5 Tips for Equipment Maintenance
Getting the most out of your processing equipment is critical for profitability. A slow moving line, unplanned stoppages, and processing delays can result in spoilage of high cost ingredients or products, which destroys your profit margin and can wreak havoc with the integrity of your brand.
Keeping your equipment properly maintained and running smoothly is key to avoiding these unnecessary costs. The following equipment maintenance tips will help you keep your equipment running at peak efficiency to save you time and money.
Plan Preventative Maintenance
The best thing you can do to keep your equipment running efficiently is to follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for scheduling preventative maintenance. Inspecting all components, replacing any that show wear, upgrading components such as wires and cables to higher quality replacements will extend the life of your equipment and avoid costly breakdowns. It is to your benefit to keep a log for each piece of equipment to be certain that preventative maintenance practices are being followed.
A simple, easy way to keep track of your preventative maintenance practices is to implement Snaptivation into your plant. With an extremely low setup fee and low monthly payments, Snaptivation puts the power of asset management and preventative maintenance tracking into the palm of every employee. Learn more about this cost effective tool.
Regularly Calibrate Equipment
Over time, your equipment gauges can get out of alignment, causing improperly mixed or weighed food product. Calibrating your equipment will bring gauges back into alignment and increase accuracy. Consider calibrating equipment on a regular, planned schedule, such as once a week or month. It will save you a lot over time.
Stock Spare Parts
No matter how much preventative maintenance you practice, there is always the chance of an equipment breakdown. Stocking the recommended spare parts for your equipment will decrease downtime and allow you to get the equipment up and running again quickly. Items such as wires, cables, and shear pins should always be stocked.
Properly Train Operators
There is a right way and a wrong way to operate your equipment. When operated incorrectly, you expose equipment to increased wear and tear, if not all out breakage. Properly training your employees to operate your equipment will pay off in the long run. Training operators in proper setup and operation of equipment will improve efficiency and extend the life of your equipment.
Inspect Regularly
On top of your regular preventative maintenance practices, you may want to consider adding regular, more in-depth inspections of all equipment. Create a check list of signs of wear and tear to look for, and thoroughly inspect every component of your equipment. While it may take some time and be tedious, regular, in-depth inspections can help you avoid equipment breakdown.
The above equipment maintenance tips will help you keep your equipment in tip top condition and running efficiently. Doing so will reduce equipment downtime due to breakdowns, improves the efficiency of your equipment, and improves the quality of your food product. While many know that these tips should be followed, it’s rarely done. Make the effort to implement these tips into your maintenance processes to extend the life of your equipment.
