The Importance of Packaging Machines Maintenance
Preventative maintenance planning plays an important role in ensuring optimum productivity and maximum performance of the packaging line. Well maintained machinery lasts longer and experiences fewer breakdowns too. In a sector where timing is crucial, downtime can prove damaging to businesses in both cost and output and in today’s climate, planning (or a lack of it) can make or break production.
As packaging machine designers and manufacturers for more than a century, Jacob White knows how challenging downtime can be. We understand that missed shipments lead to unhappy clients and we know how associated costs can spiral as a result.
We’ve put together some top tips to help you create a preventive maintenance strategy for your packaging machines. Get the most out of your set up, whether you’re working with a new automated system, a semi-automatic cartoning solution or looking after older technology.
Set a schedule
There are many aspects to packaging machines maintenance. To make sure all these aspects are covered, create a schedule and determine tasks that can be carried out by key people on a regular basis.
This could include daily, weekly, monthly and bi-annual scheduling for (but not limited to):
- Visual inspections
- Basic cleaning
- Monitoring high wear parts and lubricant levels
- Proactive part and fluid changes
- Installing associated software updates
- Heavy cleaning
- Monitoring consumption levels
- Inspection of electrical supply and connections
- Activity reporting
Most routine maintenance tasks require a higher level of professional training, and this is the time to contact your original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for support. Good OEMs often recommend a regular service maintenance package that can be scheduled and some offer staff training for basic maintenance.
Stay on top of critical parts stock
It is a good idea to ensure the maintenance strategy includes a stock of parts, particularly those that are most prone to wear. Your OEM can provide a suggested spare parts list and advise on low or high wear indicators to enable you to plan accordingly.
Having a good stock cupboard is essential, but even more so if you are operating older technology. As older machines are phased out or become obsolete, parts can become increasingly harder to locate and more expensive to buy. This can often make upgrading packaging machinery a more viable long-term solution.
Make sure you have a breakdown plan
If the worst happens, and your packaging machine suffers a failure, you need to know you have a go-to plan to keep downtime to a minimum. This is where the choice of OEM is important. Determine the parts and maintenance services of the machine manufacturer, their location and availability and associated costs.
Not all breakdowns will require a site visit, in our experience. Many can be addressed during a phone call or virtual meeting, and it is important to assess the capability of the OEM in this respect, especially during the current time.
Keep detailed maintenance records
Keeping maintenance records creates the transparency you need for the entire maintenance team, whether in-house, 3rd party or OEM. It can also provide valuable insights to use when calculating the cost of maintenance and determining the point at which to upgrade your machinery to improve the bottom line.
Repeated failure of the same machines or parts can help to highlight where the biggest drain on the budget is coming from, allowing you to plan ahead more effectively.
Can Jacob White help?
Jacob White customers enjoy high levels of parts and service maintenance support, regardless of where they are in the world. Through a network of global offices and skilled agencies, we provide the essential backup needed in a dedicated service team.
If you have been considering updating your packaging machines to reduce the likelihood of breakdown or need a reliable stock of parts, talk to us. With over 100 years of providing industry-leading support and a deep understanding only gained through experience, we’re the reputable OEM you’ve been looking for and we’re here to help.
Parts and Service of Packaging & Cartoning Machines
Sales, Installation, Spares and Service are all available anywhere in the world.
With offices around the World, in addition to highly skilled agencies that provide backup to Jacob White customers in all the countries that we have installations, Jacob White provides a highly skilled and dedicated service team that are always available to assist our customers around the world.
Please contact us to enquire about parts and service or fill out the form below and we will try to find the item you are looking for as quickly as we can.
Service
+44 (0)1322 622926
andrew.wellard@jacobwhite.com
Spares
+44 (0)1322 622904
brian@jacobwhite.com
