Jul 5, 2006
The Broadhurst Report
Who Needs a Vacation?
How about your equipment?
By Guy Broadhurst
I recently came back from vacation and realized I really had needed the time off. And to be honest, I thought I deserved it, too! It's always nice to get away.
But people aren't the only ones who need a break from time to time. I've been in many print shops where the equipment has clearly been run very hard for a long time. After all, it is the print engines and the pre- and post-processing machines that produce the books, manuals, statements, invoices, direct mail pieces, and put the checks in the mail. For a company to make money, the machines have to run hard and that makes uptime and downtime an ongoing discussion between vendors and print providers. These discussions often involve uptime in the high 90s, minimal downtime for maintenance, and lower service costs.
I understand the economics on both sides of this particular fence, yet I sometimes wonder what we are all thinking as we pound the machines into the ground over the years of their lives. Everyone buys equipment with a certain monthly volume in mind, and it's not unusual to exceed that volume with some regularity. This is a good thing, because it means you get more out of your investment. But over time, you have to pay for that extra volume by taking care of your equipment.
Your operations staff (and vendor service people) are making miracles happen every month as the equipment ages. We all want to make sure the equipment lets you meet or exceed the uptime targets. Maybe we could realize that they are doing a great job and give them --and their equipment-- a short vacation in the form of a little more quality PM (preventive maintenance) time. Quite frankly, even the most reliable and robust equipment in your shop, can benefit from a break and PM can be the machine equivalent of a few hours in a spa. When you do this from time to time you'll see overall less downtime, more uptime and better overall performance.
For example, as a machine ages there are parts deep inside, such as major bearings, that are meant for the long haul but still wear and require attention. They are more time consuming to replace, but if done as part of a planned preventive maintenance other items can be checked and serviced at the same time, minimizing the time involved. I liken it to routine maintenance on your car. The reason the dealer replaces the timing belt every 50,000 miles is so it's not likely to fail and leave you stranded on your way to an important meeting--or your kid's wedding. And if you've noticed, some of the routine PM services done on your car are more expensive as the car ages, with the idea of preventing a more costly failure later on.
How Much Maintenance?
When talking with customers about these things, one question I get is since machines are so robust, is it cheaper to run them as hard as possible with minimal maintenance or if you get more out of them over time by performing additional PM. There's no simple answer, but well-maintained equipment tends to be more reliable over the long haul. Furthermore, doing some extra PM shows its worth if you routinely exceed duty cycles during monthly peaks because the equipment is less likely to fail when you need it most. Still, it's amazing to me how the financial guys depreciate equipment over 5 years, even as the operational guys seem to keep the boxes running forever. We have machines out there today with 500 million feet on them and some that are 15 years old. Maintenance --especially of strong machinery-- clearly pays off!
Like keeping your car or home well-maintained, regular preventive maintenance of your printing and mailing devices helps avoid unexpected expenses. It lets you run equipment longer, and assuming you don't require different equipment, that lets you spread your capital investments out over more years. Or it can enable you to invest in machines that expand your capabilities rather than merely replacing what you have.
Of course, the challenge is how to schedule extra PM time in a busy shop. Begin by looking at your monthly production schedule and seeing where the valleys are when a machine can be taken off line. Then talk with your equipment vendor about what you might want to replace or update in the interest of continued long-term reliability, how long it will take and the costs involved. Work out the specific dates for the work, knowing that in some cases the work may occur on different dates over a few months. If you do this for all your equipment, from unwinders to the press to finishing or inserting equipment, you'll rejuvenate all your machines so they can continue to deliver the performance you need. And just as you feel and work better after a vacation, your equipment will also be ready for more.
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