If you’re running a factory, you know that proper factory maintenance is crucial. Downtime due to factors like mechanical failure costs companies big. It can lead to a 5-20% loss of productivity.
No business can sustain that kind of loss of productivity forever. The key is putting people and systems in place that keep your factory humming along sweetly every day of the year.
Let’s take a closer look at what you need to consider when maintaining a factory.
Table of Contents
Create a Factory Maintenance Schedule
If you leave anything to chance in factory maintenance, it will come back to bite you.
Start by taking an inventory of all your manufacturing equipment. Every piece of machinery will have a manufacturer-recommended service and maintenance schedule. In fact, if you don’t follow these milestones, you may invalidate the manufacturer’s warranty.
Once you have added these to the inventory, add the scheduled maintenance to a master maintenance calendar. Ensure that everyone who needs to has access to this.
Also, put in place a system for logging maintenance. This will help you to make sure that nothing gets missed.
You can also use bespoke maintenance tracking software to create job cards for your maintenance crew. This will help to keep everyone on track.
Perform Regular Checks
It’s likely that your machine operators are skilled in using the equipment, but do not know how to maintain it. Therefore, you need to institute a system of regular, possibly daily, inspections by your trained maintenance crew.
These can become perfunctory, so be sure to perform spot checks to make sure that inspections are being carried out correctly. Having this kind of system in place is crucial to ensuring that issues are spotted early.
Hire the Right Personnel
Especially if you are a new business, it’s crucial to hire skilled personnel for equipment maintenance.
Some individuals may have experience in maintaining a wide range of factory equipment. Make sure that they follow the manufacturer’s guidelines and don’t take shortcuts. They should be skilled in basic equipment repair as well as have the ability to carry out regular maintenance tasks.
Once you have an experienced crew in place, you can take on and train new hires. When you have new equipment, provide training to upskill your workforce. Don’t leave this to chance, as poor maintenance will lead to costly repairs in the future.
Facility Maintenance
There’s no point in having great equipment maintenance if the facility is crumbling around it!
Everything from factory painting to HVAC maintenance needs to be scheduled. You also need to work closely with the cleaning crew. They need to understand how their role contributes to the maintenance of the factory.
Regular inspections and servicing of non-manufacturing equipment will save you a lot of headaches down the line.
Keep Productivity Up with Factory Maintenance
Proper factory maintenance is so important. Not just for productivity, but for safety as well. Don’t leave anything to chance.
Institute a system of regular inspections and scheduled maintenance. Don’t skimp on training for your personnel. You will be rewarded with a well-run, productive factory with a great safety record.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this article, and we’ve got lots more helpful hints and tips for you. Head over to our Business section today for more!
