Allagash Brewing Company
An award-winning brewery seeks, and finds, an award-winning maintenance management solution with results to match.
Introduction
Allagash Brewing Company is a certified B Corp located in Portland, Maine, that crafts award-winning, Belgian-inspired beer. They produce hundreds of barrels of beer every day and operate high-speed can lines, glass lines, and kegging in a facility that spans 120,000 square feet, all while maintaining a commitment to their community and the environment.
The 145-person staff that runs Allagash includes a 16-person engineering team that encompasses IT, automation, engineering, facilities, and maintenance. The business has experienced rapid growth over the last decade.
The Challenge
When Ryan Fisher joined Allagash Brewing as Maintenance Manager, he was impressed with the high-caliber maintenance team. But it was clear that their maintenance management systems simply couldn’t keep up. They were using multiple solutions to support their work, and even then, their technology was not fully meeting their needs.
“The old system was pretty sluggish,” explained Sean Diffley, the Director of Engineering for Allagash. The CMMS in particular – used for preventive maintenance and some asset history – was the source of numerous complaints from across the organization because it was so slow and difficult to use.
The system was taking a toll on the maintenance team as well. It didn’t provide the visibility, structure, or accountability to track the completion of maintenance tasks. While they were extremely diligent in keeping their maintenance supplies and processes organized, it took a lot of time to reflect that across all their software systems accurately. In addition, having information spread across multiple platforms undercut their ability to be strategic and efficient. On top of everything else, customer support was nonexistent.
“The Maintenance Manager and I were spending five to ten hours a week just taking care of the administrative tasks within our CMMS. The engagement from our technicians just wasn't good. They didn't like using the system because it was so clunky and slow.”
Sean Diffley, Engineering Director
When a major breakdown occurred on a critical asset, the issues with their current system hindered their response. They did not have quick access to view the asset’s history and the parts they needed weren’t on the shelf. “Seeing such a strong team be so frustrated by the position they were in made it clear that we had to do something,” explained Ryan.
Ryan knew that most modern CMMS systems were highly functional and well organized, but finding one that was also user-friendly was going to be a challenge. They began their search for an upgrade that could bring all their current needs onto one platform. It also needed to include:
- Easy-to-use mobile app
- Fast loading speed
- Better work request and management experience
- Great customer service
- Reporting and data insights to help improve processes
- Ability to customize fields on the fly, without going through an admin or vendor
The Solution
They began their research by reading reviews of leading CMMS providers and quickly zeroed in on Limble because of its positive reputation for usability and customer support. They were able to visit a nearby business that used Limble to see it in action. “Being able to see the success that other places have had with Limble was the biggest selling point,” said Ryan.
Through weekly implementation meetings with Limble, the team delegated each area of their maintenance program across their team for quicker setup. The Allagash team especially appreciated being able to upload and customize their assets within the platform rather than needing to go through the Limble team for each custom field.
“We found it was a lot easier to get asset information into the Limble system by taking a picture, looking at the serial number, and adding fields that were customized to Allagash. It was a lot more user-friendly from a management perspective where we could add what we wanted as we saw fit.”
Sean Diffley, Director of Engineering
Within one month, they had built their asset structure in the system. By the end of the second month, they were able to scan barcodes on their assets to access the information they needed to coordinate maintenance work. At the time, they had 400 assets. Now, they are managing over 2,000 assets in Limble.
As the team began using the system, they realized how many workarounds they had built into their day-to-day that they no longer needed. Little by little, their growing repository of maintenance data helped them ensure that every task they completed was completed efficiently and worth the time. “Limble has allowed me to see what the work is for the week, make sure it is spread evenly, and that it is providing value,” shared Ryan.
The Result
Allagash’s Maintenance Mechanic, Sam Livingstone, describes Limble as a game-changer. “Limble has made a tremendous impact on our entire department.” They have reduced unplanned work orders by over 40%, and eliminated five different systems with Limble’s all-in-one platform. And that is just the beginning. Results have come in many different forms, and the more the team uses the system, the more uses they find for it.
Improved machine reliability
With access to work histories and machine data, the maintenance team at Allagash can use their time more wisely to simply get more done.
“By understanding our workload through data, we found where we had more available time. We were able to fill that with more PMs, which we found made our equipment much more reliable”
Ryan Fisher, Maintenance Manager
Now, breakdowns are much less frequent, further making their team more available for other projects. “We were having a breakdown at least weekly, and now we’ll go three or four weeks, even five weeks before a breakdown,” shares Ryan. And when breakdowns do happen, they have the tools to find root causes and adjust their processes accordingly.
Data-driven decision making
Ryan has also found it much easier to give Allagash’s leadership team the visibility they need to make data-driven decisions. When an investment is needed in the maintenance or engineering departments, justification for the expense is now much easier to provide. He recently used workload data from Limble to support backfilling an open mechanic position. “It felt good for them too, because they can be sure they aren’t wasting money on a position that isn’t needed,” explained Ryan.
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Cost savings on parts and vendors
Before Limble, Allagash didn’t have a reliable system for managing parts and tasks. As a result, they frequently relied on third-party vendors to coordinate repairs. Limble has allowed them to move equipment servicing in-house, giving them more control over repairs and expenses. “Our mechanic now organizes equipment PMs and parts in Limble so that next time, we don’t need the vendor to help us with that – he has the confidence that the information he needs is in Limble,” explains Ryan.
As for parts savings, the team is no longer making weekly trips to the store or regularly placing expensive expedited orders to replace out-of-stock parts. Through better visibility into their PM schedule and parts needs, they have improved their inventory management and saved significantly.
Limble has enabled more accuracy and transparency in their records, which also resulted in significant savings during just one recent incident. When a breakdown occurred, Allagash’s maintenance mechanic took charge of a repair that, in the past, would have been outsourced. He identified an incorrect — and much more costly – part that had been delivered by a vendor. The records kept in Limble enabled a refund that saved thousands. “I don’t know if he would have taken that project on before Limble because he wouldn’t have felt like he had a system that could help him,” says Ryan.
Improved team morale, trust, and efficiency
Before Limble, the maintenance team had stopped relying on their software systems to provide accurate parts inventory levels, locations, maintenance histories, and other basics. Now, the maintenance team trusts that Limble will always be the accurate source of truth.
``If we ever had a breakdown or we needed a part, they would be spending an hour in the store room just looking through shelves. Now, since Limble, we have more faith in what's in there, we know that it's accurate, and it's really helping them do their job more efficiently.``
Ryan Fisher, Maintenance Manager
The improvements within the maintenance team go beyond clicking boxes in an app. Team morale has improved because Limble has given them the data they need to think strategically. “Limble has helped our technicians grow their careers because now they look at things more analytically. Rather than just filling in the blanks, they have the information they need to make decisions to do things better and go to the next level.”
The rest of the Allagash staff – who once joined the maintenance team in expressing frustration with their old systems – know that Limble is the place to go when issues arise. They have even started leveraging Limble to track all kinds of internal support requests across the organization. “Whether it is IT, facilities, maintenance, or engineering, it all goes through one single Limble form,” explains Sean.
Looking back on their experience with Limble, the team feels more prepared for the future and ready to support Allagash’s operations. Ryan Fisher, Maintenance Mechanic has been at the forefront and is happy with the result. “Limble really helps the company feel more secure and in control.”