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We’ve all heard the saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

But the truth of the matter is, when it comes to expensive machinery, which is often the lifeline of a business, you can lose out on a lot of money sticking with this motto. In fact, manufacturing and process industries lose an estimated $20 to $60 billion each year due to unscheduled down time and poor asset quality.

So, what does this mean?

First, let’s look at the two options manufactures have when it comes to keeping their machines up and running

Reactive Maintenance and Preventative Maintenance

To keep it simple, reactive maintenance means that you are waiting until your machine is already broken down before fixing it and preventative maintenance is regularly scheduled maintenance to help keep your machine running smoothly and preventing unexpected breakdowns.

If truth be told, companies can save between 12% and 18% by using preventative maintenance over reactive.

This doesn’t only relate to manufactures. We all use machines every day. Think of your car. Do you regularly change your oil, get your tires balanced, rotated and change out your brake pads?  

We all know that there are up-front costs to doing this preventative maintenance on our vehicles, but not doing it can be most costly later. An unexpected breakdown could set you back not just the fee of repairs, but also the price of a towing fee, having to rent a car, etc. In the long run, you will save money by having regularly scheduled preventative maintenance on your vehicle.

And it is the same for manufacturing and industrial machines.

In fact, every dollar spent on preventative maintenance will save you five dollars on other expenses. Whether you are a small, eclectic print shop with an automatic cutter or a large plant with a CNC lathe, Machine Ethics offers custom preventive maintenance programs on any make, model or year that are easy to adopt into any business. A preventative maintenance program will keep your machines running smoother for longer, which will eliminate downtime, increase production time and save money.

What sort of things will a technician do when performing Preventative Maintenance on your machine?

Of course is varies from machine to machine but here are some common examples:

Cleaning

‍ Regular cleaning of equipment helps to remove dust, debris, and other contaminants that can cause equipment to fail.

Inspection

Routine inspections are carried out to identify potential problems before they become major issues. This includes visual inspections, electrical tests, and other tests to identify potential problems.

Lubrication‍

This involves applying lubricants to moving parts to reduce friction and wear.

Calibration‍

Calibrating equipment helps to ensure that it is performing to specified standards and operating within acceptable parameters.

Tightening and Adjustment

This involves tightening bolts and nuts, adjusting equipment settings, and making other small repairs as necessary.

Replacing Consumables‍

This usually involves replacing parts that are subject to regular wear and tear, such as filters, belts, and other consumables.

Upgrades‍

Upgrades may be performed to improve equipment performance, efficiency, or safety.

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Preventative Maintenance is vital to the life of a well working machine.

A good technician like Machine Ethic's certified tech will help you come up with a custom  plan for your equipment, and will execute that plan for you, so you can worry less about emergency break downs and focus more on the tasks at hand. We can even help with Lock Out Tag Out! Do you do have a plan in place for Preventative Maintenance? Let us know in the comments.

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