TEEKANNE brings maintenance management to a new level
Enjoying tea and innovation: that is what TEEKANNE GmbH & Co. KG has been representing for 140 years.
The company is known for having the highest production quality and new flavours. Alongside this, it is known for the invention of the packaging machine for tea bags as well as the dual-chamber tea bags that are now used all over the world.
Challenges
- Standardising maintenance management.
- Replacing the existing solution and integrating with SAP.
- International Featured Standards (IFS) certification required (audit-proof system).
- Mobile solution required.
- More transparency and higher maintenance productivity.
- Implementation at more locations.
Results
- Digitising maintenance management.
- Mobile working - on a tablet whilst at a machine.
- Better data about maintenance and repairs - and thus optimising the availability of the equipment.
- ISO- and IFS-compliant documentation.
With production facilities and sites in seven countries, over 1300 employees and an extensive network of global sales partners, TEEKANNE is a market leader in the tea industry.
In production, TEEKANNE uses the latest processes and technologies. In 2018, the company introduced IFS Ultimo Enterprise Asset Management to digitise its maintenance management. "Paperless production is part of TEEKANNE's business strategy. IFS Ultimo makes our maintenance management mobile and accessible everywhere. So, the EAM system is essential for the implementation of a digital and paperless production administration," explains Malte Poschman, who is responsible for the introduction and use of the EAM system as the head of Environment & Production Systems at TEEKANNE. The system was initially installed on the company's servers and linked to an SAP interface for stock management. This replaced its own Excel-based solution that no longer met the increasingly high requirements.
Document maintenance tasks directly on the shop floor
At the end of 2021, TEEKANNE updated its system and switched to the Azure cloud. Since then, the company has been using the latest version of IFS Ultimo Enterprise Asset Management in the cloud, which makes data and documents accessible anywhere and at any time. Malte Poschmann added: "With IFS Ultimo, our employees now work on their tablets directly near the machines and have access to maintenance tasks and documents anywhere and at any time. The intuitive software simplifies the execution and registration of work. At the same time, IFS Ultimo provides us with a valuable overview of the performance of our equipment and the required maintenance."
Documentation meets International Featured Standards (IFS) requirements with IFS Ultimo
It was very important for TEEKANNE that maintenance tasks and repairs could be documented in a way that was audit-proof in order to meet the high requirements for the International Featured Standards (IFS) certification. As an audit-proof system, IFS Ultimo helps by registering all executed work activities in a way that is traceable. Having mobile access directly at the machine makes it possible to perform the procedure according to checklists and processes. It also provides reliable registration of all activities, including operational hours and downtime.
Data-based optimisation of maintenance
TEEKANNE also analyses the data collected with IFS Ultimo to optimise the maintenance intervals and to use the acquired knowledge to increase the availability of the production equipment. Scheduled maintenance tasks make sure that system components, which are important for safety, such as emergency stop switches, are checked regularly. This increases safety in the workplace and helps with the registration of how the applicable regulations have been met. The inspection of company assets is also mapped using IFS Ultimo.
High usability
In preparation for the introduction of the EAM solution, TEEKANNE researched the suitability of different solutions on the basis of a requirement management plan. The deciding factors for choosing IFS Ultimo were the usability and the recommendation from an existing IFS Ultimo customer in the Netherlands. During a visit, they showed TEEKANNE the solution and answered important questions, particularly those regarding its use in the food industry. "The quick response and good support were what convinced us, together with the IFS Ultimo's value for money," explained Malte Poschman. "This impression was then reinforced during the implementation and configuration, and we are very happy with our decision."
Another German site of the company is now also working with IFS Ultimo, and it has already planned the implementation of IFS Ultimo in other factories, including international sites. The next step is to also implement SAP in the cloud. Malte Poschmann concluded: "IFS Ultimo helps us improve the productivity of our equipment and optimise the maintenance management. We are looking forward to further utilising the potential of these advanced EAM solutions."
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