Necessary introduction of maintenance software
For over 40 years, the Freiberger Group (Südzucker Concern) has been producing frozen and chilled pizzas for the international retail trade. "The introduction of maintenance software had been a subject of discussion for years and the necessity was abundantly clear," Dr Heidi Pichorner (Technical Coordinator) explains. SAP is the default software for the Südzucker concern, but after serious consideration, the Freiberger Group concluded that SAP PM was not user-friendly enough. So what then?
User-friendliness and reliably
So we started a search for a user-friendly system that had to be implemented in the German-speaking countries first. "We did find some smaller software applications to show and track processes and to change settings but not a bigger system, and the main thing we were missing was the comparability [between the sites] which was most definitely a goal for the maintenance software". Another important demand was that the maintenance had to be registered reliably.
Using the latest technology.
For instance, the system had to support the constant audits (IFS Food, BRC certification or customer audits). Heidi Pichorner: "We are constantly under a magnifying glass. We have audits and more and more of them are unannounced. And every time we are asked the same question: 'How do you organize your maintenance?"
However, the most important selection criterion was the acceptance of the system by the employees. So, we initially looked at five systems, two of which ended up in the eventual selection. "Eventually, we choose Ultimo because of the ratio between the price and performance and the fact that the software is web-based and uses the latest technology.
We then decided in the later project group to split up the implementation into different phases. The advantage of this was that all locations were included: Pichorner: "That was very important to us because the biggest challenge of the project was to combine technical departments that had developed separately over the course of the decades.
Phase 1 entailed registering failures in production, registering jobs and integrating the now largely uniform planned maintenance. "The consultant understood the world of Freiberger and understood the differences between the sites," according to Heidi Pichorner. "He was incredibly constructive in finding solutions and providing suggestions for a joint solution."
Meaningful conclusions from the collected data
"With Ultimo, we can demonstrate the performance of our maintenance department much better," It is now possible to draw meaningful conclusions from the collected data. To do so, we use the reports from Ultimo that have been customized to the needs of Freiberger. We now have enough data to be able to determine concrete trends. Pichorner: "In order to find an answer to that, you have to be able to compare the machines to each other, and the same goes for the preconditions. And you also need a certain lead time. It is dangerous drawing conclusions on the basis of short periods." It is not yet possible to show reliable figures regarding concrete savings, but Pichorner feels it is going to work out well: "I feel our savings potential is about 10%."
Eliminating double work
The next step is an interface with SAP for the Technical Purchasing department. This should eliminate double work, which does still happen now. In addition, quality management is also integrated in Ultimo and they are already created their jobs in Ultimo. The plan is also to use Self-Service to include employees from other departments. Dr Pichorner has one last recommendation: "Keep in mind the needs of your colleagues who will have to work with the software every day, but also the needs and expectations of your customers and management and try to meet them without setting the expectations on the other end too high.
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