How ShireSystem Helped WC Rowe Modernise Maintenance and Reduce Downtime

Background

For more than 40 years, WC Rowe has delighted customers with its iconic Cornish pasties and savoury bakes. But until recently, the engineering team behind the scenes was stuck in a cycle of firefighting – reliant on outdated systems, overburdened staff, and a patchwork of databases that barely kept things running.

That changed when the business implemented ShireSystem. With a modest size of team, a mountain of machinery, and a determination to modernise, WC Rowe embarked on a digital maintenance transformation that’s delivering real, measurable results.

The Challenge: Outdated Systems, Mounting Pressure

Like many long-established manufacturers, WC Rowe had been making do with a legacy maintenance database that had grown outdated and unfit for purpose.

“It worked – ish,” says Graham Scamp, Engineering Manager at WC Rowe. “You couldn’t make changes easily, and much of the data was either obsolete or missing.”

The consequences were more than just administrative. Maintenance was reactive, audits were a scramble, and key asset information was difficult – if not impossible – to access.

• Sprawling, outdated maintenance databases
• Limited IT access and no easy way to update or remove assets
• Maintenance logs difficult to find or verify
• No meaningful downtime tracking
• Mounting audit demands from BRC, customers, and internal teams

It wasn’t a matter of if the system would fail – but when. And for a business supplying major retailers, failure wasn’t an option.

The Solution: A Clean Slate and a Culture Shift

Rather than patch over old systems, WC Rowe made the bold decision to start fresh with ShireSystem – building a new asset register and maintenance process from the ground up.

With two production sites, more than 90% of critical machinery now scheduled for regular checks, and only five engineers on the books, this was no small feat.

“Some of our kit is brand new, and some is over 20 years old. My team has to be able to service anything from a refrigeration unit to a 500,000-cycle-a-day guillotine,” says Graham.

ShireSystem provided the flexibility and functionality needed to capture this variety and complexity:

• Full asset register created from scratch
• Critical documents (manuals, schematics, calibration records) uploaded to each asset
• Custom maintenance schedules developed and replicated across asset types
• Team-wide access to work requests, job history, and maintenance logs
• Shift away from reactive to preventative – and now towards predictive – maintenance

It wasn’t just a technical transformation. For a team used to relying on memory, whiteboards and paperwork, it marked a cultural change too.

The Impact: Lower Downtime, Happier Auditors, Better Decisions

The shift to ShireSystem didn’t just improve how WC Rowe managed maintenance – it fundamentally changed how the business operated.

“We went from not knowing our downtime, to measuring it properly – and it’s now just 2.6%,” says Graham. “That’s a massive win.”

• Downtime reduced to 2.6% year-to-date
• More than 90% of assets now inspected at least monthly
• Audits run more smoothly with accessible digital records
• Production disruptions reduced due to planned, not reactive, work

Auditors, particularly from the BRC, are impressed by the clarity and accessibility of maintenance records. Whether it’s a service history, calibration certificate, or compliance document, everything can be retrieved instantly.

The system has also helped Graham build a business case for investment. By pulling up job histories, downtime data, and cost logs, he can now show the financial case for repairs or replacements clearly and confidently.

“The data means I don’t have to guess. I can show how much a machine is costing us – and make the case for a new one.”

The Features That Made the Difference

Graham highlights several aspects of ShireSystem that have proved particularly valuable for his team:

• Document management – “I can get everything I need from one place in seconds. That’s huge during an audit.”
• Job tracking – “We can see recurring issues, dig into asset history, and start building a case for investment.”
• Parts inventory – “We’ve gone from a chaotic store room to tracking critical spares in a structured way.”
• User training and adoption – “Younger engineers took to it quickly. Even those who prefer paper are starting to embrace it.”

What’s Next: Predictive Maintenance and Continual Improvement

With the foundations now firmly in place, Graham is looking ahead. The goal is to move from planned to predictive maintenance – identifying trends and patterns that inform forward-looking interventions.

“We rebuilt the guillotine four years ago. Based on how it’s performing and the usage data we’re tracking, we know we’ll need to do it again soon – before it breaks. That’s the shift we’re aiming for.”

The engineering team continues to add documentation, refine schedules, and train each other to use the system more effectively. There’s still more to do – but the transformation is already undeniable.

Final Word

“ShireSystem has changed the way we work. It’s not just about ticking boxes – it’s about control, confidence, and building a better maintenance culture,” Graham concludes. “We’ve still got a journey ahead. But I wouldn’t want to go back.”

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