Get rid of a burden - increase added value

Reference client | Armacell GmbH

Get rid of a burden - increase added value

The challenges are as great as the plants themselves: Armacell uses the GS-Service operational management system for preventive maintenance and optimised spare parts stocking

When time really is money, plant availability becomes the No. 1 priority at the Armacell plant in Münster.

As the hub of a global value chain with 25 production sites in 17 countries, a "break down" in Münster would result in considerable downtime costs.
This is because the European headquarters of the leading manufacturer of flexible insulation materials supplies at least all European plants with masterbatches, among other things. Reason enough to turn over every stone in production as part of the "World Class Armacell Mindset" initiative. And lo and behold: since the GS-Service operational management system has been managing maintenance and spare parts, good things have been going even better.

"Longer downtimes are unacceptable," says Lennert Wiels, Maintenance Manager Plant Münster

The internal supply chain with striking technical and organisational plant interlinking is one thing. Increased productivity and environmental protection requirements are the other. Both are inseparable at Armacell and identify the production lines in particular as a neuralgic point "Longer downtimes are unacceptable," says Lennert Wiels, Maintenance Manager Plant Münster, " if there are problems or malfunctions in exhaust gas aftertreatment, for example, the corresponding production lines in manufacturing immediately fail. What can be done? "Preventive maintenance is certainly the right way to go.

Processes as a digital twin process

GS-Service has been in use at Armacell Münster since the end of 2015. The monitoring of the two system-relevant production lines is carried out via remote maintenance monitoring in the workshop area, and the checks are documented in GS-Service. Just like everything else that concerns the ongoing operation of plant technology, infrastructure, media supply, central warehouse, R&D and facility in Münster. And those who document also base their planning on consistent data: "We make extensive use of this option in GS-Service," explains Lennert Wiels, "which is also the order of the day because we have now reached a critical company size - see order backlog.

System introduction: agile to the goal

Basically, GS-Service from GreenGate integrates planning, documentation and monitoring functions as well as business applications into an information and management system as a subordinate system to the ERP. The object-oriented software - designed as a scalable client/server solution - is based on standard technology and works under current Microsoft operating systems. The advantage - Thanks to the open system architecture, GS-Service can be connected to other systems such as Armacell's SAP ERP. GS-Service was introduced in 2015 as a replacement for the industry-wide solution network of Excel's own freeware programmes and paper-based filing systems. However, not with a big bang. Lennert Wiels remembers the agile path from the rough to the fine: "When we introduced GS-Service, the maintenance employees were not really enthusiastic. But that's exactly what we expected! That's why we first presented the system in detail, took in feedback and got the system up and running in a rudimentary way - without a high level of detail. The processes were described step by step in training documents and stored in PowerPoint. This worked out very well. In this way, GS-Service became routine for our colleagues

The 35 colleagues in maintenance now absolutely appreciate the IT-supported routine. For example, the shift change that takes place 17 times a week. "The handover is short," says Wiels, "but everything is neatly documented in the shift report from GS-Service." In GS-Service, the maintenance orders are not only planned in advance, the maintenance staff also receive concrete operating and maintenance instructions with checklists. "The task pool is thus clear and the staff team can allocate their shifts themselves. This high degree of personal responsibility has proven its worth." In addition, image documentation of the inspections and measured values of the systems are stored in GS-Service, prospectively from 2020/21 via the GS-Mobile module

If the maintenance technician still has to go back to the workshop to access information in GS-Service (plant master data, etc.) or to enter data such as order confirmations including working time or pictures into the system, with GS-Mobile everything is done directly at the place of work via Windows-based tablet PCs.
"That would save a lot of travel time," says Wiels, who administers GS-Service himself together with two other key users. Additionally he promotes the intelligent networking of digital and physical workflows in other places. "We link all the data on the machines in the system in order to professionalise maintenance per se on the one hand, but also to recognise where the main costs are? Where do malfunctions occur in the operating processes? What are the key figures on plant performance? Since we have mapped and documented the plants and processes in GS-Service, we can run comprehensive evaluations for the first time. We have a pre-planned worklist that can be called up directly during set-up changes or production breaks. This allows us to react quickly and flexibly and also carry out maintenance or inspections at short notice, as these are pre-planned.

"We estimate the savings in tied-up capital at around
to around 80,000 euros in the meantime
- around 15 per cent of the portfolio volume",
says Lennert Wiels

80.000 Euros are just the beginning

Keyword control. Armacell recorded a verifiable efficiency boost through the use of GS-Service in spare parts management. "We put the savings in tied-up capital at around 80,000 euros in the meantime - around 15 per cent of the inventory volume" explains Wiels "and we expect much more when all consumption values are available." The principle of the new effectiveness is quickly explained. Previously, inventory-managed items were purchased in SAP based on empirical values and stored in Excel. "However, we didn't really know where the critical components were" says Wiels. By feeding back maintenance data and information on plant performance, it is becoming increasingly clear when which spare part - in other words, which stock volume - is actually needed.
"Accordingly, we have defined stock records and stored ordering times in GS-Service that are based on minimum-maximum stock management, the system reports the stocks. In future, reconciliation and orders are to take place automatically via an interface to the SAP ERP, possibly as early as 2020".

"Enthusiastic Colleagues "

The intelligent workflow with GS-Service has also piqued the interest of other Armacell sites "Of course we exchange information with maintenance staff from other countries, the colleagues from Poland and England were very enthusiastic about GS-Service, especially because it improves communication and identifies critical problems," confirms Lennert Wiels, who gives the supplier and software good ratings. "Apart from the coherent package of price and performance, preliminary talks and references, we were of course pleased that we had a free hand in the system. GS-Service is flexibly adaptable and user-friendly. The contact persons at GreenGate are also quickly at hand with schedules, budgets or solution proposals via TeamViewer. It simply fits."