Synopsis: This guide explores effective practices for maintaining and upgrading industrial machinery, focusing on lifecycle management, financial challenges, and strategic upgrade decisions.  

Introduction

If you’re running a business with machines, their maintenance and upgrades are not just an option but a necessity for your company. However, it’s easier said than done. If you don’t plan it properly, it may paralyze the entire financial backbone of your company over time. In this guide, we will understand the best practices For maintaining and upgrading your machinery assets for easily overcoming associated financial challenges.  

Lifecycle of Machineries

Industrial machines have their lifecycles. They have a beginning, middle and end. Each phase comes with specific requirements for maintenance and upgrades. Let’s have a brief overview.  

Installation and Commissioning:

This is when the machine is brand new. They need careful attention during installation and commissioning to operate correctly. The process involves many steps, such as:  

• Calibration 
• Initial testing 
• Safety compliance 
• Standards compliance 

In this regard, proper installation and commissioning are essential. They can reduce machine failure rates by up to 70%. However, as machines are new, there are no requirements for maintenance and upgrades.   

Operational Life:

The operational phase is the longest. The machine works for a prolonged period. However, regular maintenance is the key, though there are hardly any upgrade requirements. You will mostly do preventive maintenance and routine inspections, which mostly involve scheduled checks, lubrication, parts replacement and minor repairs. Preventive maintenance during the operational phase can further extend a machine’s uptime by up to 20%. 

Decommissioning or Upgrading:

Eventually, every machine reaches a state where it’s more economical to upgrade or replace it. As an industry benchmark, plants consider taking this step when maintenance costs start exceeding 50% of the cost of new machinery. This might involve a final overhaul followed by a safe shutdown of machines before their disposal or resale.  

Best Practices for Machine Maintenance

Here are some best practices for maintaining your machines to reduce costly breakdowns and downtime easily.  

1. Do Preventive Maintenance

Preventive maintenance is a proactive approach to keeping the machine in good condition and preventing potential costly machine breakdowns in the first place. The task is to identify and fix potential issues before they occur.  

2. Follow the Manufacturer’s Guidelines

Manufacturer’s guidelines contain maintenance requirements to ensure the long-term performance of the machine as intended. These guidelines are based on the manufacturer’s expertise and experience with the product.  

3. Maintenance Tasks Records

Keeping a record of maintenance helps you track the performance and condition of the machine over time. You can quickly identify patterns and trends for preventive maintenance before they escalate to breakdown maintenance. Also, with this record keeping, you can easily acknowledge future maintenance and plan a budget for any necessary repairs or replacements. 

4. High-quality Parts and Lubricants

High-quality parts and lubricants come under essential maintenance etiquettes to guarantee smooth machine function and longevity as intended. However, you need to properly train your maintenance team on the benefits of using high-quality parts and lubricants to prevent costly repairs and replacements in the long run.  

However, these demanding maintenance rituals can strain budgets beyond what companies anticipate. Financial institutions thus play a vital role in supporting machine maintenance. By providing funding for high-quality parts and lubricants, they help ensure equipment operates optimally and lasts longer. Loans and financing also enable proactive investments in preventative maintenance, mitigating costly breakdowns. Additionally, specialised insurance products can cover maintenance costs, granting businesses financial peace of mind regarding upkeep. 

Overcoming Financial Challenges in Maintenance and Upgrades

It’s natural for companies to guard maintenance and upgrade expenses as they may average around 20-50% of the total operating budget. However, it’s entirely impossible to avoid them. As a result, companies naturally face financial challenges while planning the best course of action for maintenance and upgrades.  

One of the essential tips for managing this aspect is to take proactive steps before it gets too late. As per the ABB survey, unplanned downtime due to negligence can cost an average of 7 million per hour. On the other hand, predictive maintenance can help you save up to 30-40% on your machine maintenance and upgrades in the future.  

It is also wise to outsource maintenance operations to a third-party vendor to save resources and time, ultimately reducing financial burdens.  

Alternatively, one of the best ways to meet maintenance needs without burning a hole in the pocket is to leverage financial institutions. Financial institutions empower companies to manage maintenance and upgrade costs effectively with quick finances and a long-term payback tenure. With timely loans and flexible financing, they help companies cover essential maintenance expenses without straining operational budgets. This critical support facilitates regular upkeep and timely upgrades while enabling advanced predictive maintenance adoption for companies, further driving long-term savings. 

Conclusion

Effective maintenance and timely upgrades of your machinery assets ensure the profitability of your business operations. However, you must apply the right strategies in line with predictive maintenance to acknowledge the right time to upgrade your machines. There are also other areas of investment apart from maintenance and upgrades. This bonus guide will help you make every penny count with intelligent investment strategies.  

When that time comes, you must have a robust equipment and machinery financial backup plan ready to overcome challenges quickly.