How Winstone Wallboards got more from their maintenance system

WinstoneWallboards, New Zealand's only plasterboard manufacturer and the company behindthe iconic GIB® brand, had relied on MEX for years. When Maintenance Planner, Sam Coochey, joined the business, he saw a clear opportunity to get more from asystem the team already trusted.

By upgrading from MEX 15 to MEX 16, Winstone Wallboards saved hours each week on maintenance scheduling, simplified reporting with AI Insights, improved operational visibility, and completed the transition with minimal disruption.

Introduction

Winstone Wallboards manufactures the GIB® plasterboard used in construction projects across New Zealand. With manufacturing sites in Christchurch and Tauranga, and ownership under Fletcher Building, the company runs a lean but critical maintenance operation. Around six licensed MEX users manage the system day today, with another 10 to 12 people accessing it regularly across both sites.

MEX had been part of the operation for years. That context matters. This is not a story about a team struggling with the wrong system. It is a story about a team that was ready to get more from the right one.

A trusted platform worth building on

Before Sam joined the business, MEX had already established itself as a valued part of maintenance operations. The team appreciated its intuitive layout, flexible configuration, and clear asset hierarchy, which made it easy to locate equipment, manage information, and support day-to-day maintenance work.

Compared to more rigid enterprise alternatives, MEX gave the team the flexibility they needed without unnecessary complexity.

"If you go to SAP or Infor, they have such rigid systems where you don't have that flexibility. MEX is a real benefit in that area."
— Sam Coochey, Maintenance Planner

That foundation made the upgrade decision straightforward. The question was not whether to change systems. It was how to get more value from a platform the team already knew and trusted.

Building a stronger maintenance foundation

Like many long running systems, the way MEX was being used had evolved over time as people came and went within the business. Maintenance information was not always captured consistently, making it harder to fully use the data for planning, reporting, and continuous improvement.

For Sam, one of his first priorities was improving the quality and consistency of the information going into MEX.

"Part of my role was really making sure all the data was going inthere and it was traceable, so we could start to really utilise the system for what it was designed for."
— Sam Coochey, Maintenance Planner

As maintenance practices matured, the team wanted to improve planning and scheduling, gain better visibility into backlogs and upcoming work, make reporting faster and easier, strengthen data consistency, and continue building a more robust asset management foundation.

The data was there. The opportunity was making it easier to access, understand, and use to support better maintenance decisions.

Why upgrade to MEX 16?

The decision to upgrade from MEX 15 to MEX 16 was driven by the opportunity to take advantage of meaningful new capabilities, and by confidence in the direction of the platform.

After attending MEX webinars and product roadmap sessions, Sam gained a clear picture of where MEX 16 was headed and what it could offer his team.

"The upgraded user interface was very appealing. The webinars showing the future roadmap, geolocation, easier reporting with AI Insights, and especially the dashboard really got me excited."
— Sam Coochey, Maintenance Planner

With a contract renewal approaching and a relatively small difference in cost, the additional capabilities in MEX 16 made upgrading a compelling choice.

A well-supported migration

Any system upgrade carries risk: disruption to workflows, a learning curve for users, and the operational cost of getting it wrong. Winstone Wallboards approached the transition carefully.

Using a dedicated sandbox environment, the team tested workflows and validated processes before going live. Regular hyper-care meetings provided ongoing support throughout the transition, and weekly check-ins with the MEX team gave Sam a direct line to address questions and resolve issues early.

When a policy release issue delayed the planned go-live date, the team was able to pause and resolve it without pressure, because the sandbox allowed them to catch it before it reached the live system.

"The ability to test everything before we flicked the switch and went live was really great. It made it very simple."
— Sam Coochey, Maintenance Planner

The result was a transition the team approached with confidence. User adoption required minimal adjustment because MEX 16 builds on the same familiar workflows and logic as MEX 15. For most users, the experience felt like a step forward rather than a change in direction.

Sam's practical advice to teams considering the same move: resource the testing process properly, build a clear plan, and make sure someone has the band width to work through it. The upfront effort is real, but temporary.

"The benefits outweigh any potential downside, for sure."
— Sam Coochey, Maintenance Planner

What changed after the upgrade

The improvements were not abstract. They showed up in time saved, decisions made faster, and a maintenance operation that is easier to manage every day.

Faster scheduling. The redesigned Scheduler made it quicker and easier to assign and coordinate maintenance work. What previously required more manual steps now takes significantly less time. For Sam, that translated to approximately two or more hours saved each week and time recovered for higher value planning work.

Better visibility. Customizable dashboards now surface upcoming work, overdue tasks, and backlog status at a glance. Instead of navigating multiple reports and screens, the team can review maintenance performance from a single location and see how they are tracking in real time.

Simpler reporting. With AI Insights, Sam can generate reports using plain language prompts rather than building them manually through the traditional report writer. What previously could take hours now takes a fraction of the time.

"Creating reports with the AI functionality is really easy. You can tell it what you want and get what you need at the other end."
— Sam Coochey, Maintenance Planner

Improved performance. The system itself is faster and more responsive. Everyday tasks that involved navigating the platform are noticeably quicker, which adds up across a full working day.

Better import functionality. Data input is cleaner and more transparent, making it easier to managerecords and maintain the data integrity Sam had worked to establish.

A partnership built on continuous improvement

For Sam, one of the most valuable aspects of MEX 16 extends beyond any individual feature.

He actively participates in webinars, follows product roadmap updates, and regularly submits enhancement requests through the platform. Within months of the upgrade, several of those requests had already been incorporated into theproduct and released as updates.

"The number of improvements happening each week is really impressive. We have seen a couple of our requests come through and go live. It really makes our lives a lot easier when those things are being listened to."
— Sam Coochey, Maintenance Planner

For Winstone Wallboards, MEX is not simply a software tool. It is a platform that evolves alongside the team using it. That responsiveness builds confidence that the system will continue to improve and grow with the business.

Looking ahead

As Winstone Wallboards continues to mature its maintenance processes, the team sees further opportunity to expand how it uses MEX 16. Sam is particularly looking forward to Floorplan Integration, which will allow assets and workorders to be visualised directly on facility floor plans, supporting faster planning and easier navigation across the site.

With two separate manufacturing sites currently running their own MEX instances, there is also a longer-term ambition to bring both operations under a single system using MEX regions, which would open shared visibility and more consistent maintenance practices across the business.

Conclusion

Winstone Wallboards did not replace its maintenance management system. It upgraded the one the business already trusted.

For organizations still running MEX 15, their experience shows that upgrading does not mean starting over. MEX 16 builds on a familiar foundation with faster scheduling, better visibility, simpler reporting, and a well-supported path to upgrade.

For Winstone Wallboards, the result is simple: less friction in day-to-day maintenance and more value from a platform the team already relies on.

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