Bush Brothers

Background

Bush’s^® (opens in new tab) started as a modest family cannery in 1908 in Chestnut Hill, Tennessee, by A.J. Bush. These simple beans became an American pantry staple, and soon, with increased popularity, the Bush family found a new way to prepare those precious beans that would change the world forever.

If you’ve recently had a can of their beans, you would know that sauce that the beans are slowly simmered in a top-secret family recipe. That secret sauce only propelled them further into the hearts, tables and stomachs of North Americans. Around that time (1962) they opened a plant in a small town of August, Wisconsin, which brings us to where we are today, 115 years later where the legacy continues.

In their Augusta Wisconsin plant, we meet Anthony Peterson, a Maintenance and Reliability Manager at Bush Brothers and Company. Prior to this Peterson held the position of Operations Manager, where over 50% of the maintenance team at Bush Brothers and Company reported directly to him. The company decided to take their maintenance strategy to the next level having him focus solely on the maintenance and reliability of the August plant.

The challenge: Canning under pressure

The Augusta plant is a full-spectrum production line, handling everything from sourcing and importing the raw ingredients, to cooking, canning, and shipping the product out to customers. This means every step of the production processes needed to run smoothly to ensure customers were getting the best quality products on time.

As part of this ambitious initiative, Peterson and his team set out to find a software solution that would facilitate their maintenance processes while allowing for flexibility and growth. To ensure they made an informed decision, they issued a request for quotes that clearly outlined their requirements and distributed it to several CMMS suppliers.

After thorough evaluations, four vendors were shortlisted for interviews, each given the opportunity to demonstrate their solutions.

One of the big things we really wanted is we wanted interface flexibility, so we didn't have to go to the software manufacturer every time we wanted to make a little tweak or change.

With plans to make big changes to their maintenance program, Peterson prioritized flexibility and ease-of-use as key factors in the decision-making process.

The Solution: The Fiix CMMS Difference

After a few rounds of interviews with vendors, Fiix CMMS came out on top and was chosen. Other than flexibility, a few factors that impressed Peterson and his team were how simple it was to create a PM or add or change and asset on an interface that any maintenance technician or operator could understand. Another winning feature was the Fiix team put emphasis on innovation and partnership at the forefront of their business. Meaning the software had potential to adapt to the needs of Bush’s growing business.

Although Fiix software’s predictive analytics capabilities were still in development at the time, Peterson and his team recognized the alignment between the company’s future vision and their long-term goals.

We want a software that would grow, with us as well ...we were talking about where Fiix was headed in predictive technologies, and they had a good solution for that.

Following the selection of Fiix CMMS, Peterson began implementation. With the help of the Fiix Professional Services team and drawing on lessons from a previous unsuccessful implementation of a Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Anthony was determined to adopt a collaborative approach this time.

Note: Fiix by Rockwell Automation has since launched, Analytics and Fiix Asset Risk Predictor

We've implemented other software in the production manufacturing area, we developed and created an MES system... Our first implementation of that (MES) at the time was not very successful because, we didn't include operations or maintenance in the process.

He carefully assembled a cross-functional team that included maintenance technicians, management, and operational staff to ensure that the voices of all stakeholders were included in the process to ensure there was alignment early on for things like asset hierarchies, naming conventions, parts management etc.

The results: Autonomy for technicians and operators

Fiix CMMS put the power back into the technicians' hands: they no longer needed to worry about them being able to open and close work orders independently, set up PMs, stay on top of backlog, and keep track of work order history.

That worked out really well for about four years. But then we decided we wanted to run even better. The plants, at this time the plants were running right about 85 % efficiency. So they're doing okay, but we wanted to do more.

With that initial success, the team set a new goal of reaching +90% efficiency across plants meaning they need more data, more focus, and more help from their maintenance software. “We think we can someday get to that 90 %+ efficiencies mark, which is pretty-high for a change over line,” says Peterson. To achieve those goals, the team will explore the AI tools that Fiix software has to offer such as Fiix Foresight, to help build the foundation they need to eventually use predictive maintenance to bring their plants to 99.9% efficiency.

Thinking ahead: The future of baked beans

Without Petersons’ leadership and vision, combined with Fiix software's innovative solution, allowed the maintenance team to better support the company’s overarching goal of delivering high-quality products to customers.

This journey exemplifies how strategic partnerships and a commitment to continuous improvement can drive success in the corporate world. As Bush Brothers & Company moves forward, the collaboration with Fiix by Rockwell Automation positions them to navigate future challenges and embrace new opportunities, ensuring that they remain an industry leader for generations to come.