ACH Foods manufactures some of America's most trusted cooking and baking ingredients, including Fleischmann's Yeast and Argo Cornstarch.
Creating the products is half the battle. They're responsible for protecting a 100+ year reputation of quality that millions of chefs count on.
The Breaking Point: Where Manual Processes Failed
Safeguarding a century-old legacy requires airtight maintenance strategies. Behind the scenes, rigid CMMS workflows created unnecessary friction for plant staff.
Michael Pratt, ACH's Maintenance and Reliability Specialist, tried four different CMMS packages. He consistently ran into barriers that trickled down to other departments.
- Inflexible work order formats overwhelmed technicians and planners with lengthy instructions and extra paperwork.
- Reporting processes took four hours, draining time and resources through manual data input and spreadsheet manipulation.
- Technicians took sensor readings by hand and created work orders later, leaving room for issues to worsen before repairs.
- Frequent technical problems stalled operations because getting phone support was next to impossible.
After years of inefficiencies, Pratt summed up the frustrations shared by his employees:
"We needed a product that worked for us, not vice versa."
MVP One: The Missing Ingredient for Reliability
Tired of bouncing between maintenance software, Pratt sought out a comprehensive system that fit seamlessly into existing workflows.
The search led to MVP One, a cloud-based CMMS that didn't need corporate servers or IT approvals. Additionally, the native SAP integration aligned inventory sourcing with real-time equipment needs.
The difference was immediate once the rest of the team was trained.
- MVP One allowed ACH to go paperless, saving 1.5 - 2 hours weekly in processing time.
- Monthly KPI reports were cut down to 30 minutes with simple date range inputs.
- Wireless data collection and automated PdMs led to an 11% uptime boost and 20% MRO decrease.
- Accurate cost data from MVP One and SAP's connection secured a 95% approval rate for capital projects.
Group Consensus
Pratt wasn't the only one who felt relief from the new CMMS. ACH's maintenance planner also noticed how MVP One raised their quality and productivity standards.
"MVP One exceeded (the planner's) high expectations. It brings out the best of his people's skills by holding them accountable with accurate data." Said Pratt.
Armed with precise performance metrics and compliance-tracking tools, ACH now passes Safe Quality Food (SFQ) audits without stress. These improvements strengthened their ability to uphold the elite reputation of their legacy brands.
Shared Knowledge: Improving Maintenance Culture Together
ACH Foods' partnership with MVP One is built on teamwork. That commitment extends to harnessing the applied skills of their team to advance the food and beverage manufacturing industry.
When Pratt suggested adding pictures to work orders and requests, the feature appeared in the next product release — exemplifying how customer feedback drives innovation.
"In the past, I couldn't even get someone on the phone to help me with frequent technical problems, let alone listen to my ideas on how to improve the software...I can now say that I've influenced a piece of software." Said Pratt.
Shared Knowledge is at the heart of MVP One's mission. This approach helps brands keep the promises that built their reputation and gives them the tools to move into the future.
