When equipment goes down in the typical production facility, it’s usually the job of maintenance to fix that equipment and put it back in service. However, this isn’t always appropriate.
It may be necessary in the moment, because few maintenance departments can simply refuse to fix equipment. But what if any of the following applies to that equipment?
• It’s basically worn out and breaks down — much like an old car with 200,000 miles on it.
• Spare parts aren’t available, so custom fabrication is often required.
• The maintenance department’s performance stats are being dragged down severely by this equipment.
• It has safety issues, seemingly irreparable oil leaks, or other defects that have defied maintenance’s best efforts.
• An updated version is available, and it would solve the recurrent problems with this one.
You can probably add to that list just by going through your own maintenance records or thinking back to last week. To repair the actual problem, the equipment must be replaced. Don’t keep repairing the effects of the actual problem ad nauseam. Instead, provide management with a solution via some replacement options.
