(Main photo: Victor Ciaurriz in front of the new automatic palletizer installed by Gurpea at the end of the line.)

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Behind an automated warehouse operating without interruptions, there is much more than corrective interventions. There is planning, well-managed spare parts, procedures, breakdown analysis, and a team capable of growing at the same pace as the facility.

In this success story of outsourced global industrial maintenance management, CINFA and Gurpea have been working together since 2011. Víctor Ciaurriz (Logistics Maintenance Coordinator) tells us in this interview how the service has evolved, what milestones have been key, and what lessons the Gurpea team has learned after years of continuous improvement.

 

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Q. To get our bearings: who are you and what is your role at CINFA today?

A. I am an industrial engineer (electricity) and have been working in production and maintenance environments in different industries for more than 15 years, in companies such as Mapsa and Lácteos de Navarra. I also joined Cinfa in 2018 through Gurpea, initially collaborating on documentation and maintenance procedures. Since the end of 2019, I have been coordinating maintenance in Logistics, ensuring the operational continuity of the facilities and coordinating the service.

• Evolution of the service and relationship with CINFA

Q. CINFA and Gurpea have been collaborating for years. How has the relationship and service evolved?

A. The evolution of the service has gone hand in hand with the growth of the facilities and the trust built up through results. At the beginning, we were four technicians, providing basic maintenance on a few machines; there was clear room for improvement in the workshop, spare parts, and documentation and procedures. In that first stage, the foundation was consolidated: spare parts review, 5S, range definition, monthly preventative maintenance, and document organization.
Starting in 2022, with new facilities (SILO and STVs), the team grows and the model matures: more preventive, better structured workshop and warehouse, and greater real knowledge of the equipment. In 2024, key technical maintenance of new facilities (stacker cranes, VTDs, STVs, and heavy transport) will be taken on, and condition-based maintenance will be incorporated. In 2025, capacity will be expanded and the organization of scheduled work will be reinforced (up to nine technicians).

Now, in 2026, we are taking on a new challenge: the reception and future maintenance of the automatic palletizer installed by Gurpea at the end of the line.

 

Q. What milestones best describe this evolution?

A. I would highlight three:

• Standardization (procedures, spare parts, order, planning).
• Growth in scope as automation increases and new needs arise.
• Greater technical autonomy for the team: incorporating tasks and maintenance that were previously outsourced to third parties, and strengthening preventive/condition-based maintenance and fault analysis.

Q. What has this project given you in terms of technical skills and responsibility that you didn’t have in other environments?

A.

• A work environment free from urgency, based on trust and scheduled work.
• Take time to think as a team, analyze breakdowns to improve the team’s knowledge, and improve maintenance ranges.
• A good relationship with the production, quality, and prevention departments.
• Specialization of tasks, autonomy in maintenance, Cinfa’s trust in its technicians and equipment.
• Teamwork has also been a constant feature.

• Technical scope of the project

Q. What kind of facilities do you maintain in Logistics?

A. We work in an automated logistics environment: shipping, automated warehouses, picking systems, conveyors, and equipment associated with handling and preparation, as well as auxiliary machinery integrated into the process (e.g., strapping, baling, and other end-of-line equipment). It is an ecosystem with diverse technologies, and the challenge is to provide a comprehensive response with an overall vision.

 

Q. What is unique about maintenance in a pharmaceutical environment?

A. The requirement: not only for availability, but also for work discipline, safety, and procedural rigor. It is an environment where the quality of maintenance has a direct impact on service continuity and process reliability.

• Turnkey maintenance model

Q. When you talk about “turnkey maintenance,” what does that mean in practice?

A. In a turnkey maintenance model, my day-to-day work focuses on ensuring operational continuity through comprehensive management of the activity. We start by analyzing daily incidents, prioritizing them according to their criticality and impact on production/logistics, and assigning tasks by shift, coordinating resources and intervention windows. At the same time, I review the planning: the status of the maintenance plan, monitoring of ongoing ranges, compliance with preventive measures, and adjustment of workloads to balance corrective, preventive, and scheduled work.

In addition, I monitor the backlog (pending work), closures, and documentation of interventions, and manage materials and external support: availability of spare parts, replacements, incidents with suppliers, and coordination of third-party technical assistance when applicable.

All of this is integrated with cross-functional coordination with production/logistics, quality, prevention, and plant technicians to align priorities, permits, safety, and execution conditions. Finally, I devote part of my time to improvement and control tasks: reviewing procedures, updating documentation, planning shutdowns/special actions, and monitoring service operating indicators.

Q. What real advantages does this model offer an industrial client such as CINFA compared to more traditional maintenance management?

A. Mainly, being able to focus on their business and leave the management of machines and processes to specialists.

CINFA gains continuity, focus, and agility, with a specialized team that accompanies the plant’s evolution, with a method and capacity to scale resources in the event of peaks, shutdowns, or expansions. And, by having stable coordination, standardization and learning from history (what fails, why, and how to prevent it from happening again) are reinforced.

And in addition to all this, the ability to adopt new technologies with mature technical support.

 

Q. What profiles are key to making it work?

A. A good electromechanical/mechatronic background and, increasingly, skills in automation and diagnostics: signal interpretation, sensor technology, communications, PLC support where appropriate, and above all, the ability to analyze faults and prioritize. At the same time, organization: planning, order, and operational discipline.

• Closing: results and future

Q. Where do you think maintenance in logistics is headed?

A. Towards more predictive and condition-based maintenance. In short, towards management that is even more integrated with operations: fewer interruptions, better planning, and more focus on continuous improvement. The ultimate goal is clear: availability, safety, and reliability, accompanying the plant’s growth.

 

Q. What would you like readers to take away from this success story?

A. A well-managed global outsourcing model is not limited to execution, but also provides method, organization, and technical evolution. The coordination of industrial maintenance—with a global vision and constant communication—is what allows the service to grow with the plant and maintain its high standards.

 

ℹ️ 👉 More information about the technical details of the project.