Thomas's Europe Increases Uptime with Datastream

A division of the Mars Corporation, Thomas's Europe produces pet treats, snacks, and accessories. Like many organizations in the mid-1980s, maintenance at the company's Batley, Yorkshire (UK) facility was based on the "break-fix" philosophy coupled with a few established preventive maintenance (PM) procedures. However, in 1990 the facility introduced a more formal PM program based on a computerized system.

The Challenge
"Even with the PC-based system, as recently as four or five years ago, it was still a common sight to see all the major manufacturing lines shut down once a month for 12 hours while maintenance took place," recalls Richard Haslem, reliability engineer for Thomas's Europe.

The Solution
When Thomas's realized that their PM procedures were not effectively preventing breakdowns, the company looked for a new asset management model. They turned to a Datastream solution to help them reach their goals.

"The project started and continued for about a year," says Haslem. "People can be very skeptical of new things and are reluctant to change. However, the teams realized very quickly that Datastream software is not a two-day wonder. It is a formal system and part of an ongoing process that you have to follow to get the desired results."

The Results
Thomas's implemented a pilot project on a cooker extruder at the Batley plant. After the pilot, Thomas's saw an initial improvement of over 20% in increased production through reduced downtime. Beyond the improvements to the production line, Thomas's noticed an increase in teamwork between the maintenance and production staffs. Because Datastream software identified the root causes of failure, Haslem could allow engineers to "design out" components that negatively affect a plant's performance, adding even more savings to the long-term benefits.

"Before we undertook the project, certain pumps on the machine used to break down at least once a month," confirms Haslem. "After the study was complete and the development work carried out, the pumps now last at least three months without any maintenance whatsoever—a 300% savings. So if you include the reduction in associated maintenance costs, it represents a truly spectacular figure."