Whatever your industry, the cost of broken machinery is an expense you can do without — the downtime resulting from broken machinery results in billions upon billions of dollars of lost revenue every year.
That’s why one of the smartest capital decisions you can make is to safeguard and maintain your equipment.
Spending a few hundred dollars (or even less) on upkeep for your operating machinery is a lot less painful than the tens or even hundreds of thousands you will spend in the event of an industrial machine failure.
If you’re wondering how to keep all of the gears running, here are three straightforward ways to avoid machine failure.
1. Implement a Condition Monitoring System for Your Operating Machinery
Any responsible industry veteran will tell you that a rigorous condition monitoring system is essential. Put simply, condition monitoring involves using data and analytics to continually keep an eye on the health of your operating machinery. At its most basic level, condition monitoring consists of placing sensors on all of your machinery.
Thes sensors will all be connected to a central monitoring platform that can usually be accessed on a tablet or laptop. The sensors will continuously provide updates on your machinery and alert you to any real or potential problems.
Conditional monitoring sensors prevent commercial equipment breakdown by monitoring aspects such as machine vibration, temperature, acoustics, and lubrication.
By being able to monitor the health of your machinery, you’ll be able to catch any issues before they become serious problems.
2. Detect and Destroy Any Defects
It’s not enough to act whenever a question arises. There are steps you can take to prevent commercial sector equipment failure before any malfunctions occur. If you’re using second-hand machinery, try and find out if the previous owner experienced any issues with the equipment.
Even with brand-new, top-of-the-line equipment, there will likely be preemptive measures you can take. For example, if a particular brand of a gearbox is known to work better with certain types of lubricant, make sure only to use those types.
Even getting in touch with equipment manufacturers for advice on how to avoid wearing machinery down can go a long way.
Every piece of machinery has optimum environments. Take steps to find out what these are, as well as which situations are more likely to cause deterioration.
This preliminary step may save you a lot of time and money further down the line.
3. Routine Maintenence is Key
Lastly, it’s essential to incorporate routine maintenance into your work schedule. Even machines that are in perfect working order should receive at least essential maintenance on a regular or semi-regular basis. This doesn’t have to be a particularly strenuous ordeal.
For example, setting up a schedule for tightening screws and applying lubrication to moving parts once a fortnight or so can prove more than sufficient. Even the best sensors cannot always predict when a machine will break down.
That’s why you need boots on the ground to perform regular maintenance. Even if there is no work to be done on a machine, merely having a human set of eyes checking the equipment is an essential preventative measure.
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If the worst does happen and your operating machinery breaks down, there is no need to panic. You can find comprehensive repair advice on our blog for all of the expert insight you will ever need.