Machines are an important part of modern society. They are needed in almost all walks of life from small machines such as coffee grinders to the massive industrial machines which manufacture our consumer products. All of these machines need to be properly maintained in order to ensure that they continue to work correctly. Without this machine maintenance, the devices could break down, stopping production and sometimes risking the health of the people operating them. In large industrial machines, engineers need to regularly maintain the system, often stripping it down and inspecting every part.
Engineering Maintenance is a discipline which ensures that machines are serviced and maintained regularly. This practice helps to ensure machine safety, helping to keep it running for longer and preventing accidents which could seriously damage the business. By regularly arranging machine maintenance, whether it needs repairs or not, companies keep their tools working for longer and ensures that they comply with government health and safety directives. Effective Engineering maintenance should be performed at a time when the machine is not needed for quick jobs, in order to allow the engineer to closely inspect the device and ensure that it is in good working order.
As well as ensuring machine safety through the inspection and maintenance of the machine, workers need to be protected against the possibility of harm. Engineers can help in this process by installing custom-built machine security guards. These are designed to defend the operator against flying parts or broken pieces from the production line. Working rather like riot shields, these machine security guards deflect the pieces causing them to fall harmlessly to the ground. With new health and safety laws being implemented every year and with people struggling to catch up with the latest design improvements in machinery, these safety guards have become an important part of factory life.
By operating a regular engineering machine maintenance schedule owners of factories can ensure their productivity and the safety of their workers. Machines which are serviced regularly will last for many years and the production line will continue to function. Regular inspections, either yearly or bi-yearly, will allow the engineers to spot problems the minute that they occur and also guarantee that the machines will keep working. Breakdowns cost an industry hundreds of thousands every year and there is no alternative to maintenance. The cost of an annual inspection, even if it means shutting off part of the production, is nothing compared with the cost of losing several weeks work due to the failure of a machine. Keeping the maintenance regular will also keep the machine working safely, which is vital if owners and managers of factories which wish to keep their business running.
