Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Repairs After A Failure Are More Expensive Than Predictive Maintenance Services

By Lela Perkins


When one acquires a piece of equipment or other device, it is with the assumption it will work and either be productive or improve the quality of life in some way. There are none that can simply be used without some schedule of maintenance or repair. The development of predictive maintenance services has made a big impact on keeping things working smoothly.

Mechanical devices of all types have something in common; moving parts. It follows that anything that moves is subject to deteriorating forces. From externally introduced contamination in the form of dust and dirt to environmental issues like weather, as well as friction and heat of normal operation, many things contribute to physical deterioration.

Manufacturers of every ilk work hard to make their products the most durable on the market, and the are assisted by science. Improvements in synthetics have produced harder, lighter substances that make the end product stronger and longer lasting. While things are lasting longer and longer, everything eventually reaches the end of its functional lifetime.

In combination with better starting substances, the types of lubricants and cleaners have steadily improved as well. Synthetic oils protect car engines longer and better, and lubricants for everything from bicycles to rusty hinges have been tailored for specific uses. Thus there is no avoiding some semblance of vigilance in keeping things working as they were designed and manufactured to do.

But no matter how diligently one cares for a device, decay cannot be avoided and inevitably parts will wear out and if not replaced can cause the complete failure of the device. When it is a standalone type of device, then the need to keep it working smoothly and continuously is a matter of individual need or desire. If it is a compact disk player, then all that happens if it fails is the annoyance of not having it.

Often a single piece of equipment can cause a loss of productivity by itself, in other instances it can affect other equipment reliant on its output. A ailing device can also be difficult and even dangerous to get to and remove after it breaks. When the company is reliant on the manufacture of a product, it represents the vital core of the business.

When something on the production line fails, the entire line will probably have to be stopped and productive capability is lost. If the company eschews preventive maintenance due to the costs involved and has waited until something fails of its own accord, there is also considerable time lost in troubleshooting, which adds to the delay in restarting the line. When the conditions under which production is facilitate include temperatures or pressures, the stopping and restarting can physically require an additional lengthy delay.

The optimum frequency of care and maintenance is that which gets the most out of a device with the least down time. Knowing how to conduct preventive maintenance, repair or replacement at the last possible moment before experiencing a failure maximizes productivity and profit. The key to that knowledge lies in predictive maintenance services.




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