Cut Downtime With Modern Maintenance Solution

Callan Marine is a Texas-based business that performs dredging projects that restore berthing depths for ship docks, navigation channels or otherwise facilitate waterway transportation. Four sites are managed with Fiix.

Challenge: Moving from paper-based to digital maintenance

At $3000 to $5000 an hour, the cost of project downtime at Callan Marine is damaging. So, it’s no surprise that Justin McCormick, Equipment and Purchasing Manager, wants to reduce downtime and control costs.

“I was brought on board five years ago to manage equipment runtime to be longer and more cost-effective,” he said. “When I first got here, Callan Marine didn’t have any type of maintenance program.” Justin knew the benefits of maintenance software after years of managing equipment in the United States Army with a CMMS. “I recommended a CMMS from the beginning, but initially, there was no budget for this type of program.”

Instead, Justin used the resourcefulness he gained in the Army and did the best he could with Excel spreadsheets. “To maintain your equipment, you must have data. I created maintenance checklists that the technicians would send back to me. But the process was ineffective and time-consuming.”

It was also far from a perfect solution for capturing useful data. “There was still human error. If a technician entered the wrong information, it would cause the chart to be wrong.”

And without a centralized solution, workflow suffered. “We had purchasing requests in an Excel spreadsheet. The technicians would convert the requests to emails and send them to me. That created chaos because many requests went missing. Then, a repair or purchase request became an emergency. We needed processes and procedures like Fiix in place,” Justin recalled.

“When I first joined Callan Marine, the company didn’t have any type of maintenance program. I used Excel spreadsheets because there was no budget for a CMMS. But there was still human error. If information was entered incorrectly, it would cause the chart to be wrong.”

-Justin McCormick, Equipment and Purchasing Manager, Callan Marine

Solution: User-friendly, cloud-based maintenance program

After using an Excel-based maintenance program for over a year, Justin was presented with a new opportunity. “When company leaders decided to buy another dredge, I explained that we could not maintain our equipment effectively with Excel spreadsheets. It’s not cost-effective.” He was asked to research a CMMS and present his findings for consideration.

Justin knew that his team needed a cloud-based solution because the company is in Galveston, Texas. “If a hurricane hits, the chance of losing data is high,” he said.

There were still many options to choose from after ruling out an on-premises CMMS. “I found a few options that had up-front costs and either a monthly or yearly fee.”

Justin’s top pick was obvious after he narrowed the search to a handful of vendors. “[Fiix] gave me the ability to do what I wanted. Hierarchy was built into the system. It’s user-friendly, there are many reports, and numerous customizations. [Fiix] is also something we could easily afford.”

Once Justin’s selection was approved, he got to work designing the CMMS he’d wanted all along. When it came to getting technology-averse employees to adopt the new software, Justin went with a no-option approach. 

“[In 90 days], I see a tremendous return in terms of reduced project downtime.”

-Justin McCormick, Equipment and Purchasing Manager, Callan Marine

Results: Preventive rather than reactive maintenance with Fiix

Improvements were noticeable immediately after adopting the system. “With Fiix, we have a complete system. The CMMS tracks our costs, maintenance and work orders, and has made the maintenance program much easier,” said Justin, who also likes the ease of adding parts and planning purchases. “We’re able to foresee problems now, instead of reacting.”

More importantly, using Fiix has allowed Justin to begin transforming Callan Marine’s maintenance strategy. Now moving towards preventive rather than reactive maintenance, Justin is working with the Professional Services team at Fiix to build a plan that uses a mobile app and tracks KPIs more accurately. “[In 90 days], I see a tremendous return in terms of reduced project downtime,” said Justin.