Moulin du Pivert harmonizes its maintenance practices thanks to the DIMO Maint OM CMMS

The Aveyron organic biscuit factory automates its planned maintenance

Originally a milling company for several generations, Moulin du Pivert (50 employees, €13M turnover in 2021) became a family organic biscuit factory in the eighties. The current production site, located in the west of Aveyron, was rehabilitated in 2015. The brand develops a range of varied biscuits throughout specialized French and European networks, based on local and quality ingredients, advocating a healthy delicacy. The company has also been present occasionally in Japan since 2021 and also in the Middle East. In 2018, Moulin du Pivert joined the Galapagos family group, specializing in traditional recipes. Thibault Vidal joined the company in 2019 as Technical Manager and upon his arrival, he quickly required a solution to centralize information and harmonize practices.

A multi-skilled maintenance team

Thibault Vidal oversees maintenance and upkeep of the installations, investments and new work. His team is made up of six multi-skilled technicians who work in 3 shifts, while production is in 2×8. Night-time maintenance allows for daily planned maintenance, as well as preparation for format and packaging changes. A coordinator manages the planning and, as such, is a major user of the CMMS. The maintenance department manages lifting assets under a maintenance contract, all production machines, infrastructures, and buildings. The multi-skills of the team (boiler making, mechanics, electricity, pneumatics, automation) reduce the need to call on external contractors.

Need for a functional CMMS

A tool had been used previously, but its functionalities were not fully exploited. Having had experience of CMMS, Thibault Vidal knew the importance of unifying methods, developing planned maintenance, centralising data and pooling information. It has therefore modernised its methods, moving from a multitude of scattered Excel files (spare parts, assets, interventions) to rigorous information processing. The aim was to secure the processing and updating of information and prevent any source of error or duplication. The reporting was originally distorted, as nothing was comparable from one month to the next.

Environmental scanning as a starting point

The data was therefore reformatted beforehand, starting in the last half of 2019, by prioritising the recovery of the assets and article databases, by carrying out a warehouse inventory, and by developing a reflection on the nomenclature. Mr Vidal was thus able to ask questions about the breakdown of the factory, assets and sub-assemblies. Although the process of specialised lines is relatively simple, the job volume was still quite high. A study carried out in maintenance enabled better management of purchases, from the order to the delivery of items. “The idea was to have a virtual shop that corresponded to reality, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises during jobs“, says Thibault Vidal.

Processes are now streamlined

Today, the entire department (7 people) uses CMMS and relies on two administrators. The coordinator creates the operating procedures, defines the planned actions, and assigns them according to the time slots, the availability of the machines and the skills of the technicians. It takes stock of the actions in progress and those carried out. It also manages the upstream needs related to these jobs, particularly in terms of assets or to occasionally call on external expertise.

The department has two dedicated input stations. Each technician starts his shift by consulting his schedule and browsing the BT (work orders) assigned to him. The documents are sometimes printed when the procedure is complex. However, the entry of the day’s activities is carried out at the end of the shift.

Get to know DIMO Maint OM

The centralization of data is the major element of our CMMS

“Looking for a modus operandi or contact has become very streamlined. We now know where to find information quickly. What I like about DIMO Maint OM is that the tool is general enough to cover all the functions and data that the Maintenance department may need,” says Thibault Vidal. He adds:

“I use the tiles to have a number of daily indications on the BT in progress, the orders to receive, etc. I use the editions to make exports for monthly analyses on breakdowns, compare entries, machine availability, the latter indicator being the main reference of the service. This implies being rigorous about the hourly operation times of the machines, which can be variable from one line to another, but also on the job classification (planned, corrective) to have the right ratios”.

CMMS: a plus with regards to certifying bodies

Moulin du Pivert is subject to quality certifications. For example, the company has been IFS certified for two years, a system similar to ISO 9001:2000. This is a necessity for access to large-scale international distribution. The CMMS provides traceability of jobs. “It proves that we are managing planned maintenance and that is very reassuring,” says Thibault Vidal.

4 key benefits of CMMS

For Thibault Vidal, the solution allows:

• Centralisation of data,
• Harmonisation of processes,
• Automatic management of planned maintenance,
• Reporting and analysis.

Eventually, the maintenance department will be able to anticipate orders and manage replenishments automatically. For the time being, contract management – currently handled via Excel – has not yet been integrated. “We will be looking at budget management in order to make the most of the range of functions offered by DIMO Maint OM,” concludes Thibault Vidal.

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