Is Routine Maintenance Worth the Expense?

February 05, 2018

Routine maintenance is one of those items that can be overlooked, forgotten or cut back when times get tight. Sometimes manufacturers maintenance requirements appear to be greater than the requirement especially in the case of low usage machines. So what are the benefits and risks of routine maintenance and how can these costs be contained?

Manufacturers’ Maintenance Schedules

Machinery will generally operate correctly for the life as it was designed by the original equipment manufacturer, in normal operating conditions and maintained as per their recommended schedule. Where these parameters change, the serviceable life of the machine may be impacted. This is due to lubricants becoming less effective over time, grease wearing off or becoming contaminated, or coolants reaching the end of their effective life.

Compliance

Regular checks by a service professional will offer the owner several benefits. These include

• Ensuring rating plates, compliance plates or LPG compliance identifications are still on the machine as required by the relevant Australian Standards. These can fall off or be knocked off attachments during operation.
• WorkSafe in the event they attend a workplace will often request to see that plant and equipment has pre-start checks and routine maintenance in place meeting the manufacturer’s requirement and any relevant standards.

Safety

Regular checks by a trained person will ensure that the equipment remains in a safe operating condition. This will include routine “brake inspections” where recommended by the manufacturer which in case of failure could result in a serious workplace incident.

The services offered by a professional organisation such as LiftRite Hire & Sales will include safety checks included when the machine is serviced. LiftRite provides a written service report noting any repairs that are immediately required or will be required in the near future. This provides the owner with professional feedback on their equipment and warning of any problems it may have.

Ensuring Long Equipment Life

Maintaining equipment in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations is your best opportunity of maximising your equipment’s operational life. When maintenance is missed, equipment begins to have premature failures over time and can go into decline. Failures due to a lack of maintenance can end up resulting in major failures, increased downtime and additional costs to the business.

How to Minimise Repairs and Maintenance Costs

• Engage a professional company to maintain your equipment
• Maintain equipment in line with the manufacturer’s recommendations.
• Where possible stick to genuine parts which are designed for your machine
• Minimise your risk of compliance breaches through routine, documented checks
• Attend to the small things before they turn into costly failures and downtime
• Consider a Service Agreement which can offer cost-effective maintenance plans

Overall maximising the life of equipment is the best way to contain the costs. Premature failures and the need to replace it will be far more expensive in the long term than the comparatively low cost of preventative maintenance.

Talk to LiftRite Hire & Sales about your preventative maintenance needs. We offer casual repairs and maintenance through to full-service agreements.