When you want to continuously run your business without facing downtime, the equipment you use for production must cooperate with you. You have to do regular maintenance to get this benefit, especially if you use large machines to produce your goods.
Large machinery is used in industries like mining, farming, construction, etc. When you fail to maintain them, you face inefficient working and sudden breakdowns, causing your business activities to stop abruptly.
To avoid this, maintain your machinery so that they perform longer and bring good profits to you. Below are a few tips for you to follow
- Keep records of daily use
Often, large machinery breakdowns happen due to inefficient handling by workers. If your workers are not skilled to handle such huge machines, it can result in improper working and constant repairs.
The solution to this problem is by keeping records of the daily usage of machines. The record should contain the time of machine usage, where the machines are used and who used them.
Logging these records digitally will help you pinpoint the problems early and you can rectify them easily.
- Schedule planned maintenance
Like everything, it’s inevitable for the machine’s parts to break down. However, you can expect the life of machines, depending on their usage, which allows you to schedule maintenance by professional technicians.
The important parts of machines usually include bears which are damaged easily without proper care. So, once in a while, you should schedule maintenance to check if those parts need repair or complete replacement.
You should also keep a log of maintenance so that you know the last time you inspected the machine parts. It also helps you schedule your next maintenance check.
- Lubricate and clean regularly
Apart from the occasional maintenance checks, some machine parts need to be cleaned daily. The cleaning includes removing the clogged dust and dirt so that they can work smoothly. Heavily worked parts need constant lubrication so that they work well while your workers are operating them.
Also, you have to make sure the machine parts are not corroded. The large machinery can easily stop working if they come into contact with water which is the main reason for corrosion. To prevent this, lubricate the machines often and keep them free from contaminants.
- Check for signs of wear and tear
Planned maintenance and constant lubrication will help your machines from daily wear and tear. However, some machine parts will require replacement even after regular maintenance.
For instance, check belts, pulleys, and chains must be checked for alignment and condition. You also have to check gears and sprockets for damaged teeth and misalignment.
These parts, though after maintenance, show signs of wear and tear which indicate that you should book industrial machine repair for them.
Besides inspecting the machine parts, you should also check the fluids for their quality like lubricants and other fluids.
- Train employees properly
Apart from regular maintenance and inspection of heavy machinery, you should educate your employees about proper machine handling. Improper handling will lead to damage to the machine parts which may or may not be repaired easily.
You should employ a supervisor to monitor how well your workers are handling the large machinery. Educate your employees about what to do in case any problem arrives while working with machinery. Provide the entire knowledge about the machines so that your employees can feel comfortable operating the machines.
- Protecting equipment while storage
Properly storing the large machinery will ensure that the maintenance costs less. Whenever they are not in working condition, you should keep the machinery undercover. If you have to keep the machines idle for a long time, keep checking them for rust, corrosion, etc. Using oil mist as the lubricant will keep your machinery rust-free when kept idle.
Conclusion
The above points are effective in maintaining large machinery. You can have good returns just by caring for your machines. Remember, in the competitive business world, you have to cut down expenses wherever necessary to ensure you’re getting maximum profits. Machine maintenance is one such area where you can cut down on maintenance costs by regularly inspecting your machines.
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