How Plews & Edelmann Reduced Equipment Maintenance Costs with FTMaintenance

Maintenance Management Challenges

Disorganized Maintenance Records

A challenge faced by many organizations is the centralization of maintenance documentation. If there is no unified system in place, it can be difficult to quickly locate information even though the jobs are being logged. The maintenance team at Plews & Edelmann faced this and a few other common industry challenges before implementing FTMaintenance.

Up until about two years ago, maintenance supervisors saved equipment-related files on a network drive using many different directory folders. The maintenance department also relied on a Microsoft Excel^® spreadsheet to log and search for work order information. The team eventually compiled this data into one localized area, but this type of data storage still lacked the itemized equipment history they needed. When a manager or customer asked if a maintenance job was completed, the maintenance manager had to sift through files organized by date only, making it difficult to quickly find job information on specific equipment.

Incomplete Labor Hour and Cost Tracking Data

Another challenge Plews & Edelmann faced was that labor hours and costs tracking data were incomplete. Company executives knew maintenance technicians were out there doing tasks; they just didn’t know exactly what those tasks were or how long they took. Without this information, upper management was unable to justify the cost of the existing maintenance staff and considered downsizing the maintenance team. The maintenance supervisor worried that he would no longer have technicians with the specialized skill sets necessary to focus on preventive maintenance tasks.

Repairs Lacking Justification and Costs Exceeding Maintenance Budget

Plews & Edelmann’s maintenance team was also doing a lot of forklift repairs. The frequency of these repairs was puzzling, and these tasks were costing more than they wanted to spend on parts and labor. Time available to work on other repairs and preventive maintenance tasks decreased.

Solutions and Results

Itemized and Centralized Work Order History

Now, with FTMaintenance, Plews & Edelmann stores all their data in one place and can quickly find detailed work order history records which speeds up their processes. Nate Wood, Maintenance and Tool Room Supervisor, said, “FTMaintenance streamlines everything. I can just put in the equipment numbers, select a time frame, and see the work order history for that machine. I can also use attached documents I already have for future jobs–no need to write new instructions every time.”

Comprehensive Labor Hour and Cost Tracking Data

The ability to access tasks and labor tracking in FTMaintenance allows Plews & Edelmann’s upper management to see the maintenance team’s exact labor hours. With labor tracking in FTMaintenance, the exact task, the person who completed it, what the technician’s skills are, and how long it took them to complete the task are now visible to management. With accurate task and labor cost tracking, management has been able to determine that the maintenance technician staff is effectively utilized and has decided against downsizing.

With FTMaintenance, Plews & Edelmann has reduced work order completion time. All the information they need—equipment details, repair history, labor hours, purchasing history, and more is in one organized location. The maintenance team is also able to view and complete work orders from any laptop or mobile device in the field, saving them time over walking back to one office computer.

Reduction in Repairs and Costs Staying within Maintenance Budget

FTMaintenance helped Plews & Edelmann build a history of forklift repairs in the form of work order records, service requests, and reports. With this data, management was able to see a clear pattern of the problems that led to a high level of forklift repairs. They were ultimately able to eliminate many of the problems that led to repairs. Working with an outside contractor has reduced the cost spent on forklift maintenance materials. This has saved money, which has been reallocated to the overall maintenance budget.

Plews & Edelmann receives phone support from the FTMaintenance staff whenever they have questions. They have also made use of the library of FTMaintenance tutorial videos, which has helped the maintenance department maximize the benefits of FTMaintenance CMMS software.

About Plews & Edelmann

Plews & Edelmann began as a small manufacturer of battery testers and push-pull control cables in 1909. They expanded their product offerings in 1959 to include power steering hoses, and again in the 1970s with lube equipment and air line parts. Today, the company designs, manufactures, and distributes several types of automotive products that are sold to auto parts stores and industrial distributors worldwide. Brands such as LubriMatic, Tru-Flate, and UltraLube are all made by Plews & Edelmann, who has been an FTMaintenance customer since 2018.