Machine maintenance is the work that minimizes downtime for mechanical assets. Machine maintenance can include scheduled service, routine inspections as well as scheduled and emergency repairs. It also includes replacing or realigning worn, damaged, or misaligned parts. Machine maintenance can be perform either before fault or after a failure occur. Machine maintenance at any plant or facility which uses mechanical assets is critical. It helps organizations meet production schedules, minimize costly downtimes, and reduce the risk of workplace injuries and accidents.
The unexpected failure of equipment in a manufacturing plant can interrupt the production schedule and result in costly downtime which can have a significant impact on your bottom line. The key to avoiding catastrophic equipment failure is regular maintenance of the equipment. In the long term, it can pay off in the form of increased operating efficiency and lower costs. Proper manufacturing equipment service is well worth the investment.
The advantages of maintenance include various aspects. It helps to extend the lifespan of the equipment, and reduce the need to buy new equipment. It prevents unplanned downtime that can be expensive and interrupt the production process. Reduces expenses caused because of negligence that can include the need for expensive repairs. It keep equipment run smooth to ensure projects are complete on time and on budget. It reduces injuries and fatalities due to faulty equipment, and thus the liability. It maximizes coverage of the warranty by having detailed service records to show that the maintenance is up to date. It ensures that the systems are efficiently working to reduce energy consumption and operating costs. It involves preventing small problems from becoming big problems that are time-consuming and expensive to fix as a complex repair often comes with a bigger price tag and longer downtime. It increases equipment resale value with the correct service record. It increases equity and borrowing power while maintaining the value of assets.
The aim of improving machine maintenance involves a focus on four main areas i.e. planning, precision, protection, and measurement. Having a good machine maintenance plan in place ensures that parts, equipment, and labor are available when needed, and a strategy is in place to make effective use of those resources. Many maintenance plans include both planned and scheduled maintenance, which will identify problems before failure occurs, and planned unplanned maintenance, which will ensure that failures are repaired, and assets are returned to work order as quickly as possible. Establishing a strategy for precision maintenance can ensure that maintenance tasks are performed consistently, accurately, and according to best practices in the industry. Key maintenance improvements include keeping workers safe. Workers need to have adequate personal protective equipment ( PPE) and be trained in how to properly use it. The final piece of the puzzle about machine maintenance is measuring the performance of assets. Data-based, predictive, and prescriptive maintenance plans won’t work without this. Precise data on how your machinery performs allows you to choose the right maintenance strategy, leading to better, more reliable performance.
Establishing a proper maintenance workflow for the machines is essential to help the manufacturing facility operate at the highest efficiency and improve the performance. That’s not something to neglect on and in the long run, the efforts pay off.
