From Firefighting to Future-Focused: How Sigga Modernized Maintenance for Ingredion
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Key Takeaways
⇨ Ingredion transformed its maintenance culture from reactive to proactive by implementing mobile EAM solutions, enabling technicians to efficiently report issues directly from the shop floor, which increased notification reporting and improved data quality in the SAP system.
⇨ The integration of advanced planning and scheduling tools reduced the time needed for scheduling from two days to just two hours, allowing planners to focus on strategic tasks and significantly boosting productivity.
⇨ Fostering a reliability culture within the organization requires not only the adoption of new technologies like Sigga's solutions but also a commitment to leadership, education, and continuous improvement to shift mindsets from firefighting to proactive maintenance.
Have you ever felt like your maintenance team is perpetually stuck battling breakdowns instead of building reliability? That was the reality for Ingredion, a global food giant, before a strategic shift transformed its reactive maintenance culture.
In a recent webinar, Rafael Padilha, Director of Reliability and Continuous Improvement at Ingredion, highlighted how the company made the turnaround powered by solutions like Sigga.
The Daily Grind of Reactive Maintenance
Ingredion runs multiple plants across different countries, each speaking a different language, in terms of reliability, according to Padilha. The company’s maintenance reality was rooted in a break-and-repair philosophy, a concept that, Padilha admitted, echoed the 1960s rather than the 21st century.
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This reactive mode meant vital information wasn’t captured effectively in Ingredion’s SAP system, hindering any fundamental understanding of losses. “If you want to solve a loss,” Padilha emphasized, “99% of the path is understanding the loss.”
However, proper understanding was impossible without good data, and the firefighting cycle continued. Technicians, miles from a computer, often saw problems but did not report them due to cumbersome processes, leading to forgotten issues and inevitable breakdowns.
The Turning Point
The shift for Ingredion began with a conscious decision to build a robust reliability process and tackle inefficiencies head-on. Two major pain points for Padilha were technicians’ difficulty reporting issues in the field and the cumbersome, time-consuming planning and scheduling process within SAP.
This is where mobile solutions came into play. Ingredion implemented Sigga’s mobile EAM solutions, empowering technicians to report issues, take photos, and even record audio notes directly from the shop floor with just a few clicks. “If you’re a technician, you see a problem, you need only two clicks to report it – take a photo and report a notification,” Padilha explained, highlighting how this streamlined process ensures crucial data reaches SAP promptly.
This change helped the company capture quality information at the source for effective asset management in an SAP environment.
Alongside mobile capabilities, a robust planning and scheduling solution was key. What once took planners two days of wrestling with SAP to schedule the week’s work was reduced to just two hours. This freed planners to focus on more strategic tasks like maintenance improvements and cost reduction. Padilha mentioned that a proof of concept with Sigga demonstrated a significant 20% reduction in time spent on tasks, underscoring the efficiency gains.
The Ripple Effect
The impact was transformative. Ingredion saw:
- Doubled notification reporting: More issues were captured, especially from technicians in the field, providing a clearer picture of asset health within SAP.
- Drastic reduction in scheduling time: Ingredion reduced its scheduling time from two days to two hours, boosting planner productivity.
- Enhanced data quality: This led to better decision-making and a more reliable SAP data foundation.
- Improved efficiency and cost reduction: Better resource allocation and a reduced need for external contractors helped the company become more cost-effective.
- A cultural shift: Moving from reactive firefighting to a proactive, preventive maintenance mindset helped the company break production records.
What This Means for SAPinsiders
Ingredion’s success story with Sigga offers invaluable insights for SAP professionals looking to optimize their maintenance operations:
Empower your field teams with mobile EAM. User-friendly mobile solutions are critical for capturing accurate, timely data directly from the source. This enriched data within your SAP PM module is the bedrock of informed decision-making and proactive strategies. As Padilha noted, it makes the technician’s life easier and brings high-quality information.
Supercharge SAP with advanced planning and scheduling. Native SAP PM is powerful, but specialized planning and scheduling tools can unlock new levels of efficiency. The ability to rapidly create and adjust schedules, manage resources effectively, and integrate with broader operational plans, as Ingredion did, turns your SAP system into a more dynamic and responsive asset management hub.
Drive cultural change with technology as an enabler. Implementing new tools is only half the battle. Fostering a reliability culture, as Padilha emphasized, involves finding change agents, educating personnel, and demonstrating value. Technologies like Sigga’s act as powerful enablers, but leadership and a commitment to continuous improvement are essential to truly shifting from a reactive to a proactive maintenance paradigm within your SAP-driven organization.
