How SHU reduces machine downtime with Operations1
As an owner-managed family business, Schwäbische Härtetechnik Ulm employs around 600 people at its Ulm-Donautal site. With over 120 plants for heat and surface treatment, SHU is Germany's largest contract hardening company.
In order to deliver first-class results to the broad customer base from the automotive and construction machinery, roller and ball bearing and mechanical engineering sectors, perfectly maintained machines are of enormous importance. SHU therefore saw the greatest potential for improvement in maintenance through the digitalization of processes.
- > Automated maintenance planning
- > Reduction of downtimes
- > Standardized maintenance quality
We started in maintenance. But Operations1 is a software for the entire company.
Management Assistant, Schwäbische Härtetechnik Ulm
Status Quo
The wide and varied range of plants for heat and surface treatment requires good and reliable planning of regular maintenance.
The MS Office and paper-based process involves a lot of effort for the maintenance team and only allows for slow optimization of maintenance.
Challenges
Instructions were created in Word and provided to the maintenance technicians in paper form. The planning of regular maintenance was organized and carried out by the responsible employees themselves. Feedback and change requests had to be reported to the maintenance manager.
Delayed updating of maintenance documents
Lack of process reliability
Unsatisfactory documentation quality
From the test phase to the rollout
Early involvement of employees
The operations1 software and functionalities were presented to the maintenance team and the test phase was discussed.
Execution of the test run
A three-month test phase was prepared in collaboration with Operations1 and the first system groups were defined for a three-month test run.
Rollout to entire maintenance
The internal exchange within the maintenance team provided very positive feedback, as a result of which Operations1 was successively rolled out to other system groups.
The digital documentation with Operations1 is very well received by customers and auditors.
Management Assistant, Schwäbische Härtetechnik Ulm
Results
Maintenance planning and document management is now centralized with the maintenance manager. Maintenance staff can focus entirely on carrying out maintenance and repairs, as maintenance orders and associated digital maintenance checklists are assigned directly in the software.
Whereas it used to take several days for an improvement suggestion to be implemented in the maintenance instructions and made available, this now takes just a few clicks.
Further added value
Steigerung der Instandhaltungsqualität
Increase in maintenance quality
Real-time transparency of maintenance tasks
Faster response to occurring problems
Reliable prevention of machine downtimes through automated maintenance planning
Increased documentation quality and evaluability
Digitize your maintenance with Operations1
Let's get into conversation with each other
Would you like to know how the digitalization of your maintenance processes can be realized with Operations1?
Arrange a non-binding appointment with our team. Our experts will be happy to advise you based on your individual use case.