Johan is a professional engineer with 38 years’ experience in various industries at different levels within organizations. Having experienced the impact of technology over his career, he has experienced significant changes in maintenance and its management, some good and some not so good. With the professionalization of maintenance, asset management and reliability over the past decade or more it has been a primary focus for himself as well as his privilege to help mentor and coach young engineers in industry. He enjoys adventure, from doing road trips with his wife or occasionally doing a thousand miler on his gravel bicycle.
Session Overview
Transforming Work Execution: The Sappi Journey to Digitised Job Cards / Inspections and Improved Maintenance
In the highly competitive paper manufacturing environment, operational efficiency and data accuracy are critical to maintaining uptime and product quality. This case study presents Sappi’s digital transformation journey from a manual, paper-based job card system to a fully mobile work execution platform within our Saiccor paper mill operation. The manual job card process often resulted in delayed feedback, incomplete data capture, and limited visibility into asset performance—hindering timely and effective decision-making, as well as continuous improvement.
To overcome these challenges, Sappi implemented a mobile solution that digitized job management and integrated directly with our SAP system. The mobile platform enabled technicians and artisans to capture daily inspections and job details, and condition data in real time, while supervisors gained immediate visibility of work progress and compliance. The transition delivered measurable results: reduced administrative effort, improved maintenance data accuracy, faster job close-outs, and enhanced equipment reliability.
This case study outlines the key steps, lessons learned, and success factors from our journey — demonstrating how digitizing job cards in a paper mill environment can transform maintenance efficiency, drive operational excellence, and lay the foundation for data-driven performance improvement.
Three Tangible Learnings
Significant time saving in job card administration, work execution (increased wrench time) and oversight
Saving on printing cost
Digitized work inspection lists and work instructions enables more effective condition based and predictive maintenance
Improved data analysis to support asset reliability
Alternatively, please email sales@eventfulpeople.com for quote, invoice or any queries and we’ll be glad to assist.
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Planner’s School
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Johan is a professional engineer with 38 years’ experience in various industries at different levels within organizations. Having experienced the impact of technology over his career, he has experienced significant changes in maintenance and its management, some good and some not so good. With the professionalization of maintenance, asset management and reliability over the past decade or more it has been a primary focus for himself as well as his privilege to help mentor and coach young engineers in industry. He enjoys adventure, from doing road trips with his wife or occasionally doing a thousand miler on his gravel bicycle.
