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Machinery & Equipment MRO
September 2021
REPAIRS, SERVICE, AND RAMPING UP AFTER COVID-19 C
BY JAMES REYES-PICKNELL
W
e are all living with a lot of uncertainty and an astounding lack of cohesion among those directing the
responses. On the COVID-19 front, we are learning a lot, and now we know what works and what doesn’t. As we exit the pandemic, we will be learning some tough lessons about reliability, maintenance, repairs and services and how to keep a business “pandemic proof” in the future.
The business impacts of COVID-19 are substantial
Our supply chains, highly networked
for our preventive maintenance, capital replacements, and of course, for repairs.
Maintenance impacts globally, are feeling the effects of our actions to contain, control and deal with the disease. Those measures will continue for a long time as those countries grappling most with the virus are also those least developed and having the lowest cost labour. They are also at the input end of our supply chains. Goods and services don’t simply flow freely anymore. Further down those supply chains, we depend on those cheap sources of raw materials, processed goods, products, and parts. In maintenance, we are now experiencing much longer lead times for parts and materials. We need those
Repairs that arise without warning have always been a challenge, and the more of them you do, the more challenged you are. Where maintenance programs were less ineffective, there is more reactive maintenance – “break then fix” is the default strategy. Poor planning and materials forecasting are common hallmarks of organizations that have defaulted to this strategy. It’s expensive and it leads to lowered levels of production capacity, even in “normal” times. That high cost was driven by purchase and shipping costs for parts that were not forecast, the need to rush them to site, and by delays in repairs that lead to
Photo: © NicoElNino / Adobe Stock
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