The Domino Effect of Neglect: How an Unmaintained Machine Can Bring Down the Entire Line 

Did you know that neglecting equipment can trigger a cascade of failures? Given the intricacies of production lines, it should be no surprise that many machines are interconnected. If one begins to fail, it can impact the entire process, leaving you with devastating effects such as downtime, lost revenue, safety hazards, and compromised product quality. 

For example, let’s take a critical machine that relies on a cooling system. If it cannot control the heat within or being exerted, it can cause a malfunction, and it can no longer feed a conveyor belt. If the conveyor belt cannot provide imperative materials to another machine within operations, that other machine will no longer be manufacturing products. New problems can arise, and production must halt to fix the issues. 

If an HMI fails due to a software bug or old age, operators cannot see critical process parameters, such as fill levels or seal temperatures. This leads to uncertainty and an inability to make informed adjustments, which can cause fill levels to become inaccurate. Seal temperatures may also deviate from set points, resulting in bad seals or product damage. Numerous machines must stop so operators can abandon and restart these faulty products. Think of it like a row of dominoes; The first one falls, and the rest follow. 

When your equipment exhibits unusual symptoms, you should conduct maintenance to pinpoint the issue before it escalates. Preventative maintenance is a great way to care for your machinery before it gets to that point. While immediate savings sound promising, they can lead to higher expenses. If you take care of your equipment early on, there’s a very high chance of extending its lifespan by 20-40%, saving you from buying costly new machines. The Federal Energy Management Program also found that preventative maintenance can curtail downtime by 30-50%. While it depends on a company’s size or scale, maintenance can save an estimated $22,000 per minute during downtime.  

Proactive maintenance is essential for preventing costly cascading failures, and if you view your machinery as an investment, it will provide long-term efficiency and profitability. Don’t let a single neglected machine halt your entire production line. Call us today to ensure your operations continue to run smoothly.