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At some point, every piece of machinery, equipment, and technology will experience a problem that will slow down or halt an important process. Nothing lasts forever; it’s the nature of manmade things.
Although you can’t avoid all breakdowns, you can stop certain issues from occurring through preventive maintenance. There are plenty of problems that can be prevented by keeping track of routine maintenance needs and paying attention to the early warning signs. If you choose not to employ preventive maintenance, the consequences can be devastating.
Downtime is Just the Beginning
Downtime is the first thing that will happen when an important piece of equipment breaks. It could last hours, days, weeks, or even months, depending on how prepared you are with a solution. Although it may seem like a simple inconvenience at first, downtime is just the start of a downward spiral that will negatively impact your business.
Fortunately, a good preventive maintenance plan will help you spot signs of aging and failing equipment before it’s too late. For example, if you own an electrical transformer, preventive maintenance is crucial. Not noticing the signs of transformer failure can result in a loss of electricity for quite some time, but also, some failures cause fires and explosions, which put people’s safety at risk.
Downtime Leads to Lost Sales
Once you’re experiencing downtime from equipment failure, you’re probably going to notice lost sales. If the equipment is something you depend on to run your business, those lost sales will start to add up fast. For example, if you’re on a production deadline for a special order and all of a sudden the whole process comes to a halt, you’re not going to meet your production timeline. Even if nobody is waiting for those specific products in a special order, you will still have disappointed customers when regular customers notice you’re out of stock.
Every day your equipment is down could cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars now, but that downtime will lead to even more lost sales because some people will start doing business with your competitors and never come back. If your downtime is too disruptive to people who rely on you, your reputation can also suffer.
Dissatisfied Customers Talk
Word-of-mouth is the most powerful form of advertising, but it works both ways – positive and negative. Unfortunately, people are more likely to speak out about a negative experience compared to positive experiences. If you gather a bunch of unhappy customers, you can expect negative online reviews and negative talk in social media spheres.
How to Implement Preventive Maintenance
Now that you know the consequences of not having preventive maintenance in place, here’s how you can include this important element in your business and avoid the impact of preventable downtime.
Assess What is Most Likely to Break Down
The first thing you need to do is create a list of equipment most likely to experience breakdowns, whether it’s a computer or a large piece of machinery. Regardless of size, document the most common failures associated with anything that has the potential to disrupt your flow. From there, find out what the manufacturer recommends in terms of regular maintenance and inspections. Don’t skip anything. Even tasks as minor as defragmenting a hard drive can support your efforts.
Document a Formal Preventive Maintenance Plan
Create a routine maintenance plan around your needs, and assign tasks to staff members accordingly. For example, you might need to remove dust and debris from certain pieces of equipment, like HVAC units, computers, and other machinery. You might need to apply lubricants to moving parts to prevent unnecessary friction and corrosion, or there could be hoses, bolts, and other connections to tighten.
Plan on Replacing Parts Before They Break
As soon as certain parts become worn, and you know it’s a matter of time before they completely break, replace them fast. Don’t wait. Remember that preventive maintenance is all about preventing predictable breakdowns, and worn and failing parts should be replaced as soon as possible. You can also replace parts known to fail on specific intervals to make it easy. For example, if you know the laptops your employees use will need to be replaced every 2-3 years, replace them at the 2-year mark so you don’t run into breakdowns that will put your team behind schedule.
Preventive Maintenance is the Key to a Smooth Business
By implementing preventive maintenance in your business, you’ll avoid costly downtime that can lead to bad reviews and you’ll extend the life of your equipment. Introducing preventive maintenance into your business is the best way to maintain productivity and profitability while achieving a competitive edge in your market.
