Reactive Maintenance focuses on fixing equipment and bringing it back to its operating condition after it’s already broken. Emergency repairs such as this, cost 3-9 times more than planned repairs. This kind of approach is significantly more expensive because of unexpected shutdowns during production instead of pre-planned maintenance shut downs. Rush shipping for emergency parts cost much more than regular shipping and staff is often forced to work overtime to repair machinery.
Planned Maintenance
Planned maintenance reduces stoppage and the additional costs of emergency repairs. A scheduled plan gives you the opportunity to improve your operations and continue to operate at full speed.
Some Disadvantages of Reactive Maintenance
Shorter life expectancy of equipment – Reactive maintenance does not keep your equipment running in optimal condition. Over time, systems that have not been properly maintained wear and break faster and don’t maximize their initial investment.
Safety issues – When work is scheduled, technicians have time to review the procedures and safety requirements to complete the job correctly. Technicians tend to take more risks when maintenance work is reactive because they are under pressure to get equipment running without further time delays.
Time-consuming – Reactive repairs tend to take longer. Factors like time to diagnose, travel time, time to pull parts from stores or emergency order, and time to pull correct manuals and schematics, all impact how long it takes you to get back up and running.
Sporadic equipment downtime – Planned maintenance can be scheduled while unplanned repairs can happen anytime.
Interferes with planned work – Emergency repairs are usually prioritized at the expense of day to day work. Planned work may have to be delayed or cancelled entirely.
Collateral damage – A minor issue could quickly turn into a major repair without proper maintenance.
Indirect costs – Unplanned downtime can lead to schedule problems if equipment cannot be returned to production in time. This can damage your reputation with clients and cause revenue issues.
Repeat issues – Emergency repairs do the bare minimum to get the equipment up and running. This can lead to future issues and eventually cause more downtime.
Higher energy costs – When equipment is not properly maintained, it uses more energy. Doing simple things like greasing moving parts or changing filters can reduce energy consumption by up to 15%.
At ABCO Systems, we offer our clients a full maintenance plan that is designed to address any potential problems that could pop up at any time. When you sign up for this plan, you can expect the following:
Regularly-scheduled maintenance
On-site visits to inspect machinery
Real, low-cost resolutions for discovered issues in the system
Our qualified inspectors and technicians make it their responsibility to find failure points that could lead to future problems. A maintenance plan with our company is one of the best preventative steps that you can take.
Contact Us Today
If you’re ready to commit to keeping your systems up to par, contact ABCO Systems for the next step. We can be reached at 201-507-0999, or you can also fill out our online contact form.
Being that we are a construction company, we have always been serious about safety. It has always been our first priority for a plethora of different reasons.
However, it was not until about 5 years ago that we learned how much we did not know. ABCO started to work with our insurance company to create standards for our staff and plans in case of emergency. We are still evolving and we are still learning more every day.
Further to that, because we work with local code officials in townships all across the country, we have learned a lot of what they have to teach us. For them, it comes down to the simple fact that life safety is their only priority.
It is because of this that we are beginning to place even more of focus on helping our customers create safer environments for their teams. There are some seemingly basic life safety requirements that are often times overlooked and we are dedicated to increasing our own knowledge to ensure that we continue to provide more and more value to our customers.
Warehouse Safety
Is your fire protection system up to date? Do you have enough water flow in your building to support your commodity and how it is stored in your Pallet Rack or your Garment on Hanger (GOH).
Are your Egress Lights active and working? Do you have a clear Egress path?
Do you have the necessary safety barriers between lift equipment and walking staff members?
We can help you identify and rectify all of these potential hazards. Not only will it help increase employee moral by showing you care about employee safety, but it will also increase productivity by having standard operating procedures. On top of all that, a clearly documented safety protocol can also reduce your liability, and therefore your costs, with your insurance company.
ABCO Systems has developed a safety/maintenance program that can help with all of your needs.
There is an interesting trend in the used pallet rack market. When renting a warehouse, some landlords are throwing in a perceived bonus to get new tenants. Not only do they get the space, but it comes with rack already installed.
What a deal, right!
Well it can be a deal or it could be a nightmare. The only way to figure out the difference is with a lot of research and maybe some help from an expert. Both parties, the landlord and the tenant, need to know exactly what they are getting and whether the deal is actually a deal.
