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Case Study : Tofu Manufacturing plant

Maintenance & Reliability Improvement

Tofu Manufacturing Plant | Montreal, Quebec

• Preventive Maintenance • Reverse Engineering • Interal CMMS • Risk & Safety • LOTO • Technical Documentation

40% REDUCTION IN UNEXPECTED PRODUCTION FAILURES

Significant reduction in downtimes | PM Program Implemented | Interal CMMS Structured

Within six months of implementing the preventive maintenance program, unexpected equipment failures during production shifts were reduced by 40% compared with the previous baseline, improving equipment availability and production stability.​

THE CHALLENGE

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ExtremeTech was brought in to improve equipment reliability, reduce unplanned downtime, and increase the efficiency and technical understanding of the maintenance team.

The plant used various automated equipment. A significant challenge was the lack of complete and up-to-date technical information for many machines.

Several key issues were identified:

  • Missing equipment manuals and technical documentation

  • Preventive maintenance activities lacking consistent structure

  • Machine modifications not reflected in original schematics

  • Limited maintenance history and traceability

  • Lubrication requirements and frequencies not clearly established

  • Machine adjustments dependent on individual technician experience

  • Critical spare parts requiring risk and availability assessment

  • Lack of standardized Lockout/Tagout procedures

  • Safety risks affecting operators and maintenance personnel

The objective was not simply to create documentation, but to establish a practical maintenance and reliability system that the team could use every day.

ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS

 

01 | EQUIPMENT ANALYSIS & REVERSE ENGINEERING

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Rebuilding Technical Knowledge

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Machines with missing, incomplete or outdated documentation were analyzed directly on the production floor.

Mechanical assemblies, electrical systems, pneumatic circuits, sensors, actuators, drives and control sequences were inspected to understand how the equipment actually operated.

Previous modifications were identified and compared with available drawings and schematics.

This reverse-engineering process helped rebuild the technical knowledge required for:

  • Maintenance and troubleshooting

  • Preventive maintenance planning

  • Machine adjustments

  • Spare-parts identification

  • Safety evaluation

  • Technical documentation

The goal was to reduce dependence on undocumented individual knowledge and create a reliable technical reference for the maintenance team.

02 | PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM

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Moving from Reactive to Structured Maintenance

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A preventive maintenance program was developed based on actual equipment condition, operating environment, maintenance history and available manufacturer information.

Maintenance requirements were established for:

  • Mechanical inspections

  • Lubrication

  • Machine adjustments

  • Wear components

  • Pneumatic systems

  • Sensors and actuators

  • Safety components

  • Critical equipment checks

Clear maintenance tasks and frequencies were established to create consistent execution across the maintenance team.
 

RESULT: 40% FEWER UNEXPECTED FAILURES

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Within six months of implementation, unexpected production equipment failures decreased by 40% compared with the previous baseline.

03 | INTERAL CMMS IMPLEMENTATION

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Creating Consistency & Traceability

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The existing Interal CMMS was reviewed and reorganized to create a structured maintenance management system.

Equipment records, preventive maintenance tasks, inspection routines, maintenance frequencies and technical information were organized within Interal.

Work orders were issued with clear step-by-step instructions so maintenance activities could be performed consistently across different technicians.

This provided:

  • Better maintenance history and traceability

  • Consistent PM execution

  • Clearer maintenance responsibilities

  • Standardized work instructions

  • Improved maintenance follow-up

  • Easier onboarding of new technicians

  • Reduced dependence on senior personnel for routine maintenance knowledge
     

Interal became more than a maintenance tracking tool — it became a structured system for planning, executing and documenting maintenance activities.

04 | LUBRICATION & MACHINE ADJUSTMENT STANDARDS

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Replacing Tribal Knowledge with Repeatable Procedures

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Lubrication requirements were researched and standardized for individual machines and components.

The work included determining:

  • Correct lubricant type

  • Lubrication points

  • Application method

  • Required quantity where applicable

  • Inspection requirements

  • Recommended service frequency
     

Critical machine adjustments were also studied and documented.

Repeatable adjustment procedures helped technicians perform maintenance consistently rather than relying exclusively on personal experience or trial-and-error.

05 | SPARE PARTS & CRITICALITY ANALYSIS

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Reducing the Risk of Extended Downtime

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Critical spare parts were evaluated according to:

  • Probability of failure

  • Impact on production

  • Replacement lead time

  • Supplier availability

  • Availability of alternatives

  • Potential duration of production downtime
     

The analysis helped identify components where maintaining appropriate spare-parts inventory could significantly reduce the risk of extended production interruptions.

06 | RISK ANALYSIS & LOCKOUT/TAGOUT

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Improving Operator & Maintenance Safety

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Equipment was evaluated from both operator and maintenance perspectives.

Potential hazards associated with mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, thermal and process energy were identified.

Energy sources and isolation points were then documented to establish standardized Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) practices for maintenance interventions.

Machine-specific LOTO documentation included:

  • Energy-source identification

  • Electrical disconnect locations

  • Pneumatic isolation points

  • Stored-energy considerations

  • Lockout points

  • Verification requirements

  • Clear step-by-step instructions

  • Visual equipment and isolation references
     

The objective was to create practical procedures that maintenance personnel could follow directly at the equipment.

07 | TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION & KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

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Converting Plant Knowledge into a Sustainable System

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Existing manuals, drawings and schematics were reviewed against the actual equipment.

Machine modifications that were not reflected in the original documentation were identified and documented.

Practical technical documentation was developed, including:

  • Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

  • Preventive maintenance instructions

  • Maintenance checklists

  • LOTO procedures

  • Machine adjustment guides

  • Troubleshooting information

  • Equipment references

  • Visual work instructions

  • Updated technical information
     

The documentation was designed to be practical for daily use by operators and maintenance personnel rather than simply stored as technical records.

PROJECT OUTCOMES

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40% ↓

Unexpected Production Failures

Reduced within six months following implementation of the preventive maintenance program.

 

Preventive Maintenance Program

Maintenance requirements, frequencies and work instructions standardized across production equipment.

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INTERAL CMMS

Consistency & Traceability

Maintenance activities organized into a structured system with standardized work orders and equipment history.

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KNOWLEDGE RECOVERY (Reverse Engineering)

 

Critical technical knowledge recovered from equipment where manuals and updated documentation were unavailable.

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SAFER MAINTENANCE

Risk Analysis & LOTO

Machine-specific hazards, energy sources and isolation procedures documented for safer intervention.

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FASTER ONBOARDING

Knowledge Transfer

Clear procedures reduced dependence on individual experience and helped new technicians understand maintenance requirements faster.

FACING SIMILAR RELIABILITY CHALLENGES?

Recurring equipment failures, incomplete documentation and inconsistent maintenance practices can create unnecessary downtime and make a plant increasingly dependent on individual employees.

ExtremeTech helps manufacturing plants understand their equipment, structure their maintenance systems, recover missing technical knowledge and develop practical solutions to improve reliability and maintainability.
 

REQUEST A PLANT RELIABILITY ASSESSMENT

 

Let's discuss your equipment and maintenance challenges.

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