With the HVAC –R industry always on the go, it is often the case that manufacturing facilities operate reliably and not always necessarily optimally. We have previously spoken about the heated debate of service and maintenance of your facility equipment and the benefits of a programmed maintenance schedule. With the potential costs of a reactive service and repair sometimes being up to three times higher than the same repair service done within a programmed maintenance schedule, we started looking at facility maintenance providers and how might the good stand apart from the rest.
With this in mind, we outlined the top 5 things we would encourage you to look for when you are next thinking of hiring a maintenance provider for your facility.1. How Experience Can Save Money.
Ensuring the facility maintenance provider you select has a reliable reputation and history within the HVAC –R industry. We encourage you to look for experience within the refrigeration industry and across a range of engineering disciplines. This will ensure that with any repair requirement you have, there is always someone on board that is a specialist within that field or knows someone who is. Good quality knowledge accessed quickly means your repair can be serviced quicker and more effectively.
2. Do they have ‘specialists’ or access to specialists on their regular team?
The advantages of embedded engineering can be found in both the speed and quality of the response capability. If the facility services team can cover a range of engineering and specialist trades disciplines then it means that no matter how specialised your equipment is, they will have someone available to help diagnose your machine fault. This means you have the right team for your facility at your fingertips faster!
3. Has the service team had site experience within your industry before?
Having service engineers that have actually operated within your industry before can decrease the time spent problem solving, since they will immediately appreciate the particular protocols that you understand as common place. This is because not only are they familiar with the facility environment, they are also likely to be aware of all industry standards and how they might differ. From pharmaceutical and cleans rooms to produce cooling and confectionary; petro-chem and mining to telecommunication. The same refrigeration principals apply; however, the requirements are completely different. This benefit of knowledge and experience means a decrease in any downtime and costs for your facility in the long run.
4. Are they available all day, every day?
Facilities don’t just need to run nine to five Monday to Friday. They need to be operating efficiently all year around and a breakdown could end up compromising stock. With that in mind, make sure that your facility manager is available all day, every day, so you get the lowest possible interruption to your facility. At Heuch we understand how integral optimal, reliable site operations are and offer all of our clients a 24/7, 365 days a year maintenance service.
5. Choose a company who want to be at the forefront of the industry.
Having a company that is proactively furthering their knowledge and expertise means that they pass this wealth of knowledge down to you and your facility. As we mentioned at the beginning of the article reliability is a cost that can be easily measured. Operational inefficiency is the hidden cost stripping profit from your bottom line. You need both to lead the pack.
Deciding which type of facility maintenance style you prefer, either man in a van or factory backed technicians is a decision that needs to be made based on the unique requirements of your facility. Are you selecting the right recipe for success for your facility?
If you would like to know how we can assist you with your service arrangements and help you improve your bottom line, you can contact us today on 03 9793 6088 or service@heuch.com.au.
