Prevent Unplanned Downtime
with Preventive Maintenance
Optimizing production line efficiency is essential to maximize output and increase profitability. Product inspection systems are often designated as Critical Control Points (CCP's). If the equipment fails, manufacturers face a risk of significant unplanned downtime resulting in reduced output and lost revenues. Preventive Maintenance programs can reduce the risk of unplanned downtime by ensuring parts and systems are overhauled, refurbished or replaced before they break down.
Preventive Maintenance Plans from METTLER TOLEDO Service provide regular check-ups for your product inspection systems throughout the life of the equipment to ensure outstanding performance is attained at all times. Through the systematic inspection of equipment and the documentation of recommended actions, a proactive Preventive Maintenance program can protect valuable assets, reduce the risk of downtime and minimize associated costs.
According to Mintek,1 "A company can save between 12-18% using preventive maintenance over reactive maintenance" and "every dollar spent on preventive maintenance will save you five dollars on other expenses." It is clear that investing in a care contract to look after your product inspection equipment can deliver tangible benefits and cost savings.
Consider the Costs of Unplanned Downtime
Consider a scenario where Preventive Maintenance has not been implemented and product inspection equipment fails unexpectedly, resulting in the stoppage of an entire production line. Some of the resulting disruption and recovery costs may include:
- Reduced output resulting in revenue loss
- Incurring maintenance overtime costs for emergency repair works to be conducted
- Excess courier charges for delivery of replacement spare parts or materials
- Loss of time/resources in responding to emergencies and diagnosing faults
- Lost orders or customer dissatisfaction if delivery deadlines can't be met
These costs can quickly ramp up, far exceeding the costs of a Preventive Maintenance plan that in all likelihood would have identified the issues before they became a problem.
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Minimising Costs, Mitigating Risk
Investing in a Preventive Maintenance programme delivers real cost savings and benefits enabling:
- Equipment to be shut down to coincide with planned downtime, minimizing or avoiding the issue of lost production
- Overtime/maintenance payments to be reduced by minimizing the time taken for repair and planning when the work will take place
- Shipping costs to be reduced by ordering required parts in advance of requirements
- Increased confidence that orders can be fulfilled on time due to production line uptime
Additional Benefits of Preventive Maintenance
Benefits of Preventive maintenance extend beyond the cost savings listed above. For example, worker safety could also be improved because skilled METTLER TOLEDO service engineers may be able to identify and mitigate any potential safety issues with your product inspection equipment. Also, taking proper care of your equipment can support compliance with Weights & Measures legislation, HACCP/HARPC, industry standards/regulations and retailer codes of practice.
Establishing the Correct Level of Preventive Maintenance
METTLER TOLEDO's highly qualified service technicians will conduct an in-depth analysis of your product inspection processes to understand operating and product throughout speeds, packaging variables, contaminant detection and other key factors. They can then advise on the appropriate level of maintenance to keep your checkweighing, metal detection, vision inspection and x-ray inspection systems fully operational at all times.
A Preventive Maintenance visit may include:
- Basic cleaning
- Visual inspection
- Operational checks
- Performance optimization
Plans can be tailored to suit your specific maintenance programs, process applications and working environments to ensure maximum operational efficiency for your production lines.
About METTLER TOLEDO Service
Our highly qualified service technicians can help you to achieve all your compliance obligations with the additional assurance of offering invaluable expertise through training, documentation and on-site technical assistance. Full product lifecycle support is available, from installation and performance verification, to operational servicing and parts replacement, as well as long-term planning for future needs.
