How CAM Bioceramics replaced spreadsheets with a single EAM platform

July 13, 2024

How CAM Bioceramics replaced spreadsheets with a single EAM platform

Industry: Medical devices (bioceramics)
Environment: Cleanroom production, batch processing
Suites: Machine Lifecycle, Issue Optimiser, Checklists
Time to first results: 10 days

The situation
CAM Bioceramics produces bioceramic powders for medical implants. Think hip replacements, dental implants, bone grafts. The kind of product where every batch, every machine, and every maintenance action needs to be traceable.

But the shop floor reality didn’t match that ambition. Maintenance history lived in spreadsheets. Asset documentation was scattered across shared drives, paper binders, and people’s heads. When a technician needed to service a piece of cleanroom equipment, they started from scratch every time: no parts list, no previous repairs, no context.

Issues were logged, but follow-up was inconsistent. Actions sat in Excel lists with no clear owner, no deadline, and no way to confirm they were actually done. In a regulated environment where every deviation matters, that’s not a process. That’s a risk.

What changed

CAM started with IoT connectivity. 25 sensors were connected across the production environment, feeding live machine data into Factorise through the FactSense sensor platform. That gave them something they’d never had before: a real-time picture of what their equipment was actually doing, not what someone assumed it was doing.

From there, they rolled out the Machine Lifecycle suite and Issue Optimiser in parallel. Every asset got a digital identity: operational data, maintenance schedule, parts, documentation, and live sensor readings in one view. Service orders replaced the informal “someone should look at that” system. QR codes on machines gave technicians instant access to everything they needed, right at the asset.

For issue management, they introduced structured capture with root cause analysis. When something went wrong, it got logged with context, assigned to an owner, and tracked to closure. The 4C methodology gave every issue a clear path from identification to confirmed resolution.

Cleanroom checklists brought compliance into the daily flow. Qualification schedules, room status, environmental conditions: all tracked digitally instead of on clipboards that got filed and forgotten.

The whole process from data import to first live actions took 10 days. Not months. Not quarters. Ten working days.

The results

Within the first three days of connecting live sensor data, CAM identified €29,000 in cost savings through FactSense. Issues that had been invisible became obvious the moment real data replaced assumptions.

Actions that previously took weeks to close were resolved 3x faster. Not because people worked harder, but because every action had an owner, a deadline, and visibility.

The spreadsheets disappeared. Not by mandate, but because the platform made them unnecessary.

Hans van Donge, CEO of CAM Bioceramics, puts it simply:

“The results we’ve seen so far can be measured in the amount of spreadsheets we’re not using anymore.”

What makes this relevant for EAM

CAM’s story is a textbook example of what happens when you move from reactive, spreadsheet-based asset management to a structured digital approach. The building blocks were straightforward:

One asset registry with full history, documentation, and live sensor data per machine. No more searching across systems.

Service orders that carry context: what needs to happen, which parts are needed, who is qualified to do it. The technician arrives prepared, not guessing.

Issue tracking with teeth. Every issue captured, categorised, assigned, and closed. Root cause stored as reusable knowledge for next time.

Live equipment data from 25 connected sensors. Decisions based on what’s actually happening, not what’s on a schedule.

For manufacturers running maintenance on spreadsheets, paper, or a CMMS that nobody uses on the floor, CAM shows what’s possible. Not in theory. In 10 days.