Case Study

Introduction

Founded in 1999, Senasys is a small manufacturing business based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It manufactures over a million products yearly across more than 15 varieties. It serves various industries like medical, food service, industrial, railway, HVAC, aerospace, electronics, aquatic, and more.

Trevor manages the machining side of the company, which specializes in manufacturing thermostat switches, including micro switches, air-actuated switches for saunas/hot tubs, and capillary thermostat switches. Nine years ago, the company expanded to add a small machine shop to support in-house projects and bought a local machine shop. The company is now involved in switch/thermostat manufacturing and job shop machining.

Senasys has grown and adapted over the years, focusing more on enhancing operational efficiency and minimizing costs. Implementing EZO CMMS has greatly helped Senasys manage inventory and work orders, improving maintenance processes for the organization.

Challenges faced before EZO CMMS

Before implementing EZO CMMS, their machine shop faced several operational challenges, especially those related to managing inventory and the efficiency of work orders. The major pain point was managing the machining tool inventory. Shortages of machining and essential tools during critical projects caused unexpected downtime, leading to costly delays.

The company was having problems with CNC machines that were running around the clock and breaking tools mid-job. Then, replacements were also not in stock, leading to increased downtime.

The company was searching for a better, streamlined way to assign tasks to employees and ensure that they had all the important information they needed to finish those tasks. The lack of streamlined workflows for work orders led to reduced productivity.

Even though Senasys has started using EZO CMMS for better inventory management, Trevor mentioned that they need to fully integrate it into their regular maintenance processes. The company looks forward to using the maintenance management solution to track maintenance tasks, their associated costs, and the time spent on each task.

EZO CMMS: The turning point for Senasys

Trevor chose EZO CMMS as the maintenance management solution because it seemed simple and easy to use compared to the other complex, expensive options in the market. EZO CMMS made for an easy transition that fit their needs.

EZO CMMS offers several features that address the issues Senasys faces. One of the key features include improved inventory management. Using EZO CMMS, the company gained better control over its machining tool inventory, lowering the risk of running out of tools in the middle of projects. This resulted in reducing unexpected downtimes and ensuring projects stayed on schedule.

When asked about any changes in staff, productivity, or time savings since implementing EZO CMMS, Trevor responded,

“There has been around a 20% efficiency improvement from not having to search for missing tools. Employees don’t have to spend time looking for items that aren’t in stock.”

Another remarkable feature of EZO CMMS that helped Trevor is the remote management capability. The cloud-based system enables Trevor to manage maintenance tasks even while traveling. He can create and assign work orders remotely, ensuring his team remains productive no matter where he is.

Trevor also praises EZO CMMS’s easy implementation and customer support. The onboarding process for EZO CMMS has been smooth for Senasys. Trevor’s team became comfortable with the solution in about 1-2 weeks, especially with using tablets for mobile access. On the other hand, the quick and responsive assistance from the EZO CMMS customer support team played a vital role in the easy transition, often providing solutions to Trevor’s team within an hour.

Senasys also noticed a major improvement in their costs and efficiency in distributing work orders after implementing EZO CMMS.

Trevor said,
“Costs have improved from consolidating suppliers and getting better pricing through purchase orders, saving $5,000 to 10,000 per month.”

The company now has better control over purchasing and has reduced over-ordering, securing better deals from suppliers.

Future Goals with EZO CMMS

Trevor sees many opportunities to improve Senasys’s operations with the help of EZO CMMS. His company’s next step is to use this maintenance management platform to keep track of maintenance tasks, associated costs, and the time spent on each task.

By integrating into maintenance management completely, Trevor believes his company can gain better insights into its maintenance activities and make more informed decisions.

When asked about what additional features or functionalities Trevor would want to see in EZO CMMS to better meet his company’s needs, he said that he is particularly interested in the upcoming QuickBooks integration. This could make the company’s financial management processes simpler.

He also looks forward to features that can help him manage customer billing and invoicing, allowing him to adopt more streamlined financial processes for his company.