React or Prevent
The importance of pre-scheduled maintenance visits
The new industry "buzzword" seems to be PREVENTION all across the board as more and more companies realise the importance of preventative maintenance on their equipment to minimise the possibilities of downtime. People used to call us in panic asking for a field service representative to jump on a plane ASAP to come in and fix the problems. We are undoubtedly facing these types of situations less frequently than in the past due to the simple fact that people are doing more maintenance on a regular basis than before. The CHRONOS GROUP has initiated an innovative support and service program which offers various support options and levels through long-term partnerships with our customers. Depending on the level of support the customers have chosen, our field service representatives may be asked to come to site once, twice, three or even six times in a twelve month period. The service representative will go through a thorough examination of the system following a complete module-by-module list of items to verify, all being recorded on paper. At the end of the visit, a complete recommendations report is provided to the customer for evaluation and actions to be undertaken (if needed).
are the cost differences between reacting and preventing?
It is difficult to forecast the costs for reacting as opposed to preventing. It will all depend on the number of total hours of downtime or if going to the extremes, the costs of losing a customer because you could not deliver an order within the expected timeframe. As your equipment gets older, prevention should become part of your vocabulary or you will certainly experience some unwanted downtimes. A preventative program also means keeping a legitimate number of spares on your shelves to cover most wear and tear items. Your equipment supplier should be able to provide you with such a list.
Joining our program, our customers benefit from yearly parts rebates, priority for on-site service and many other privileges.