Conveyors are important machines that rarely have mechanical problems. So if that’s the case, why should you proactively fix and maintain your conveyors?

Imagine you are in the middle of your peak season and have orders flying off your shelves, onto conveyors and then onto delivery trucks. In the middle of that fast-paced frenzy, your conveyors give you an unexpected surprise and shutdown. Uh oh!

It can take time to figure out where the problem is, fix it and get the machines back up and running. Every minute of every day counts because you want to satisfy your customers, especially during peak-seasons. But having a shutdown or any sort of downtime can be detrimental.

THOUGHTS FROM A CONVEYOR EXPERT

Conveyors are important to the entire success of your operation. Boyce Bonham, Chief Engineer at Hytrol Conveyor Co., explained that conveyors are the unsung hero of your facility. They deliver products quickly and efficiently at the push of a button (or automatically in many cases) where it’s needed, when it’s needed. Most people don’t think about their conveyors and automated equipment much, but if it breaks down, you suddenly can’t think of much else. You simply can’t afford downtime when material handling equipment is delivering your core business.

Bonham suggests to not “short-change” conveyor maintenance. Reduced labor forces, time constraints and budget restrictions are real problems, but you’ll have more problems if you ignore maintenance. Conveyors run so well for so long that many people forget that they must be maintained.

Proactively maintaining your conveyor systems will prevent unwanted and debilitating surprises from hurting your supply chain. Bonham speaks more to e-commerce and conveyor solutions in this Workplace article.

To maintain your conveyors, build a weekly, monthly, and semi-annual maintenance schedule with your equipment operators and stick to it. You’ll regret not having a plan.