2019.01.06
Why Postponing Maintenance Will Spell Catastrophe for Your Plant
Have you ever been guilty of putting off dealing with things you don’t want to think about right now? A tiny chip in the windscreen, perhaps? A toothache that really needs a trip to the dentist? The batteries that need changing in a hard-to-reach smoke alarm? Even though we know that a simple action or small expenses could help us avoid a costly nightmare later on, we leave it later and later… until disaster strikes.
If we’re willing to risk so much over a small inconvenience, no wonder so many of us put off the really complex and potentially expensive maintenance tasks until it’s too late.
Take your manufacturing plant. How much of a priority is maintenance for your team, when profit margins are squeezed? When you’re battling fierce competition from rivals, both foreign and domestic? When cash flow is hand-to-mouth?
After all, when you’re scrambling to keep up with fluctuating demand, it’s hard to take a step back and ask yourself whether investing in upgrades or scheduling preventative maintenance would boost revenues in the long run. Or to think about what would happen if something broke down tomorrow.
But think about it now: when did you last replace your equipment? Are you confident that it’s still performing as well as it could, or are you simply trying to squeeze every last drop of capacity from it before it finally gives up?
An what will you do when it does pack up? How long will it take you to get back up and running? Will you still have a competitive edge against ambitious rivals who took the initiative to invest in new technology sooner? How much will you need to spend on rental equipment, on top of permanent replacements, to use as a stopgap?
Because here’s the thing: eventually those ancient machines will break down, and when they do, your production and profits will grind to a halt.
But you know that, right? That’s why most manufacturers schedule planned outages once a year, shutting down either specific process units or the whole plant for routine maintenance. They stomach the costs of the upkeep and the loss of profits because it’s better than an emergency shutdown down the line.
But did you know that there is a way to avoid switching off the power?
That by bringing in temporary power, you can keep up full productivity throughout your scheduled maintenance?
This includes everything your plant needs to keep running, including generators, heating, cooling, dehumidification and 100% oil-free compressed air. Take this paper manufacturer, for example, who switched over seamlessly from their system to ours, preserving delicate conditions and meeting all their delivery deadlines – despite shutting down their in-house equipment for maintenance.
With the right temporary solution to back you up, there’s simply no reason or excuse to put off your routine maintenance… but no need to accept a hit to your productivity or profits, either.
Talking about maintenance, anyone working with electrical gear should be aware of the risks regarding Arc Flashes. Download our safety tip and distribute it to your team or use it during presentations and meetings:
Find out more about our solutions for the manufacturing sector
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