The Challenge
Plexus Corp in the UK is part of a global organisation employing 20,000 people worldwide and specialising in the design, manufacture and servicing of some of the world’s most transformative products. The company supports clients across a wide range of sectors, ranging from life-saving medical technology and mission-critical defence solutions to sophisticated industrial automation.
Across Plexus UK sites (Kelso and Livingston), the facilities and engineering teams manage essential infrastructure such as HVAC, air compressors, energy management systems and wider industrial equipment. Operating in a highly regulated environment with frequent audits, the team needed a more reliable and structured approach to facilities management.
The Solution
Plexus began using Brightly’s Asset Essentials in August 2023, initially at their Neenah, Wisconsin site before expanding to their UK sites and now gradually rolling out across their l global manufacturing locations. Prior to this, the team relied on Excel spreadsheets, which lacked the robustness and visibility needed for compliance and growth.
“Excel wasn’t robust enough,” explained Project Engineer Shane Robertson. “It was one of the key reasons we highlighted the need for Asset Essentials.”
The last six months have seen a strong focus on embedding Asset Essentials fully into their day-to-day processes. The team now uses it as their central guide for facilities management.
The Results
One of the clearest benefits has been the strength of planned and preventive maintenance, which the team considers the most valuable part of the system. “The PM element is the most valuable feature for us,” said Shane. “Preventive maintenance scheduling ensures our work is regulated and audit-ready, which is crucial when audits are almost a weekly occurrence.”
Asset Essentials has already delivered several immediate improvements. The team highlighted far better visibility of data, with clear daily task lists, priorities and asset histories. “The visibility is good, we can clearly see how we’re getting on as an organisation,” Shane noted. The system has also given them a more complete and accurate source of information thanks to mandatory fields. “Mandatory fields mean we always get the complete data we expect to see,” added Manager - Facilities and Industrial Engineering Blair Sanderson.
Being able to export and analyse information has helped Plexus understand labour, materials and workload distribution more clearly. Blair shared that “it’s giving us a good grasp of where we spend time and materials,” something that was difficult to track with spreadsheets.
Another important improvement has been the ease of communication and continuity within the team. With clear commentary and task histories, work can be picked up seamlessly when someone is unavailable. “Anyone can pick up a task because all the commentary is there, we know exactly where things stand,” Blair said.
Despite being a significant change from Excel, the team found the system intuitive: “The team picked it up really quickly,” Blair explained. “They can clearly see their workload and priorities each day, which shows how easy the system is to use.”
The live chat function has proven especially valuable, allowing team members to troubleshoot quickly. “The team gets quick responses from Brightly agents on the live chat, and that support has been really great,” said Shane.
The PM element is the most valuable feature for us. Preventive maintenance scheduling ensures our work is regulated and auditready, which is crucial when audits are almost a weekly occurrence.
Looking Ahead
Plexus UK is currently managing 231 assets using Asset Essentials, and 640 work orders (WOs) have been generated, demonstrating its role in streamlining operations and improving efficiency. These numbers continue to rise as the system becomes further integrated into daily processes.
As Plexus continues to expand Asset Essentials across more global sites, they see it as a platform that will help align processes, improve reporting and strengthen maintenance consistency worldwide. Shane summarised the experience well: “There’s a lot more flexibility than I expected, and it supports global alignment really well.”
Asset Essentials has become the team’s daily operational tool, ensuring the precision and reliability required to help create the products that build a better world. With improved visibility, stronger preventive maintenance, and higher data quality, Plexus is better equipped to deliver excellence for its customers, drive global standardisation, and sustain future growth.