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Whether you work in warehousing, distribution or transport, or any other industry, you are likely to have equipment that needs to be serviced and maintained in a timely manner. Not only can this help ensure that your productivity does not falter with unscheduled stoppages due to breakdown, but it can also ensure the safety of your staff. Furthermore, it can also extend the lifespan of your equipment, as well as saving you money in the long run.
Not all servicing and maintenance contracts are equal, however. Your contract should go far beyond getting someone to come out and fix a breakdown. Here, we take a look at what businesses should look for in a maintenance and service contract.
The basics of servicing and maintenance contracts
Basic features of a strong service and maintenance contract include:
- Regular maintenance and inspection visits – They should be tailored to the equipment you have and how it is used.
- Lubrication and cleaning appointments – These can help to avoid small issues becoming more damaging to your equipment.
- Calibrations – Regularly adjusting and calibrating your equipment will ensure optimal performance.
- Detailed reporting – Identifying trends, and having a detailed history of the workings of your equipment will help drive any decision-making on future purchases.
Expertise
Your maintenance provider should be a proven specialist in their area. For example, if you want somebody to service and maintain your loading bay solutions, they should have in-depth knowledge of overhead doors, control systems, dock levellers and shelters, for example.
Responsiveness
As downtime can be so expensive for a warehousing and distribution network, it is vital to have emergency callouts that are swiftly dealt with. You should consider using suppliers that provide guaranteed response times, and that offer a 24-hour a day/seven days a week service. After all, today’s logistics operations are 24-hour operations. Even an hour’s shutdown can make a huge difference to a supply chain.
Coverage
You need to consider using a servicing and maintenance provider that will offer full coverage, including both preventative maintenance to comprehensive parts and labour plans as well as emergency callouts.
Cost considerations
Obviously, every business has a budget, although it should be noted that it is not a wise idea to scrimp on your maintenance and servicing contracts. However, any contract that you do enter into should be transparent. If the company you are looking at will not provide clear pricing structures and detailed reporting, it might be best to look elsewhere.
Reputation
it is vital to have peace of mind in your servicing and maintenance contractors. Therefore, you should look for companies that have a good reputation, proven track record, and industry accreditation. Reading client testimonials may be useful to see how others have rated the service, but make sure to do so on independent review sites rather than the contractors website.
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Preventative maintenance plans
In addition to all this, you should take a really good look at the preventative maintenance plans your chosen contractor has provided you with. You need to ensure that it will be robust enough to:
- Reduce breakdowns – A preventative maintenance plan will take into account all of the smaller issues that could be for your equipment. That way, this reduces the risk of unscheduled stages.
- Extend the lifespan of your equipment – A regular service plan should include lubrication and component adjustments. This can significantly impact the lifespan of your equipment.
- Use data to tweak your plan – Finally, if the preventative maintenance plan you are offered does not include regular reporting, this may not be the right plan for you. After all, data-driven insight into the operation of your machinery can help to provide guidance into any tweaks you might need to make to your preventative maintenance to elongate the lifespan of your equipment.
