just from
streamlining closing of work orders,” according to
Reaves. That translates into an annual savings of
thousands of dollars from eliminating just one paperbased
process. And Reaves expects to reap even greater
efficiencies in other areas.
Decreasing Downtime
Using PDAs where work is being done has increased
productivity and reduced downtime. Reaves explains
that “Each PDA has a detailed list of current PMs and
work orders. It’s easy to generate new work orders or
PMs on location, or even combine repairs with
preventive procedures when
the scheduled PM is about to
come due.”
“We also get more data and
better readings for each work
order, which helps us identify
repetitive causes through Failure Mode Analysis,” notes
Reaves.
Plant availability is now significantly higher. The goal
for his maintenance department, according to Reaves, is
to maintain an availability rating of at least 98%.
Extreme Inventory Makeover
While PDAs and iMaint Mobile were streamlining work
order processes, the staff was also completing an
inventory control system. Parts were counted, organized
and entered into the iMaint Online system. Each
location and parts bin was then marked with a barcode.
Reaves notes that “We now know precisely how many
parts we have in inventory and their cost.”
When a technician needs a part for a
work order, they swipe the parts bin
barcode with their PDA. “A big
advantage of iMaint Mobile for
inventory is that when a tech scans a
part out, inventory levels in iMaint are immediately
updated. This eliminates the need for an inventory
clerk.”
“Plus, an engineer troubleshooting a breakdown can
instantly know if a needed part is in stock and where it’s
located,” explains Reaves.
No more than three of any part is kept in stock. To
replenish inventory, plant personnel generate a parts
usage report each week that shows which parts need to
be reordered. In the future, they plan to use iMaint
Online to help manage and automate parts requisitions.
Accounting is Impressed
The new inventory control system has even attracted the
attention of Accounting. Reaves explains that “In the
past, we had to expense parts as soon as they were
purchased. Now Accounting has gained enough
confidence in the iMaint system to charge items to
Inventory; they only charge them to our account when a
technician scans them for use on a work order.”
These inventory control improvements are increasing
the efficiency and productivity of the Maintenance
department, and making it possible to move closer to
just-in-time parts inventory.
Additional Productivity Gains
It’s too early to accurately measure many of the gains in
productivity and efficiency, but evidence for those
benefits has been clear. For instance, two simple
changes made possible by iMaint Mobile have already
yielded significant savings, which has paid for the
equipment and software many times over.
More than Just Software
Reaves states that “We’re very happy
with iMaint Mobile and DPSI.
Instead of buying a fixed package
and accepting it as-is, we invested in
a product that has provided us
continuous improvement. DPSI listens to our feedback
and implements our suggestions.”
| 
