Protect your investment by establishing a preventive maintenance plan
Protect your investment by establishing a preventive maintenance plan
That affection for old cars usually means we end up owning one, two or 10. I've spent many hours cleaning and working on what was my pride and joy. I changed the oil regularly, even though it may not have needed to be changed. I waxed it every chance I could get just to make sure the paint always looked great. I wanted to make sure my old car ran well and looked great for many years.
Without realizing it, I set up a preventive maintenance program for my car. I was protecting my investment. It was the natural thing to do. So why does it seem so unnatural and difficult to take the same action to protect the huge investment we have in our shops? The answer is that most shop owners aren't sure how to set up a program and are unwilling to set up a sound plan.
The following suggestions can help you get past these road blocks and on your way to saving your equipment and money and keeping your shops in tip-top condition.
Take it in
Observe your shop and note the housekeeping. Are air hoses wound up and on reels? Is the battery charger put away in its proper spot? Does it have one? Is the trash overflowing? What about your spray booths? Are the filters clean? Walls? Floors?
If you're honest, your shop probably could use a thorough cleanup. Setting up a maintenance program must start with overall cleanliness and organization. Areas should be designated for equipment storage. Every stall should have a garbage receptacle. Everything should have a place and be in its place.
Collision techs are typically pack rats. They love to save stuff – like the three or four fenders lying in the back of the shop – just in case they need it for another job. Blow the dust off those old parts, and toss them out. Eliminate the clutter, then do it again until your shop is neat, clean and organized. Now you can start to maintain it.
I have great techs in my shop; all do good work. But one or two are like machines because they're highly organized. All tools are put away just so, so they have no wasted motions. Wouldn't your shop gain tremendously from operating on this principle?
There are many ways to organize your shop. Begin by compiling an inventory of all your office and shop equipment. You can use an Excel spreadsheet, your iPad, or a pad and pencil. Whatever method you feel most comfortable with, break out the lists by department or location. For example, you could have a list for office equipment, one for the paint shop and one for body.
Make additional lists for spray booths, frame racks and major equipment. There should be a list for the facility, by location, such as office, parking lot, paint shops, etc. These lists should be as complete and detailed as you can make them initially. Once assembled, you can pare them down or consolidate them later. This part of the process will be time consuming, but it's important to get these lists built accurately.
In the office
List your printers, PCs, copy and fax machines, digital cameras, coffee makers, desks, chairs, etc. You'll be amazed at how much equipment you have once you put it on paper. Once your office list is complete, look at each item on the list and determine how and when it needs to be serviced or cleaned. Look closely at the fans on your PCs. How dirty are they? Computers are supposed to be clean. How efficient do you think they are if they're caked with dust?
After you've outlined all equipment and how often they should be serviced and cleaned, build the master lists that will drive your program. Put together daily, weekly, monthly and yearly lists. On each list, write the piece of equipment by name and what needs to be done during that time.
As an example, your daily office list might be:
Make sure the lists are comprehensive and cover what needs to be done, but keep them simple. Make sure there's space on each list for a date and signature because you'll need to designate employees responsible for the duties, who will record when the tasks are completed.
Once the listed tasks have been completed at the end of each day, the signed and dated lists should be turned into a supervisor for review. This isn't necessary, but it'll give the program some teeth. The idea is to get everyone who works for you involved in maintaining the facility. Each person in the office could get a list of two or three things they need to do at regular intervals that will help keep everything running smoothly.
Consider having an office machine company propose a maintenance contract that keeps more intricate equipment maintained properly at regular intervals. It will be less expensive than buying new equipment.
In the shop
Begin by listing your equipment and determine what type of maintenance is needed on it and when. For example, your daily list in the paint shop might include cleaning the mixing room, taking out the garbage or cleaning the scale. The weekly list might include changing floor filters in the booth and washing the booth walls and floors. Whatever is listed, designate someone to have the responsibility for carrying out the tasks. The key to successes in any PM program is to compile accurate lists and initiate follow up to assure tasks are completed. Having the list signed assures responsibility.
With more expensive equipment, such as air compressors or booth air makeups, get preventive maintenance quotes from local vendors. You can get a maintenance contract for this type of equipment that's relatively inexpensive and helps a shop run smoothly. These types of agreements are pretty comprehensive and cover all proper maintenance and adjustment recommended by equipment manufacturers.
Additionally, if something was to break down on a critical piece of equipment while under a preventive maintenance contract, you're more likely to have minimized the repair expense or eliminated it all together.
It's possible to perform certain maintenance items yourself, such as changing the oils in your compressors or draining water from them. These are simple but effective maintenance operations anyone in the shop with mechanical aptitude can perform. You can apply a similar process to almost every area in your facility. You can even compile lists for the parking areas and landscaping.
Worthwhile results
This process takes much groundwork, but don't give up because the end result is worth it. Don't make it overwhelming for you or your staff to perform the listed duties. There should be only a few things on each individual list that should be easy to perform and won't create any undue additional burden on employees. You may even have a porter or maintenance person that can handle most of them as part of his daily duties. The key is to outline what needs to be done, list it, communicate the goal and follow up on it.
You won't complete this process with great intentions. During a busy day, it's easy to overlook changing the oil in the compressors or cleaning out the coffee pots. Most of the time, keeping up with the never-ending piles of administration paperwork and keeping the shop flowing and customers happy is the most pressing duty. What seems the most simple and easy tends to be overlooked, so make these simple tasks part of the daily routine.
How much did your last spray booth cost? With increasing costs of equipment, doesn't it make sense to invest time and effort into keeping it running at optimum efficiency as long as you can?
By following these suggestions, you'll be running an effective preventive maintenance program and won't even realize it, but your wallet and customers will.
