Menu
Whatever business you’re in, machinery downtime comes with unwanted costs. As well as loss of profit, there’s the potential for damage to your professional reputation for not getting the job done on time. Some breakdowns are avoidable with hydraulic maintenance. Here are a few tips about how to reduce the costs and chances of downtime.
When you rely on your machinery to perform your job, good preparation and organisation is the key to reducing the chances of unplanned downtime. It’s absolutely essential to schedule regular hydraulic maintenance to identify potential problems before they occur. There are three types of hydraulic maintenance: scheduled, predictive and preventative.
Scheduled maintenance is the same as getting your vehicles serviced for their warrant of fitness. Every piece of machinery has different maintenance requirements, so we schedule regular maintenance so the hydraulic systems continue to work at peak efficiency. These regular checks allow you to keep your productivity levels up and vastly reduce the risk of unscheduled downtime. View our Ramparts here.
Predictive maintenance anticipates potential machinery failures before they occur. The idea is to perform maintenance to prevent a potential failure that could occur if the maintenance wasn’t done. This is a proven effective method for keeping your machinery in excellent working order.
Preventative maintenance is designed to keep machinery in good working condition by servicing the smaller moving parts. The types of tasks we do for preventative maintenance include regular inspections, fine tuning, calibrations and making adjustments, cleaning, replacing consumables and so forth.
When you have regular maintenance scheduled for all your machinery, you can get on with the job feeling confident you have the least chance of unplanned downtime.
While it’s best to get the professionals to do your maintenance, there are a few processes you can complete yourself to help prevent downtime.
Your filter indicators monitor any buildup of contamination. You need to replace any filters that are no longer effective due to contamination. If you don’t replace your filters, contaminants can get into the machinery systems and cause problems which lead to failures.
The vast majority of problems in hydraulic systems happen when solid particles, water or other contaminants get into your oil. If this happens, you’re in for downtime and repairs. Never take your oil sample from the reservoir drain. Take it from the recommended sample point listed in your equipment guide.
If your machinery exceeds the temperature range for the oil in the system, it alters the viscosity and reduces its ability to lubricate parts. This causes wear or the pressure to drop in suction lines. This all leads to downtime and costly repairs.
All hydraulic systems lose performance over time. It’s important to monitor performance and keep an eye out for any sudden drops. These are likely to be an indicator of a serious failure. As soon as you see any drop, get the system checked, even if it’s not due for regular maintenance.
Hydraulic machines generally get really dirty. Exterior dirt isn’t a problem, but any dirt that gets into the system during maintenance or while changing parts can cause damage. Clean these problem areas to keep the dirt out. View our how to videos here.
Hydraulic cylinders aren’t all made equal, and your choice of cylinder will influence how much maintenance your machinery needs. We build them for maximum performance and minimal maintenance, which reduces the chances of downtime while keeping your productivity levels high. We’re so confident our cylinders will perform to these levels, we offer the best guarantee on the market.
Contact us today or buy online.
