Employ a Strict Maintenance Schedule
Planned maintenance strategies are far more effective at reducing downtime than reactive outlooks. Failures do happen, but an effective strategy centers around not simply accepting these as inevitable.
If you can fix a problem before it ever happens, it can save both time and money. Being preventative in your approach to maintenance can also help reduce the cost of reactively having to repair a failed piece of equipment.
Nearly half of manufacturing companies admit they could make improvements to proactively prevent issues that lead to unplanned downtime1. The same study also reveals that around 70% don’t know when their machinery and equipment are due for maintenance, upgrade, or replacement.
Utilizing data, whether that’s from sensors that show the likely lifespan of components, or historic data that indicates the likely failure date, allows you to be more proactive.
Simply knowing when something needs to be maintained allows you to prepare for it, schedule it, and ensure you have the right products available to carry out maintenance and repairs efficiently.
Your maintenance plan should include:
- Inspecting equipment and machinery regularly for wear and tear.
- Following recommended maintenance schedules for specific pieces of machinery.
- Cleaning, making oil changes, and carrying out minor repairs regularly.
- Keeping accurate records of previous maintenance and services to allow you to spot trends.
When you detect any issues within the process, you can easily factor in the time and costs to ensure you know how your business will be impacted by downtime.