The Challenge
Uptime achieved for an entire calendar year
Reduction in unplanned downtime in 30 days
"Guidewheel is a no-brainer for implementing in your facility, you will not regret using this system."
- Juliana Sacharnoski, VP of Operations
Getting Started
When Scott Hammitt joined Fibrix Filtration's Rogersville, TN plant as Maintenance Reliability Engineer, in 2022, he faced a challenge that’s familiar to many manufacturing leaders: the team knew downtime was costing them, but they didn’t have the data to prove it or act on it.
Reports were inconsistent. Causes were unclear. And the most important production line in the plant, C Line, producing filtration media 24/7, was essentially a black box.
"We were making decisions based on assumptions. With no real visibility into how long machines were down or why, we couldn’t improve." - Scott Hammitt
Getting visibility into when they were down, and why, was a priority for the Fibrix team. For them, this was the first step in being able to understand where they had opportunities to improve the efficiency and throughput of their facility.
“At the time, we were really struggling with understanding our utilization of our equipment and what our true capacity was on each of the production lines.” - Juliana Sacharnoski, VP of Operations
Scott began searching for a solution and quickly found Guidewheel. What stood out wasn’t just the functionality, it was the simplicity. Guidewheel’s clip-on sensors provided real-time machine data with minimal setup.
"Guidewheel was incredibly simple to install. We clipped the sensors on and immediately had the heartbeat of the equipment. It just worked." - Scott Hammitt
Within days, Fibrix Filtration had visibility into C Line, starting with its most critical asset: the winder. That early success proved the value instantly, and the rollout expanded from there.
“From the day we decided to pull the trigger to the moment we started putting equipment into use, it was a very short timeline. We were very quickly able to pull information from the system.” - Juliana Sacharnoski
Partnering with Guidewheel
Eliminating Downtime on the Winder
Early Guidewheel data revealed a recurring issue with the winder’s air shafts. They were falling into the winder and causing long unplanned stops. Scott and the team were able to recognize this repetitive downtime event in Guidewheel, implement the necessary changes to fix it, and validate that it was no longer leading to unplanned downtime.
Guidewheel didn’t just help identify the problem, it enabled the team to solve it, fast. That win reinforced adoption across teams and showed the power of real-time insights in driving action.
“We found there was an issue with the tracking system and were able to make modifications right after that. Once that was done, the downtime event pretty much went away.” - Scott Hammitt
How They Achieved a Year of High Performance
In 2024, Fibrix's Rogersville plant maintained over 90% uptime on C Line, their most critical production line, for the entire year. This wasn’t a one-time improvement, but the result of disciplined process, consistent visibility, and team accountability:
- Supervisors tagged every downtime event in real time using iPads.
- Lab technicians used Guidewheel’s Sidekick to fill in any gaps.
- Scott tracked and compared performance across four rotating shifts.
- Monthly leadership reviews turned Guidewheel data into prioritized action plans.
"Guidewheel became part of our culture. We went from guessing to knowing, and from knowing to improving." - Scott Hammitt
Juliana also highlighted the impact of real-time downtime alerts on off-shift performance:
“With Guidewheel, we now get notifications within an hour and a half when a line is down. Even if it’s the middle of the night, someone is going to react. It completely changed our ability to stay on track and avoid long gaps in communication or response.” - Juliana Sacharnoski
What started as a data problem evolved into a behavior change. C Line became the benchmark not just for uptime, but for how the right visibility could empower action at every level.
Scaling Success
Expanding to Groesbeck
With Rogersville’s results in hand, Fibrix saw an opportunity to replicate the model. The Groesbeck, TX plant was next, facing many of the same challenges, but without any system to track or act on downtime.
Supervisors relied on memory and handwritten notes. Conversations about performance were reactive and anecdotal. There was no shared source of truth.
That changed in early 2025 when VP of Operations Kevin Booth and Continuous Improvement lead Ramiro Salas Jr. led the rollout of Guidewheel.
"Before Guidewheel, I walked into the plant blind. Now I know what happened before I even hit the floor." - Kevin Booth
Rather than just install sensors and hope for results, they took a hands-on approach:
- Trained supervisors on tagging practices by shift
- Installed real-time scoreboards on each line
- Encouraged shift-by-shift accountability
Within the first month:
- Tagging coverage became consistent across all three shifts
- Real-time dashboards created visibility from the floor to leadership
- Unplanned events dropped by 22%
The real breakthrough came when the team used Guidewheel data to rethink their processes, from changeovers to cleaning procedures. With shared visibility, they started optimizing how the plant ran.
"We’re treating changeovers like NASCAR pit stops. Everyone knows their role and we’re always looking for ways to get faster." -Ramiro Salas Jr., Continuous Improvement Lead
A System That Scales
Fibrix now has a repeatable model: start with one line, get fast visibility, engage the team, and scale what works.
- In Rogersville, uptime is now part of their monthly corporate KPIs.
- In Groesbeck, the team is pushing for new performance goals using Rogersville’s approach.
"Guidewheel helps us run the plant smarter, from the operators on the floor to leadership. It’s not just data, it’s daily action." - Kevin Booth
Guidewheel has become more than a tool, it’s become a critical part of how Fibrix drives performance across sites. With both plants now having real-time visibility that enables them to produce more with their existing equipment, Fibrix is building a scalable culture of operational excellence.
"If you're looking for something that’s going to be very helpful in minimizing your downtime on your plant floor, in my opinion, Guidewheel is one of the best platforms out there." - Scott Hammitt
