Where would your business be without its rubber conveyor belt system? think about it for a moment, if they all stopped now, how would that impact you're output, and costs?
Most customers would be impacted significantly, and yet with the pace of modern business it is something that very few organisations consider.
So you need a plan, a plan that will help you get to the route of the problem, and enable a fix it as soon as you can.
In this weeks blog we highlight some of the keys things you can build into your recovery and pre recovery plans, to ensure that the impact and severity (of the outage) are reduced.
Upgrade Now - You may have seen the writing on the wall for some time now. The system is breaking down hourly, and the fixes are no longer working. It is time to take it back to the drawing board, to think about the long game and to start planning changes to the system. These could be incremental or they could be a complete overhaul, and that will depend on your individual circumstances.
Light Touch Maintenance Routine - Having a bi monthly light touch maintenance routine will pay dividends. It ensures you are in touch with the system, and ensures you see the issues before they happen. The basics should be covered here. Do a visual inspection, make a note of issues to be fixed, remove debris, ensure lubrication is in place, you get the picture..This is about doing the basics well. A well looked after system will look after you well.
Light Touch Scouting - It only takes a minute at the start of the shift, before the start button is pressed for 2 of your staff to take walk around the conveyor system and to look for the obvious. Obvious blockages, risks and potential issues can usually be spotted before they become a major problem, so its worth this investment of 10 minutes to just 'scout' out the work areas, looking for any obvious or potential issues before the buzzer blows, and the working day begins.
High Level Skill Sharing - It well maybe that you have a team of highly skilled individuals that are able to fix most issues you have come up against. You could also have 1 member of staff who knows all the tricks to get the system up and running again. In either case, if it is appropriate and safe to do so, you may want to think about how those skills get shared across your team. You could find it is an issue that you could fix yourself, and sharing the knowledge and experience across the team could add some benefit. However you must never put yourself in a situation where you are unsure, or unsafe. It is just not worth the risk. Always take advice from a manager.
The Right Tool - for the job is the old saying, and we notice that many systems over the course of their lifetime, transform from their original use, into something else. That maybe is because of a change in volume or a change in the type of use it has. Either way it is not being being used for its original intention, and that can sometimes be problematic. Ensure that your system is fit for purpose and working to the correct volume/capacity it was intended for. This will pay dividends by ensuring the system doesn't break down prematurely. Fitting a square peg into a round hole will always end in tears.
Some of this is plain old common sense of course, but common sense if often not implemented before its too late, so take a moment and give some attention the conveyor system that once upon a time, was the apple of the companies eye.
Of course you can always call the conveyor experts here at CCL when your system needs a fresh pair of eyes on it. Here at CCL we have years of experience across all industries helping customers to keep their goods being made, and moved. We are only too happy to help. Get in touch to pick our brains, whatever your situation.