Are you wondering how to reduce maintenance costs for your industry? In every sector, businesses tend to employ the latest equipment to boost productivity. The sole purpose is to synchronise processes so that everything runs smoothly.
However, deploying modern-day hi-tech equipment is not easy. Many businesses find it hard to invest thousands of dollars just to improve their productivity.
So where and how do you cut the cost while making sure that the operations in your industry run smoothly? Lowering the cost of industrial maintenance can be a start, but how?
You must know that proper maintenance planning and scheduling are imperative for keeping your industry equipment up to par and improving your organisation’s efficiency.
This article will go over a few strategies you can incorporate into your business model to reduce maintenance costs for your industry.
Importance of Maintenance Consulting
Many business owners have a habit of taking maintenance on equipment lightly. They would put their meeting with maintenance consultants on hold for months before complete system failure strikes. This causes the equipment to disintegrate and charges the owner a hefty amount for reinstallation.
The maintenance costs of the industry shoot up so high that they leave the industry’s account in deficit while curbing the profit margins. This can leave the accounts in distress and calls for a solution to cut the cost to the maximum.
This is why industry owners need to be more aware of how well their equipment works and when to call in the maintenance consultant. With in-time maintenance planning and scheduling, you can save your equipment from disintegrating and reduce maintenance costs. Maintenance consultants can quickly grasp your situation and come up with solid plans to bring down plant maintenance costs and prevent shutdowns.
It is also imperative for the industry’s smooth operation that you take maintaining your equipment seriously. Because if you don’t, money isn’t the only thing that will be at a loss. Your operations will slow down, which could cost you long-term clients if solid strategies aren’t applied.
Top 5 Strategies to Cut Down Maintenance Costs
So, without further ado, let’s check out the top strategies you can incorporate as a business owner to reduce maintenance costs.
1. Prevent Malfunctions
Cutting down on maintenance costs by preventing malfunctions is not surprising. Once your equipment has completely shut down or has been damaged enough to put operations on hold, the maintenance of equipment becomes costlier than fixing minor errors.
One malfunctioning unit can increase the load on the subsequent parts of the process, thus adding to wear and tear. Thus, it will take time before the machine can start working again and your operations get back on track. This will cause a serious hit to production output and the generated revenue.
So, you need to prevent complete system failure. Incorporate a preventative maintenance strategy or employ a program that will review, track, and schedule all technical operations of your equipment.
2. Manage Inventory
The repair time for your equipment shouldn’t be too long. If it is, that’s probably because you lack sufficient spare parts in your inventory.
Having interchangeable or similar spare parts is one solution for reducing maintenance costs. It will be an intelligent way to reduce regular maintenance costs if you buy several machines with similar integrity and most spare parts can fit them.
Also, you should contact your equipment manufacturer to help devise a strategy to reduce inventory costs. And if you’re buying spare parts, purchase them in bulk to further reduce costs.
3. Train Your Team Well
Another reason maintenance costs are usually high is that the team performing the operations is yet to learn how the equipment works. As a result, only technicians can detect malfunctions or when the equipment is not performing to its full potential.
So, training your team well and letting them know how to detect problems with the equipment is another proven way to reduce maintenance costs. This can ensure you have fewer downtime periods and avoid time-consuming and expensive repair sessions.
4. Follow Equipment Guidelines
Once your team is fully capable of operating the equipment well, it will minimise malfunctions. This also includes that you guide them on how to use the equipment according to the manufacturer’s strict guidelines.
Every machine that you purchase comes with guidelines and instructions. Going over these guidelines and using the machine as instructed is imperative for longevity. Carefully following these instructions will also ensure that the machines don’t get damaged or malfunction too often.
Overusing a machine or using it for purposes other than intended can damage it quicker than you think. So, be very proactive about active maintenance and have industrial maintenance planning and scheduling sessions, as mentioned previously, to ensure your equipment lasts longer and doesn’t sustain any irreparable damage.
5. Invest in the Right Equipment and Expertise
This is another essential thing to do if you’d like to reduce hefty maintenance costs. Using your equipment to do something that it isn’t capable of doing is another thing that shoots the repair costs.
Even your phone or laptop loses power or freezes over when you try to use it for something that it can’t perform. The same rule goes for industrial equipment. So, this is something you must keep in mind before buying the equipment.
Enlist the operations that you will need the machine to perform in the industry and the extent of these operations. Then buy a machine that can perform those tasks without losing its integrity.
You can use a CMMS to stream the infrastructure management of your business for smooth operations. But, be advised that a CMMS alone is not enough. For certain industries, a dedicated inspection system can benefit plant maintenance routines better than a CMMS.
Final Thoughts
You can always hire a repair consultant to assist you with plant maintenance and provide you with all the details regarding which one of your equipment needs maintenance and which doesn’t.
As you have read, the foolproof way to ensure that your profit margins aren’t depleted is to maintain machinery properly and effectively. Maintenance planning and scheduling are crucial to ensure consistent production and achieve equipment reliability. The more you put the maintenance on hold, the costlier it will be once you finally give a green signal to the maintenance consultant.
Train your team to detect malfunctions and ensure the equipment isn’t being overused or underused. Take good care of your machinery and you can reduce the costs quite a notch. Also, have technicians perform regular checks on the machinery to ensure they are well-kept.
