Due to the decreasing capital budgets and challenging economy, plenty of companies face the daunting difficulty of maintaining aging conveyors up and running. If you don’t have the luxury yet to upgrade to a new one, you can keep these maintenance tips in mind to keep those belts turning.
1. Maintenance Technician
They are among the most under-appreciated heroes that every facility has. Companies already make a grave mistake by either underpaying a maintenance technician or not hiring one. Having a good technician around will not only correct small problems before they turn out into bigger ones, but they can also be the reason why you won’t lose sales and customers when your conveyor system is running smoothly.
2. Spare Parts
There isn’t anything permanent in this world, and mechanical parts are one of them. They will inevitably fail when the time comes. Depending on where it fails, having a sudden breakdown can stop production for quite a while. If it’s been a long time since you replaced a part, know that it can lead to severe damage to the other system parts. It’s highly recommended that you keep a safety stock of all the conveyor parts that are long lead time and critical.
3. Preventive Maintenance
If you only plan on repairing parts during the time it breaks, you’’ be very busy with that activity alone. Mechanical equipment, such as conveyors, must have regular maintenance. The various parts of your system also require different preventive care levels. If you follow the recommended service schedule, then it’s a guarantee that your machine will have its maximum system up-time.
4. System Audit & Documentation
Regularly inspecting your conveyor system is crucial if you want it to run smoothly. Several times, you’ll experience smelling metallic scents and hearing strange noises from the machine before it becomes a significant problem. Unfortunately, you may have difficulty telling when a part is slowly failing if you’re around the system every day. Hire someone to do a complete system audit. They will inspect your entire conveyor system to prevent any catastrophic failures from happening.
It’s vital to be wise when fixing things. Regularly maintaining conveyors can be a dragging job. However, with the right amount of thought and organization, you can conveniently extend a conveyor system’s life way beyond the claims of the manufacturer.…