Westrock Coffee

Background

Westrock Coffee (opens in new tab) Company is the leading beverage solutions partner for the most iconic global brands. Located in Little Rock, Arkansas, this coffee manufacturer started in Rwanda in 2009 as a vision to break the cycle of unfair pricing in the coffee industry, a feat often left untouched by competition. The companies' mission is to empower farmers and communities through transparency, fair trade, and sustainable practices.

But it’s in Conway, Arkansas, where we find Marc Roberts, a Maintenance Planner, Fiix Administrator, and Inventory Control Specialist at Westrock Coffee Company. Roberts plays a crucial role in building asset data, coordinating training, managing work orders, and ensuring parts are effectively tracked and utilized through the Fiix CMMS.

When I arrive at work, I review our dashboards to identify new requests and review our scheduled work orders. This allows us to address any potential issues that might delay completion, giving us a clear picture of where we stand and where we’re headed.

As the team navigates the start-up phase, they leverage the Fiix CMMS to plan maintenance intervals, schedule preventive maintenance (PM), and establish protocols for both reactive and non-scheduled maintenance.

Challenges: New software, new processes

Westrock Coffee faced a range of challenges prior to implementing the Fiix CMMS. One of the biggest was effectively coordinating the various maintenance tasks, and work orders. Additionally, managing the flow of information and responding to maintenance issues promptly is a critical necessity.

When unexpected challenges arise that could disrupt their timelines, the team must quickly address these in their Tuesday meetings to ensure operations remain on track for the following week.

If there's a problem that comes up that's going to shift our deadline, then we address that in our Tuesday morning meetings and identify ways to expedite or solve them.

Solution: The Fiixers Community

To address these challenges, Westrock Coffee utilizes the Fiix CMMS to optimize their maintenance processes. Roberts conducts regular reviews of their dashboards to monitor new requests and scheduled work orders. He regularly collaborates with the other teams to discuss and triage ongoing issues, making updates to open work orders within the CMMS. As a Fiix CMMS administrator, he is also responsible for creating user accounts, assigning roles, and coordinating training sessions for new employees.

The Fiix Help Desk (The Help Center (opens in new tab)) and the open Help Forum in The Fiixers Community (opens in new tab) has proven invaluable. “I kinda joke around that it has become my Fiix Google, I go in there and type questions and get responses back quickly,” he says. When questions arise, Roberts and his team utilize the community as a resource for immediate support and answers to their problems.

This practice has trickled down through the rest of the company culture. Now team members feel comfortable asking questions and seeking assistance with using the software instead of trying to just “make do”. Roberts says that giving each team member a tablet and access to their Fiix CMMS dashboards has made a world of a difference. They can see their assigned work for the day and report any issues or work requests without having to fill out physical paperwork.

Results: Streamlined processes, and answered questions

The implementation of the Fiix CMMS has had a significant positive impact on Westrock maintenance operations. As a team it has enabled them to consolidate information in the user-friendly Fiix CMMS, making important resources accessible. Fiix CMMS has provided the structure needed to create streamlined learning processes, improved communication, and fostered a collaborative environment across the organization.

Additionally, the training that Roberts experiences with Fiix has enhanced efficiency, allowing him to translate those learnings to other team members to adapt quickly and feel more capable in their roles.

Overall, Fiix Software as a whole has empowered Westrock Coffee to maintain better control over their maintenance management, providing answers to questions they didn’t even know needed to be asked, resulting in more effective operations and improved productivity.