4 Ways to Improve Plant Maintenance at the Time of Low Production

Plant maintenance is important for assets and equipment, even if they are idle. We know in this lockdown situation; employees have no other option other than to work from home. Offices, facilities, plants, and warehouses are empty; machines have been on a halt for a long time. The second situation that can occur is that business has low demands, and that is why production is low. But this is the best time for maintenance managers to clear all backlog maintenance. Things being what they are, this could be an incredible opportunity to implement a wide range of improvements that will ultimately lead to reduced operational costs and benefit your organization's net profit, which could be crucial for business survival in the months to come. Thus, in this blog, we will explore a few ways to improve plant maintenance at the time of low production. But first, let us clarify why plant maintenance is crucial!

What Is the Aim of Plant Maintenance?

Below we have mentioned the aim of plant maintenance:

1. Keeping assets optimized so that productivity does not suffer.

2. Keeping assets in good condition.

3. Avoiding sudden breakdowns of assets.

4. Saving maintenance costs.

5. Minimizing downtime of the machine.

6. Boosting asset life.

7. Maximizing asset performance.

8. Enhancing reliability.

9. Avoiding asset-related hindrances in daily operations.

Now that we have understood why maintenance is important, let us know what the effective ways of improving plant maintenance are.

4 Effective Ways of Improving Plant Maintenance:

1. Make Crucial Asset List

First things first, create a list of all assets that are crucial for an organization. By crucial assets, we mean that without these assets, the organization will not work efficiently; simply put, production will halt.

Therefore, these assets need maintenance on a priority basis. This does not mean that other assets require no maintenance. They have a lower priority compared to these assets. Ensure that you have inventories available to complete work orders effectively.

2. Clear Backlog Maintenance

One of the main reasons behind backlog maintenance is that technicians do not get their hands on machines because of the busy scheduling of machines, and employees are working on machines. But when staff is less & production is low, then it is the perfect time for technicians to schedule & perform maintenance on machines & equipment. As we said earlier, ensure that your inventory is in stock to work effectively.

3. Optimize Plant Maintenance Via Reviewing Reports

Reports provide details such as where improvement can be done. Reports are also helpful in identifying performing assets and non-performing assets. Through reports, you can know which maintenance team is performing better with the highest number of finished work orders. And to overall improve the organization's capability, having detailed reports is essential.

You also need to track asset history, maintenance logs, movement history, etc. With the assistance of asset management reports, you can eliminate the asset whose life is about to end. Asset disposal needs to be done on time because after that period, chances of sudden breakdown of the asset are increased.

4. Invest in Plant Maintenance Software

Manual management of investment will always be incomplete and there will be full room for error & mistakes. However, with plant maintenance software, the process becomes simple; everything is easily tracked.

For the software, tracking the history of an asset is a cakewalk & most importantly, it allows you to set a reminder for maintenance. Thus, managers will not have to remember manually for maintenance.

There will be no backlog for maintenance thanks to plant maintenance management software. Moreover, this software provides asset details, enabling managers to analyze the performance of each asset individually.

This software also allows you to watch:

- Total number of assets.

- Each asset's location.

- Work order status.

- Maintenance backlog.

- Cost of Maintenance including inventory or other expenses.

- Maintenance reports & analysis.

In the future, preventive maintenance shall be implemented for maintenance. As this maintenance activity reduces chances of asset failure and maintenance expenses are also minimized.

How Plant Maintenance Software Can Help Employees?

Plant maintenance software can help employees in various ways:

Purchase Order & Vendor Management

When there are healthy relations between vendors and organizations, vendors can do adjustments such as decreasing the quantity for the minimum order, pay later, or set inventory requirements in big quantities.

This software also allows vendors to update information from their end. Vendors can see order approved and notified via emails, alerts, and SMS. Vendors can see all the details and information about the order.

This software also keeps track of each purchase order & provides updates as well. It is important to know the status of the purchase order, according to which purchase order managers can plan for the maintenance work order.

Employee Performance

When technicians are busy, they do not get the time to upgrade their skills. When production is low, it is the perfect time for an employee to update their skills and knowledge as per the market.

The organization can also organize a webinar or event to provide training to their employees. This event can work as a bridge toward knowledge, and employees can also know what is trending in the maintenance industry.

This software can also provide key performance indicators of each employee, which can help improve performance. Overall, all these activities will be productive for the organization and its employees.

Conclusion

Maintenance is a very critical part of the business, even when production is low. It is better to start managing now; otherwise, if the wait for production demand increases, most probably a long time & money will be consumed in maintenance only. Organizations try to control maintenance expenses but they do not succeed as per the expectations.

The reason behind this?

Manual work management, but the solution is plant maintenance software or asset management software! They can help in controlling expenses and increasing asset performance. Undoubtedly, this software is helpful to every employee in the organization.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is plant maintenance software?

Plant maintenance software allows plant managers to execute long-running maintenance activities. It includes several sectors, for example, manufacturing plants, facilities, mills, and chemical factories. These sectors need maintenance scheduling and it is very crucial. This software just exactly does that.

What are the asset life cycle stages?

Asset life cycle stages are as follows:

1. Planning

2. Installing or Procurement

3. Utilization

4. Maintenance

5. Disposal or Decommissioning

Why do we need physical asset management?

We need physical asset management for several reasons:

1. To run the business efficiently.

2. Increasing competition.

3. Providing better customer service.

4. Full utilization of assets.

5. Decreasing overall maintenance cost.

6. For increasing safety and avoiding environmental risks.

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