Maintenance and downtime are two of the most vital parts of the manufacturing process. Maintenance is important because it’s how you keep machines running at peak performance, which in turn allows for better quality products, less waste, and overall efficiency. Downtime, on the other hand, is how you know if your maintenance efforts have been effective or if something else is preventing your equipment from functioning properly. In this article, we’re going to explore what machine downtime tracking entails, as well as why it’s so important for manufacturing companies.
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What is machine downtime tracking?
Machine downtime tracking is the process of monitoring all machine downtime and recording it in a database. Machine downtime tracking software is used to track machine downtime, which can then be analyzed to identify patterns and trends.
Machine downtime is one of the most significant expenses for manufacturers; it’s also one of the most difficult for companies to measure accurately because there are so many different types of machines involved (e.g., CNC lathes, milling machines, presses and stamping presses). However, if you have an effective system in place for monitoring your equipment’s performance – and if it includes data about both scheduled maintenance activities and unscheduled repairs – you’ll be able to better predict future costs associated with those assets over time.
How can machine downtime tracking help you?
Machine downtime tracking is the process of monitoring and recording a machine’s downtime. It can be used to identify areas where machines are prone to breakdowns, as well as when they’re most likely to occur. This information can then be used by maintenance engineers to schedule repairs and upgrades more efficiently, reducing costs while increasing quality, efficiency and productivity.
Machine downtime tracking also allows you to identify any waste that may be occurring because of poor maintenance practices or lack thereof. For example: if you know that your machines need servicing every 6 months but aren’t being serviced regularly enough (or at all), then this would be considered wasteful spending since it adds no value for your business – it only adds costs!
Common types of manufacturing equipment that benefit from machine downtime tracking software
You may be thinking, “I don’t have any of these machines.” But you do! Anytime you use a computerized machine to manufacture something, it’s worth taking the time to consider whether your business could benefit from machine downtime tracking software. Here are some common types of manufacturing equipment that typically require maintenance:
- CNC machines (computer numerically controlled) – These are typically used for cutting metal or wood products. They can also be used for milling other materials, such as plastic and foam core boards.
- Robotic arms – These allow workers to perform repetitive tasks without having to move around much themselves; it’s easy for them to get injured if they’re trying too hard while operating these types of robots due to their heavyweight requirements being placed on one part of their body instead of throughout all four limbs equally like humans do naturally when walking around normally without any assistance from external sources such as crutches or wheelchairs etc.
- Assembly lines – Wherever there’s an assembly line process happening within an organization then there must also be someone overseeing its progress so he/she knows exactly where things stand at any given moment during production timeframes so he/she can make adjustments accordingly if necessary before everything starts falling apart due into pieces everywhere which would mean hours upon hours wasted away trying to get everything back together again only now maybe twice as long since we lost half our workforce since most likely everyone else got tired waiting around watching nothing happen until finally someone came along saying ‘okay let’s start working again now!’
Why you should start using machine downtime tracking today
Machine downtime tracking is a must-have for any manufacturing company. It’s not just about the money you can save, but also the time and effort it will save you in the long run.
The benefits of machine downtime tracking include:
- Increased quality: By knowing when your machines are offline, you can take steps to ensure they’re running smoothly before any damage is done (or even worse, before someone gets hurt). This means fewer defects on finished products or components, as well as fewer scrapped parts that need to be reworked later on down the line.
- Increased efficiency: Machine downtime tracking allows you to plan ahead so that everyone knows what needs doing when a machine goes down–and how long it will take them to complete those tasks, without having an impact on production schedules or deadlines for orders coming in from customers!
Machine downtime tracking is a great way to reduce costs, increase quality, and improve efficiency
Machine downtime tracking is a great way to reduce costs, increase quality, and improve efficiency.
- Reduce Costs: Identify the root cause of downtime by monitoring machine performance and analyzing data to find patterns in your production process. This can help you identify areas where machines are breaking down more often than others and make necessary adjustments so that they don’t go down as often in the future.
- Increase Quality: Ensure that production isn’t interrupted by faulty machines by using sensors or other methods to track their status at all times while they’re being used on the assembly line. This ensures that no one uses an out-of-order piece of equipment during an important job – which would result in wasted time and money spent fixing it later!
- Improve Efficiency: Monitor how long each piece of equipment is going down for so that you can see which ones need servicing sooner rather than later (or vice versa). You’ll also know whether certain parts need replacing more frequently than others – which means less downtime overall!
Conclusion
Downtime tracking is crucial to the success of any manufacturing operation. By keeping track of how often machines break down, you can identify problems and fix them before they become major issues. You can also use this information to determine whether your equipment needs upgrading or replacement so that it runs more efficiently and reliably over time.
