Neglecting the service and
maintenance of equipment may
prove a costly mistake.However,you
need to make sure that you’re
getting value for money.Dave Webb,
service director for Avery Weigh-
Tronix offers some tips on selecting a
service and maintenance provider

Equipment should be regularly serviced and
maintained to help prevent downtime. Gambling
that breakdowns will not occur is dangerous as any
downtime will affect customers, a fact that competitors
will be keen to exploit. In addition, an emergency repair
is far more expensive than preventative maintenance.

Correctly serviced equipment ensures that your
production line runs smoothly and efficiently to make
maximum use of resources and give your customer a
lean lead-time. Take weighing equipment as an example.

It provides key data on raw materials through to final
product. This data needs to be accurate so that you can
make informed decisions about process changes and
efficiency savings. Service providers should also keep you
in touch with the latest technology.

It may be tempting to reduce the service cover on
equipment, change service supplier, or even risk a period
without cover. This would be a mistake because you
chose your service cover to suit your business needs. So,
how can you tell whether your service and maintenance
agreements are appropriate?

Understanding
How well does your service provider understand your
business? The provider should tailor the service and
maintenance agreement to the needs of your business,
not theirs. Factors they should consider include: how is
the equipment used, its age, the environmental
conditions, and whether heavy-use, corrosion or other
factors are a consideration? You may find that the service
and maintenance agreement needs to change over time.

Circumstances change and ageing equipment may need
more regular checking.

Consider what is included in your service agreement.

How many visits can you expect? Does the agreement
cover repairs and parts, or just labour?

Reduce the number of providers
Whenever possible reducing the number of service
providers will yield efficiency and cost savings. You must
check, however, that the service provider has the
capability to service other manufacturer’s equipment in
addition to its own. Ask about the extent of their
capability. For example with weighing equipment, can
they service all the ancillary equipment, software and
computer linked systems? Are the engineers qualified to
verify and recalibrate equipment? Check that your
supplier holds comprehensive spare parts in stock for
their own equipment and for a range of other
manufacturers. This means you will not be left waiting
for a third party to deliver parts, and maintenance is
more likely to be completed in one visit.

Communication
Ask how the provider will give you information about
servicing. How will you know what has been done and
when will they visit you next? At Avery Weigh-Tronix, for
example, we are putting agreements and service details on
a secure online portal. Our service technicians use
palmtop computers. This allows them to collect
information about maintenance and service as the work
is completed and download the data directly to the secure
online portal. By viewing all of this information online
you can have instant access to calibration certificates and
asset lists, and by tracking breakdown patterns we can
help you identify equipment that requires attention.

Resource
You need to know what emergency call-out cover you
have. Can you get hold of your supplier 24/7? What
response do you expect – someone on site within 4h, 8h
or next day?
For service, size can make a difference. If you have
multiple sites you need an organisation that can provide
UK coverage with local technicians. Even if this is not the
case you must ensure that you can get a service engineer
on site when you need them. You should ensure that they
spend enough time to complete the job. Ask how many
service technicians an organisation has and what cover
they have locally. Check what infrastructure and systems
they have in place so that they can plan service visits to
suit you.

Qualified people
Check your provider’s technicians are fully trained to do
the job. Ask about their training.Where you need
specialist service and maintenance, consider the overall
package with care and ask searching questions.

You should be aiming for value for money from an
organisation that has the resource and technical
capability to do the job properly.