As machines run and operate for long periods, they begin to lose efficiency. Pieces and parts wear down and before long will need to be replaced. By ignoring obvious maintenance warning signs, you risk one damaged component of your factory floor eventually harming others and having a domino effect.
MRO, or maintenance, repair and operations, is essential to running a business daily. Ignoring MRO could be detrimental to your business’ short-term operations and long-term financial health.
But how can you determine what needs to be replaced and when?
PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE
CBT Company offers several solutions to minimize downtime and predict upcoming repairs while saving your facility money. One of those services is a remote cost savings analysis, allowing plant operators a better view of how predictive maintenance can save their organization money for the foreseeable future, giving an extensive financial breakdown over a lengthy time period.
“Predictive maintenance can be a lifesaver,” says John Simon, an Automation Specialist.
CBT also offers an IBE, or an Installed Base Evaluation, which is an analysis of your facility’s current equipment followed by a recommendation to upgrade more outdated components and to better plan for your facility’s future. CBT Specialists say sometimes MRO can boil down to just keeping up with regular tasks that can be completed in a few minutes.
“People not properly greasing their bearings, things like that,” Jeremy Watkins, an Automation Specialist, says of standard maintenance tasks.
The financial incentives are also apparent. Using predictive maintenance and knowing when to replace your drives, bearings, or other machine components which can prevent future high costs. But it’s more than equipment that needs regular maintenance and upkeep. In the realm of lighting, Jason Self, a certified lighting specialist with CBT, says ample lighting has various benefits, including energy savings and employee productivity.
Energy savings can also be translated into more digestible concepts, such as saving so many gallons of fuel or trees, Self comments. More businesses are taking a more environmentally conscious mindset to their practices, such as reducing their carbon footprint, and having environmental goals as part of their overall broader business goals.
“We can provide some metrics there that may tick off some boxes on company policies as far as energy is concerned,” he says. “When you explain the multiple benefits and reasons for new lighting, together they make a strong incentive to move forward with lighting upgrades.”
RELY ON EXPERTS
Knowing exactly how and what to update can be tricky. Self himself is highly trained in specialized software, which simulates the amount of lighting in an area. In the program, a 3D replica workspace can be generated and illuminated differently, depending on the customer’s lighting options. Self takes that model and discusses how upgraded or changed lighting solutions would look at a customer’s facility.
Self is also a member of the “National Council of Qualifications on the Lighting Professions.” This organization recommends the amount of lighting needed to perform jobs satisfactorily, giving him another advantage in determining the best optimal upgrade for a facility.
Lastly, while maintaining MRO is essential for facilities, Self says it is important that products come from authorized and reputable distributors as gray market items may end up doing more harm than good.
“There’s a lot of shady stuff that goes on with these unauthorized providers of goods,” Self mentions. “It’s better to know you’re getting the real deal instead of buying a counterfeit.”
Need to spruce up your facility? Contact oneof our CBT Specialists today!
