By Jason Worster, Service Manager
Maintaining product handling equipment is critical to preserving your capital investment over prolonged use and time. Improper maintenance can lead to more headaches than you bargained for – such as lost productivity, prematurely retiring equipment and the need for replacement equipment. Routine maintenance helps to extend and preserve the life of your equipment so you have a greater return on your overall investment throughout its lifetime.
Below are some tips on how to help to extend your product handling equipment:
- Train your employees on the proper operation of the equipment – Not only does this help to reduce safety risks, but it also ensures your employees are aware of the equipment and its moving parts. If employees aren’t sure of how to operate the equipment, they are more than likely to also not understand the applications which it was designed specifically for. Another important aspect is with evolving technology, employees need to keep up-to-speed on the various technology capabilities, techniques and more. One suggestion is to host a Lunch and Learn session with your team to provide ongoing training on a consistent basis to ensure all employees are properly trained on your equipment.
- Review the Original Equipment (OEM) manufacturer’s maintenance requirements for your particular equipment. Shuttleworth provides routine maintenance information including How To’s, videos and more on our website under Parts & Service. Here’s the link for your convenience – http://www.shuttleworth.com/videos/maintenance-series/
- Implement a preventative maintenance program to help avoid unscheduled downtime due to equipment breakdowns. A good routine maintenance program includes a scheduled downtime to inspect and service your equipment, lubrication maintenance, and to replace any worn out belts, rollers or other parts. Preventative maintenance enables you to keep your equipment operating at optimal efficiencies and can also help avoid the high costs associated with emergency repairs.
Shuttleworth’s certified service technicians can help provide preventative maintenance to your equipment on a routine basis to ensure your conveyor and devices are running at peak performance.