Board Converting News, October 12, 2020

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Can’t Buy New? (CONT’D FROM PAGE 38)

Wellness Checks: Not Just for Doctors Anymore Why do medical practitioners recommend going for an annual visit? These visits are precautionary, but they can notice things to keep an eye on, and slight changes to diet and lifestyle that can prevent serious health issues before they happen. The same is true of expensive corrugated production equipment. Many plants do not have regular checkups, and instead they wait for a machine to fail be- fore calling for service. In an uncertain economy like this one, this could be cat- astrophic for business. If a machine goes down, you could be losing thousands per hour while it is waiting to be re- paired, not to mention missed deliveries. And what makes matters worse, most times when machines go down, it’s for much more than just an hour. Parts may not be in stock at your facility or the vendor’s facility, or your on-site staff may not have the skills to pinpoint and replace what is the root cause. Getting regular diagnostics screenings is a small price to pay when compared with this potential for big losses and downtime. In fact, the screenings pay for themselves within minutes of improved machine uptime. Bottom Line: Be Proactive Older corrugated machines can be thought of like clas- sic cars. They are still quite capable of high levels of per- formance and reliable output, but they require a little bit of extra attention, proactive maintenance, and more fre- quent small investments to keep them working properly.

earning half or three-quarters of the money that it could be earning from the machine’s output. In cases like this, the small investment required to evaluate the machine and re- pair any worn-out parts could mean a drastic increase in profit margin. Even if it’s an older machine that can’t get back to 100 percent output, increasing your machine by even a few percent will increase your earning potential, and the repair costs will pay for themselves in very short order. Find A Provider That Can Work Within Your Budget As with other diagnostics, some facility managers may shy away from maintenance as long as machines are run- ning because they fear the worst: shutdowns during busy times, expensive repairs, or wasting money on fixing an old machine that they only planned on using for a few more years anyway. Find a supplier who can take all of these factors into consideration. Some plants may opt to make rapid repairs all at once and others need machines slowly repaired and parts replaced over time. This is doable with the right ser- vice provider and having those frequent “check ups” will provide plant managers with a more realistic look at how urgent certain repairs are and what can wait. Knowledge is power and can help plant managers make informed deci- sions about what needs to be done urgently and what may have some more runway until it becomes a serious issue.

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October 12, 2020

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