Here’s What You Need to Look for When Renting a Warehouse
Tenants
Current Capacity: You, when renting a warehouse, don’t know what the plan was by the original tenant that installed the rack. Were they storing car parts or giant stuffed animals? Even if you look at the old tenants product and believe it must have been heavier than yours, how do you know they did not have a WMS (warehouse management system) that only allowed certain items on the shelf levels and kept the heavier items on the ground?
Even the placement of the shelf levels effect the load capacity of the uprights. Without seismic and load calculations based on your product locations or having an experienced partner in the rack business evaluate the capacities of the system you may not realize the danger until it is too late.
Layout: How did the previous tenant layout the rack? Was it for single, double, or triple-deep storage? Does that work for your need? Does that truly optimize the space you are moving into for your product? If not, this means you will need to hire a company to relocate the rack so that it will work for your storage.
While this could be a good money saving tactic for the new renter, you need the help of an experienced partner in the rack business, to look over the layout and let you know how much it will be to reconfigure the rack.
Landlords
You have a building with rack in it, but that may be a turnoff for some renters. The rack may be for a very specialized layout or business and may not work for 95% of the market. In this case the best idea for the landlord is to sell the used rack, and rent the building empty.
If you wanted you could even reduce the price of the rental due to the windfall they are receiving for selling the used rack. Lower rent is always appealing to the market.
If you need help from either side, whether you’re a landlord with a current rack set-up or a client looking to rent or have rented a building with used rack in place, contact ABCO Systems to get a free review of your current storage. We buy used rack or can help you reconfigure the storage in a way that works for you.
Effective warehouse design is essential for any business that desires efficiency with shipping products quickly to customers. While a certain amount of design depends on business preferences, here are a few easy ways to maximize the organization of any warehouse.
Keep Aisles Clear and Wide
It’s difficult to find the products a customer wants when everything is cluttered. It’s even more problematic when employees can’t navigate the warehouse floor without running into boxes. Keep aisles clear and wide for employees to quickly move through and for safer operation of machinery such as lifts.
Clearly Label Boxes
Time is precious when quickly fulfilling a customer order. When employees have to open boxes to check their contents, it not only wastes time, but it also creates a mess. Clearly label the boxes and place a digital picture of the contents on the outside so employees know what’s inside without opening them.
Store Like Items Together
Keep clothing together, keep toys together, keep electronics together. Storing like items together makes it easier to locate a specific product. It streamlines the picking process as well because employees know immediately where they need to go to grab the items.
Store Products Vertically
Utilize pallet racks or an industrial mezzanine system to store products vertically as opposed to horizontally. This saves space, making room for even more products. This is ideal for items that can be stacked one on top of the other. For products that cannot be stacked, such as appliances, store them one behind the other in the same area.
Implement an Effective Pick System in your Warehouse Design
The manner in which your employees locate and box items for a single shipment is the pick module. There are a variety of ways to pick products from a warehouse. Whatever method your business uses, make sure it is efficient and effective.
ABCO systems has a wide range of solutions for warehouse design, storage handling and product picking. Contact us for more information today.
Getting organized is a huge part of efficiently managing a business, especially when it comes to distribution. Without organization, it becomes difficult to find the items you need to send out to customers. At ABCO Systems, we understand the importance of organization and safety in a distribution center and work hard to bring you the quality warehouse solutions you need. Used pallet racks are a productive way to save you money, space, and time while making your warehouse more efficient.
Used Pallet Racks Save Money
Getting organized is great for business efficiency, but it also means investing in organization materials and solutions. The cost of new materials quickly adds up. Investing in high-quality used materials like our used pallet racks is the perfect way to save some money while getting the solutions you need to keep your business running smoothly.
Save Space
Pallet rack installation allows you to store items in a manner that saves you an immense out of warehouse space. Pallet racks are a vertical storage system where it is easy to locate specific items and remove them with a forklift. With these racks in place, you will be able to store even more product in your warehouse and reduce the footprint of your warehouse, saving you space and money.
Save Time
With the installation of pallet racks and an organizational system to store your products, you save time by being able to quickly locate items as opposed to trying to find them in a cluttered maze on the warehouse floor.
Ultimately, used pallet racks from ABCO Systems is a productive and safe way to get your distribution center organized. Call us to find out more about the cost savings and benefits of our used pallet rack selection.
