When you run a manufacturing business nowadays, you will usually have a factory or two. That is the only way to keep up with the demands of the market. The trouble is that these plants are full of equipment that can potentially break down. As part of the management, one of your jobs is to ensure their continued running. If this feels a bit challenging, here are some useful tips that should help you out.
Start Preventive Maintenance
One of the key things that you need to do is to start a preventive maintenance program. It allows you to catch the issues before they become major ones. Preventive maintenance aims to monitor your equipment so that breakdowns don’t happen at all. It involves regular monitoring and checks. It may also require a yearly schedule downtime. That is when you and your team go over everything to identify problems. You might have to do some cleaning and tuning up. Scheduled downtime is better than an unexpected one since you can better plan for it. It allows your equipment to last longer as well.
Preventive maintenance is more useful if you keep records. Keep track of the state of your equipment and their maintenance procedures. This way, you can see what is effective or not. It allows you to change the program when necessary.
Upgrade Your Obsolete Equipment
When equipment gets old, breakdowns become more frequent. Besides that, repairing them becomes more difficult. It is because replacement parts are harder to find. For example, if your centrifugal pump is old, you might find out that repairing it would cost as much as buying a new one. That is why you should audit your equipment to find obsolete equipment and upgrade them to modern standards. Besides making it easier to maintain, they usually also perform much better.
To determine if your equipment is obsolete, you should look at its performance. You should then compare it to what is available on the market. If your current machines have significantly lower performance than the current benchmark, it is a good idea to replace them.
Train Your People Well
The biggest reason why your equipment breaks down is that your people are not using it properly. That can range from pushing the machines too much to not identifying when something is wrong. Since your employees will be the ones in contact with the equipment regularly, it is a good idea to train them well in using the tools. A training program should involve proper handling and care so that your machines stay in tip-top shape.
The best way to get training is to contact the makers of the equipment. Many of them are happy to offer training programs. They don’t do it only once either. The best way to spread knowledge about your tools is for regular training for both new and old employees. It ensures that everyone knows what they are doing.
Maximize Productivity
Frequent breakdowns will affect your bottom line. That is why it is to your advantage to cut down on them as much as possible. The pieces of advice above should help with that. Keep them in mind as you do your job, and you can expect your manufacturing plant to perform admirably.
