ERP Improves Equipment Maintenance and Scheduling

As a manufacturer, one of the greatest challenges is juggling multiple, necessary tasks into a unified schedule. One of these is maintenance, which must happen to avoid unplanned downtime because of broken equipment or expensive repairs that may not be in the budget. An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system gives you the tools to plan for maintenance and adapt when the unexpected happens.

Factory Maintenance

There are many different approaches to maintenance, but they all center around two fundamental concepts: breakdown maintenance and planned maintenance.

Breakdown maintenance is the immediate response when equipment stops working. The repairs may be temporary at first and then involve additional corrective maintenance or fixes to prevent the problem from recurring in the future.

Planned maintenance is proactively anticipating maintenance needs and executing them before issues occur. These often have the ability to extend the life of the machine, and include services, wear and tear, consumables, and other machine health-related tasks.

Analysis

Whether you want to incorporate breakdown maintenance, planned maintenance, or a combination of both in your manufacturing strategy, an ERP can help with its analysis tools. When you have cases of breakdown maintenance that require time-consuming repairs, for instance, you can use your ERP to decide on the best strategy. Your ERP can outline the cost of production losses by going with an extended repair and see how that compares to the impact on the machine’s long-term performance and longevity if you choose a faster and less extensive option. In the same way, you can continuously review if it is worthwhile to continue to repair an older machine or if it is more cost-effective to purchase a newer, more efficient one.

For preventative maintenance, ERP analysis is also key. Yes, you can use standard industry recommendations to predict when machinery will need to be serviced or replaced, but every organization is different. By using the full data visibility that an ERP offers and looking at equipment KPIs (key performance indicators), you can understand how your equipment is performing. This allows you to anticipate when to perform maintenance tasks with greater accuracy.

To set up reliable ERP maintenance analysis, talk to the experts at Datix. Using our business-first approach, we can tailor your ERP to collect and analyze the specific data that you need to optimize your outcomes. Learn more about transforming your ERP system.

Scheduling

With an ERP, you can schedule maintenance proactively or immediately after a breakdown. The benefit of scheduling through an ERP is that your system offers complete data transparency. When scheduling preventative maintenance, you see the big picture. You can plan to schedule maintenance during historically slower months of your production cycle or coordinate with employee training schedules, so you decrease lost production hours.

After a breakdown, you can schedule repairs quickly, factoring in details like the time it will take to order parts and the availability of your repair team. This allows you to minimize the total downtime for the piece of equipment. With Datix, we can support your ERP needs as your equipment and business continue to evolve. We support our clients every step of the way through their ERP journey, from planning to implementation and beyond.

Wrap Up

Maintenance is a necessary part of the manufacturing process. Your ERP should assist you in making maintenance decisions, so you make intelligent decisions for your business.

Read more in our free Resource for Manufacturers and Distributors  

About Datix

With over two decades in the industry, Datix is the ERP consultant of choice for manufacturers and distributors. We believe in “being the best with the best” and look for partners who match our commitment to solving real issues and doing what it takes. Our in-depth analysis of our clients and their business needs allows us to maximize their software investments to the fullest.

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