Between the challenges of today’s economy and decreasing budgets, many businesses are faced with the question of keeping deteriorating conveyor systems operating well past when they would usually be retrofitted or done away with.
However, there are options for those companies that don’t have the pleasure of upgrading to a brand new, state-of-the-art conveyor system. Below are tips to upgrade your aging conveyor system.
Hire A Maintenance Technician
One of the biggest mistakes a company can make do is either not hiring a maintenance technician or underpay one. A good technician will correct small problems before they become too big to fix. It comes down to paying someone to manage the system or letting the system fail and buying a new one. Would you rather spend money on lost sales and unhappy customers when your system goes down and you can’t get the product out the door, or on a great maintenance technician?
Keep Up on Maintenance
If you only plan to fix things when they break, you’re going to be very busy fixing stuff. Mechanical equipment, including conveyors, must be maintained. Different parts of your system require different levels of preventive care. It’s no different from a car. Follow the recommended service schedule, and it will run longer. Don’t perform service on the car, and you’ll constantly be sitting on the side of the road. A competent supplier should be able to work with you to develop a comprehensive preventive maintenance plan. By following this, you will ensure yourself maximum system up-time.
Obsolete Equipment and Parts
Sometimes money doesn’t allow replacing entire systems. However, it’s important to stay current on what conveyor and parts of your system are out-of-date and no longer being manufactured. Knowing this can help you and your company makes wise business decisions. For example, if we know a particular type of conveyor is no longer being manufactured, we may determine it would be more financially wise to stock additional spare parts for this piece of equipment than replace it in its entirety.