Maintenance plans boost productivity

1 December 2004



A clear maintenance plan will help a business be more productive by reducing machine downtime


Productivity is often quoted as one of the prime goals for our industry – keep those machines operating at high volumes and make the most of your staff.

Any interruptions to that flow are seen simply as a burden, a heavy cost. With this attitude, installation is perceived as something to be done as quickly, and preferably as cheaply, as possible. At worst, it could be seen almost as a d-i-y task, especially in the case of a “secondhand” machine.

Servicing is often left until a machine is near break down. Routine maintenance is seen as a time-consuming chore that can, when necessary, be put off until the next day, week, month, or even longer.

If you’re tempted to think like this, look at these functions another way. To keep those machines operating at peak productivity, they should be correctly and professionally installed.

Lengthy interruption

The machines can only keep running if they are kept in good order. Ignoring a fault won’t send it away. It will get worse, affecting work quality on the way, until eventually the result is a lengthy interruption to the workflow and costly repair, possibly even breakdown and machine replacement.

To those immediate costs paid to service engineers or machine suppliers, add the cost of lost profits that could have been processed during the lengthy machine downtime, and the cost of pacifying dissatisfied customers who have had to wait longer than necessary.

But perhaps the real problem is that the business has lost control. Learn to manage the situation; by planning ahead, interruptions to the business flow will be kept to a minimum.

Other aspects of the business are planned, so work out a formal plan with the production department that sets daily, weekly and monthly maintenance tasks, as well as a schedule for longer intervals. The service calls recommended by your supplier or stipulated in your service contract should also be noted with a reminder to book them.

Don’t leave the maintenance schedule in someone’s head. Set the details out in the form of a chart that can be clearly read and monitored.

Larger organisations might take this approach further by turning the regular maintenance schedule into a business plan in which the maintenance department treats production as its customer. It will then agree particular targets with a strategy for achieving those targets.

For example, if one particular section or a machine seems to be experiencing problems, then the company can introduce a programme of preventative maintenance. However, if the machine is old, then the strategy might be to replace that machine.

The maintenance department must decide how best to monitor its own performance to see that it is delivering the targets according to the agreed business plan.



Check points

• For machines to run at optimum efficiency, they should be professionally installed, routinely maintained and serviced regularly
• Plan ahead to minimise downtime. Work out a formal plan that sets daily, weekly and monthly maintenance tasks with the production department
• Ensure the agreed maintenance plan is set out in a chart that can be clearly read and monitored, and that managers check maintenance tasks are carried out according to the schedule
• Servicing calls should be booked in at periods recommended by the supplier, or as stipulated in the machine service contract





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