Chief Operations Officer
The challenge
Spuhr was founded in 2007 by Håkan Spuhr and has grown ever since. In 2020, 15 employees generated a turnover of EUR 4 million (converted from krona). A key recipe for success is the high level of manufacturing depth at the company headquarters in Löddeköpinge, 20 minutes from Malmö. Keeping pace with the increase in revenue, the machine fleet is regularly expanded there and thus makes growing demands when it comes to predictive maintenance. Analogue information and communication pathways reached their limit some time ago.
As COO, Leif Madsen is responsible for ensuring seamless processes and stable production. From his previous experience, which includes the field of medical technology, he is aware of the advantages and opportunities created by consistent digitalisation of the maintenance processes. He was therefore even more aware that action was needed at Spuhr: “Only full information creates the basis to carry out analyses on the machine fleet and make reliable decisions. With paper files like we had previously this cannot be achieved. That’s why we need a digital solution.” The declared goal was about creating more transparency and thus increase efficiency in the entire maintenance process at Spuhr.
Issues resulting from this:
Insufficient transparency when it comes to machines and their productivity
Lots of relevant information available only on paper
In many cases, maintenance processes are still dealt with manually
Founded in
employees
million turnover (EUR)
Finding solutions
The key points that we expected from the maintenance software can be fulfilled with WERKBLiQ as standard. The decision was easy for us.
The company’s ideal scenario was to record the existing machines from various manufacturers centrally with just one maintenance platform and to be able to document all processes, whether recurring service work or unplanned repairs. Leif Madsen was also looking for some suitable software to ensure direct access at any time to handbooks, service plans and similar documents. “Every machine has its own service channels. We wanted to collate this information in one place, down to the contact details of the respective service technicians.” The COO had already reviewed numerous solutions before he started working more intensively with the WERKBLiQ platform at the start of 2020 at the DMG MORI in-house trade show in Pfronten.
The decision
As one of the first WERKBLiQ users, Spuhr decided to book the upgrade via the my DMG MORI customer portal. The three existing DMG MORI machines were already connected via this in advance. Implementation followed a brief test phase: It took just over four weeks until the launch in mid-May 2020. “Everything went very quickly and seamlessly, thanks in part to the outstanding WERKBLiQ customer service,” comments Leif Madsen.
It is noteworthy that in view of the coronavirus situation which already existed in April 2020, all the communication took place virtually without any training or additional appointments on site. This confirms once again how targeted and simple digitalisation of maintenance is with WERKBLiQ.
“We went from zero to 100... from management entirely on paper to a completely digital system,” comments Madsen on the rapid and successful implementation. Launching an intelligent maintenance system was urgently required: The machine fleet continues to grow by at least one CNC system a year, making the administration of it increasingly complex. “Our machines run around the clock. Before WERKBLiQ, getting a fast and reliable overview of what had happened most recently on which system regarding maintenance and service – or would be needed again soon – wasn’t easy,” continues Madsen. The digital logbook that every machine operator can access from their own tablet makes exchanging information in day-to-day processes much easier. It was therefore important to Spuhr to also decide on a cloud-based solution with simple, mobile access.
The result
Now everyone involved, from the machine operator to management, has the greatest possible transparency at any time and at the touch of a button. The machine logbook is maintained on an ongoing basis at Spuhr and enables fundamental analyses of the system fleet to be carried out in day-to-day business operations. Regular reminders about maintenance orders, checklists or annual calibration give you confidence, and all maintenance routines can be carried out reliably. Details on warranty terms are provided there, as are the contact details of the respective service provider.
In addition, handbooks, maintenance plans and other important information is now available in PDF format for all machines in one centralised location in the digital library. “We added the machines and entered all the information ourselves,” continues Madsen. “It’s really easy and self-explanatory with the WERKBLiQ platform.” He also trained the employees himself in-house to use the digital maintenance management tool.
Another key benefit from Madsen’s perspective: In addition to the CNC machines, we were also able to add additional components and devices such as compressors, drilling machines or air heaters to the maintenance platform. Well over 30 objects are already recorded, and this trend is upwards. As part of a uniform system, Spuhr can thus display the maintenance and repairs for the entire production department. “That is a big selling point for WERKBLiQ,” underlines the COO.
The most important advantage for us already is that we are confident that we won’t miss anything any more when it comes to the maintenance of our machines.
No need for excessive paperwork. Instead, you can maintain a comprehensive overview of the machines and your productivity digitally at all times: WERKBLiQ has 100% met these expectations for Spuhr. The documentation of important parameters provides confidence in handling the machines, which run around the clock, and also facilitates comprehensive analyses. The employees now all have the same knowledge base and fast notification is ensured in the event of faults. Even better, regular testing schedules enable potential need for action to be identified at an early stage before serious issues can arise: “This has already prevented unplanned machine downtime and so saved us money in production,” underlines Leif Madsen. According to him, the digitalisation of the previously manual maintenance processes leads to a noticeably decreased workload at lots of levels. “We will still be analysing the scale of the time saving and the financial benefits thanks to the digital maintenance for a long time to come,” concludes the COO. “The most important advantage for us already is that we are confident that we won’t miss anything anymore when it comes to the maintenance of our machines.”
About Spuhr i Dalby AB
Spuhr i Dalby AB, established in 2007, is an innovative technology leader in manufacturing optical mounts for weapons. The systems and accessory components, which are manufactured in Sweden, are used by lots of military organisations and security authorities, including by the Swedish, Dutch and Danish armies, the German police and the Portuguese marines. Spuhr also makes a popular range of hunting products.
Since May 2020, CZG (Česká zbrojovka Group SE), one of the most important European small arms manufacturers, has held a share in the company. This long-term strategic partnership is intended to utilise synergies in the product ranges, markets, and customer groups.