Background
At Frito-Lay’s Frankfort Core facility in Indiana, keeping snack production lines running around the clock is essential to meeting consumer demand across the Midwest. The site operates more than 70 critical assets that must perform reliably to maintain production schedules and quality standards.
By partnering with Augury to monitor these assets, Frankfort Core has transformed their maintenance approach from reactive firefighting to proactive precision—achieving 100% response rates and becoming a model for Frito Lay facilities nationwide.
Challenge
Invisible bearing degradation threatened production:
Without vibration data, even experienced technicians couldn’t detect problems developing inside sealed bearings. If lubrication is done before it’s needed, resources are wasted. And if it’s too late, it risks failure that disrupts production schedules.
Complex equipment issues defied traditional diagnostics:
Subtle alignment issues and internal wear hid beneath normal operating noise, forcing troubleshooting without finding root causes and keeping teams stuck in costly reactive maintenance cycles.
Limited resources demanded strategic prioritization:
With dozens of critical assets and finite maintenance resources, the team needed data to identify which equipment truly impacted production versus assets that seemed important but rarely caused downtime.
The journey
Early detection saves production line shutdowns:
Pairing vibration alerts with ultrasonic training, the team identifies exactly when bearings need grease—extending equipment life and keeping production lines running without unplanned interruptions.
Eliminated repeat failures with root cause resolution:
Vibration data reveals alignment issues and belt wear invisible to the eye, enabling permanent first-time fixes—transforming unpredictable emergency budgets into controllable operating expenses.
Discovered true production impact through data:
Monitoring revealed which equipment caused downtime versus what was typically assumed to be critical assets, enabling smart reallocation and focusing resources where they protect production most.
The impact on our people has been huge—we’ve got more time to do cooler things rather than just always firefighting.
Keys to Frankfort Core’s success
Cross-site knowledge network
Recognized for collaboration, Frankfort Core shares successful solutions with other sites on national Frito-Lay calls. This knowledge sharing accelerates improvements across the network, with each site’s learnings benefiting the whole enterprise.
Competitive excellence culture
National performance visibility and friendly competition with other facilities drives continuous improvement. The team takes pride in maintaining top-tier metrics while sharing their winning strategies through corporate calls and hosting site visits for other facilities.
Weekend planning revolution
Shifting from Monday morning surprises to data-informed planning transformed both operations and quality of life. Technicians now know exactly which equipment needs attention before shutdown windows, eliminating emergency scrambles and giving families predictable schedules.
