Manuel Medina works at Gränges Americas Inc, and has been using MainMaster since November 2019. The company melts aluminum ingots and rolls the aluminum into various thicknesses for different markets.
The Maintenance Team
The Gränges maintenance team comprises 36 people, split into coordinators, supervisors, engineers, mechanics and electricians. They use MaintMaster every day and the current maintenance focus is on the corrective side, one of the reasons being the age of the plant. It’s 57 years old! However, they are transitioning to a more preventive approach, and this is behind their commitment to MaintMaster.
– As a result of our more preventive approach, I expect higher reliability in our machinery. So far, MaintMaster has allowed for better involvement, not only for mechanics but also for operators reporting machine issues, says Manuel.
He continues:
– It also allows us to gather metrics on our machinery. We’re still working on transferring information from our previous system to MaintMaster, so we’re not done with this yet.”
Introduction to MaintMaster
In addition to the maintenance team, MaintMasters maintenance software is used by every department in the organization for reporting issues and placing Hazard ID cards. The introduction to MaintMaster went well. Manuel explains:
– Because of our fast-paced environment, the boarding process into MaintMaster has been slow. We also lost a lot of personnel due to Covid 19, which further slowed things down. But we’re picking up the pace now as our department gets back to proper manning levels and our new personnel get experience.
He continues:
– Our MaintMaster maintenance software implementation was the creation of a hazard reporting system. My initial thoughts were to make the usual pdf or a manual to instruct people on how to use it. I decided not to do this because people often overlook the instruction manual and I decided to move with the times. I made a short TikTok video which, to my surprise, was very well received. The overwhelming response was that it was easy, and it has increased the reporting rate.
During the introduction, there were a few people that needed a little bit more coaching, but Manuel soon discovered that making videos, with a step-by-step process on how to navigate, helped clear up a lot of questions. Even people who had never used a cellphone before, were able to engage with MaintMaster.
– If I were implementing MaintMaster today, I think the only thing I’d do differently is to get help importing all our PM’s. I might still do that. With the shortage of personnel and knowing now how impactful MaintMaster is, it’s something worth investing in, Manuel concludes.
