Improved maintenance has given Lantmännen higher availability and increased production

– When Lantmännen identified the need to collaborate with us, it meant creating uniform and improved maintenance processes, lowering costs, increasing operational reliability and maintaining the value of the facilities. Lantmännen’s ambition and goal with maintenance is to maximize the lifespan of its equipment and machines and improve efficiency. They needed a partner who could have an increased focus on preventive maintenance and who could collect data for analyzes to increase availability in their production, says Jenny Brodén, who is responsible for Lantmännenkontrakt at Jernbro.

Lantmännen currently has a framework agreement with Jernbro for around 20 operations that refers to a comprehensive solution, where Jernbro works with preventive and remedial maintenance, as well as improvements and modifications.

– If we compare 2023 with 2019, when we produced about the same amount, we have a calm and relaxed organization today. There is no pressure and stress for the operators, but we work systematically and obtain the volumes that are to be produced and that make hauliers and end customers satisfied. Jernbro’s staff have access to the machines to perform preventive maintenance according to our plans. There is a completely different atmosphere in the company now compared to 4 years ago. A contributing factor to the positive development is that we work with continuous improvement work, linked to increasing the plant’s capacity. Actually, no major investments have been made, but rather small improvement works, says Peder.

Peder lets the statistics speak for themselves by showing that Lidköping had 27% acute remedial maintenance in 2018 which in 2023 has decreased to 11% and that preventive maintenance in 2018 was 29% which in 2023 has increased to 41%.

– By working more proactively, long-term and forward, Lantmännen can have better control over its production facilities regarding maintenance and we can make wise decisions together. We have common KPIs and targets that we follow for all facilities included in the contract with Lantmännen. We also have decided working methods that must be followed and that are common at all facilities, says Jenny.

– Working according to the plan we had when we entered into our collaboration, by pushing back the acute maintenance by working systematically with preventive maintenance, has thus contributed to a positive development. An important part of success is creating time for Jernbro’s staff to do maintenance and keep it ongoing all the time, says Peder.

All work and all costs incurred are registered per event on the object where the work was performed. Since the start of the collaboration, information from around 120,000 service orders has been collected, which now forms a large database that enables analysis and initiation of improvements. Error causes, costs and stop times can be analysed, among other things. This contributes to Lantmännen being able to achieve its goals regarding increased operational reliability, reduced costs and pinpoint accuracy in investments.

– In the digital interface, Jernbro Performance Portal, which Jernbro has developed, we can see the development of all our common key figures, such as the execution of preventive maintenance and statistics on the number of service orders. The advantage is that we and Jernbro see the same data and can discuss it and implement measures in case of deviation. It is also very good that we can look at which machine items are causing problems and put in improvement measures or perhaps increase the frequency of preventive maintenance. Jernbro also helps us to follow up objects subject to inspection, in a clear way, says Peder.

An employee at Lantmännen studies Jernbro Performance Portal

This year, Jernbro and Lantmännen have initiated that Jernbro will come up with ten improvement proposals per facility. Many proposals deal with increased operational reliability or reduced costs, but improvements that increase safety are also common. Lantmännen assesses which improvement proposals should be implemented based on benefit and profitability. Peder thinks that the initiative creates good cooperation between the companies.

Work environment and safety is an area that is in focus for both Lantmännen and Jernbro and therefore receives a lot of attention in the collaboration.

– We and Jernbro have found that we had too high accident rate in previous years. But through systematic work with risk observations and risk inventories before starting work, we have taken big steps forward and the number of accidents has decreased, says Peder.

– It is nice to see that we are lifting ourselves up together in terms of safety through Lantmännen investing in measures and that we share experiences if something happens. This has meant that the accident statistics have decreased in recent years for both, Jenny adds.

– At Jernbro, we feel very involved in Lantmännen’s successes and challenges. It is a close collaboration where we are on site at the facilities and have common goals. It is when we do something together that it turns out well, and in this case it is that Lantmännen can produce fully, says Jenny.

− I want to emphasize that Jernbro has very knowledgeable staff in the Lidköping factory. With great commitment and a high level of service, situations are handled quickly and well, even when there are sometimes difficult conditions or a tight schedule. The staff’s experience and knowledge at Jernbro has thus also been a contributing factor to the positive development, Peder concludes .