The top 3 benefits of continuously training your maintenance staff

Implementing a new system or process can be an overwhelming experience for any organization. The benefits of adding a new system can lead to huge rewards in terms of increased capacity, which adds value to your value chain—but looming concerns of necessary maintenance and potential downtime can put a damper on what is otherwise a positive decision.

In a perfect world, every piece of equipment and process would operate smoothly and successfully. Unfortunately, due to aging systems, human error and external change, problems are inevitable. That is why it’s paramount to equip your organization with problem solvers, maintenance personnel who know what to look for and areas to improve.

Your organization must operate smoothly and successfully to meet demand and growth required by the customer of today. That’s why continuous learning in the form of seminars and classes is so important, and why we believe in providing scheduled maintenance seminars all year to help industry professionals successfully maintain and problem solve their conveyor systems. 

Increase efficiency of equipment to create higher output at lower energy.

Creating a team of problem solvers who continuously look for areas of improvement both upstream and downstream is critical increasing efficiency and output. That team of problem solvers should have a foundation of understanding in the way material handling systems function. This can include:

• Programming
• Software
• Mechanical or Preventative Maintenance

When your staff is properly trained in the basics, they can apply techniques in your facility that will help save costs while providing the throughput you need. 

Extend the lifecycle of assets to include systems and parts.

Like vehicles, conveyors require preventative maintenance (PM’s) to make sure your material handling solution has a long operational life. Understanding the limitations of material handling systems is important to reduce strenuous wear and extend the life of your system.

In maintenance training, your staff should go over popular conveyor models to identify signs of wear, potential future issues and maintenance best practices. This knowledge helps you to increase your ROI and make the best use of your capital expenditure. 

Reduce potential downtime.

Downtime is stressful. It’s especially stressful when capacity and demand are at conflict. Equipment being non-operation is time and money that your company can’t get back, but a properly trained maintenance team can help reduce the risk of potential downtime by addressing potential problems before they occur.

During many of my visits, I’ve seen downtime caused by avoidable issues that is often covered in maintenance training. This can range from having too much tension on belts and bearings to exceeding the system’s capacity and load.  

When choosing a solutions provider, consider the role training can play in the value of your solution. At Hytrol, we offer free training to our customers and integration partners in a variety of areas, from our EZLogic® solution to our systems maintenance courses.

Interested in Hytrol training? See our training options for end users and authorized integration partners: