Maintenance Success in Plasterboard Factory

	Quick Facts 97% uptime per month with Datastream software Barcoding reduces the time needed to take inventory by 2 days 8 sites, 600 work orders per month

Rigips Polska-Stawiany SP. ZO.O. is a gypsum plasterboard factory in Szarbkow, Poland built in 1998 with operations starting in April 1999. Designed as a completely modern factory, the plant is controlled by one integrated PLC system. With over 8 sites and 150 employees, the maintenance department of Rigips Polska handles an average of 600 work orders per month.

The maintenance department of Rigips Polska consists of 16 employees, who manage the technical condition of the factory and is responsible for downtime. They maintain the gypsum quarry, manage the high voltage station, and the heating system that supplies energy and fuel to production. The maintenance department also maintains the interior of buildings, roads, and offices of the facility.

The Challenge
Maintenance had a goal from the outset—to keep the production line running at 96%. This tough goal was complicated by the newness of the plant. "We were a new team in a new building," says Zdzis aw Kolmaga, works engineer for Rigips Polska. "We had to collect all technical information about our equipment and prepare a maintenance schedule for each piece of equipment, as well as establish inventory. It is widely accepted that factories that are at least two to three years old are the most reliable, as the construction and design kinks have already been worked out."

Nevertheless, production time was set at 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, or 120 hours, from the beginning. To achieve the 96% uptime goal, the plant could only afford 2 hours and forty minutes of downtime per week.

The Solution
The combined ambitious goal and newness of the plant and staff led Kolmaga to search for an automated system to widen the margin for success. "I knew normal, day-by-day maintenance would not give us the chance to be successful," says Kolmaga. "Predictive maintenance was the only way. It was obvious to me that without good asset management software to help us with routine scheduling and inventory, 96% uptime would be a dream."

Although the solution seemed simple, selection of the right software was difficult for Rigips Polska. Kolmaga looked at the variety of products on the market, but the range of choices was limited for Polish. Few asset management companies have a product in Polish or were willing to develop one. "To involve the number of employees we wanted," says Kolmaga, "it was essential that the software have a Polish interface. Datastream was eventually chosen as the solution provider because of the high quality of their products, their many years of experience in the market, and their willingness to deliver the Polish interface."

The reliability of the software was also a concern met by Datastream, as well as the ability to integrate with MRP systems. The affiliate factory in Canada also recommended Datastream.

	"Datastream provides a stable system which covers all of our maintenance activities.It gives us easy access to a great deal of information without delay and frees us from remembering each detailed step for a task. Everyone on the maintenance team feels that the impact of Datastream software is significant." Zdzis aw Kolmaga Works Engineer

The Results
Rigips Polska implemented a Datastream asset management solution one month after the factory began operations to organize and control preventive maintenance and inventory. They also use the system to track and generate work orders, derive detailed reports and data analysis, schedule labor, and track equipment.

The installation went smoothly and the system was up and running within three months. Rigips Polska began to input data and use barcode scanners right away, which eliminated the need for a full-time warehouse worker, a cost-savings immediately recognized by the company.

Rigips Polska also enjoys significant timesaving with Datastream software and its barcode capabilities. "We have about 3,000 items now, and physical inventory with two workers takes us 8 hours," comments Kolmaga. "Without Datastream's barcoding technology, this would take a minimum of 3 days." The maintenance department no longer has to track inventory on paper or with a keyboard. With barcoding, only one transfer per day is required, with the added benefit of no lost data.

"The most important thing we've gained with Datastream is work order generation and tracking," says Kolmaga. "This ability has our production line availability at 97% per month with only an hour and a half of weekly downtime."

In addition, Rigips Polska plans to implement the Purchasing module next and to generate all purchase orders in tandem with their accounting system. Kolmaga is impressed by the easy implementation of the other modules and predicts a mere month for full use of the purchasing module.

"Datastream provides a stable system that covers all of our maintenance activities," states Kolmaga. "It gives us easy access to a great deal of information without delay and frees us from remembering each detailed step for a task. Everyone on the maintenance team feels that the impact of Datastream software is significant."