Schupan & Sons Inc. has implemented Dossier software to manage maintenance and lower operating costs for both fixed and mobile assets in its scrap metal recycling division based in Kalamazoo, Mich. Company owner Marc Schupan has appeared frequently on CNBC commenting on business.
Dossier Maintenance Management Software is the flagship offering of Arsenault Associates, providers of maintenance management solutions for commercial vehicle fleets and industry since 1979.
Schupan Industrial Recycling, one of three Schupan business units, buys scrap metal from manufacturers and other companies for processing and resale. Schupan places trailers and containers at industrial facilities that produce scrap metal and trucks the materials to recycling centers in Kalamazoo and Elkhart, Ind.
Each location employs fixed operating equipment like balers, cranes, and conveyor systems; each has its own maintenance facility. Together, the two shops employ 14 mechanics, two administrators, and two supervisors who are also responsible for the Schupan rolling fleet of 29 trucks, 14 tractors, 165 trailers, and many roll-off containers, roller tubs, and lugger boxes.
"We're using Dossier to control maintenance for all of it," said Julie Bates, vice president for administration, who said Schupan went live with Dossier on 1 February, 2013.
Before Dossier, Schupan had used an in-house Access data base system to handle maintenance. The decision to move to dedicated software sparked a major effort to find the right package.
"We had to do a lot of research, and ended up selecting Dossier because it is very intuitive," Bates began.
Dossier was also easier to configure for a variety of assets, she said, including having same category of asset being tracked by different specifications within each division.
For the first time with Dossier, Bates noted, Schupan now has a computerized parts program.
"That was a big thing," she said. "Within the past month, our parts cages have been labeled and mechanics are scanning parts as they use them, and we're receiving parts into inventory against purchase orders," she said, noting that she expects Dossier will also help Schupan with warranty recovery going forward.
Meanwhile, Dossier has already made a difference in adherence to preventive maintenance schedules for trucks and trailers. Since implementation, the number of units overdue for PM has declined by approximately 80 percent.
"Now when a trailer is in the shop getting something fixed, they can see in Dossier that the unit is due back in for a PM next week, and can choose to perform it now," Bates said.
