subject: Lack Of Communication Between Industrial Units And Repair Technicians Can Delay Processes [print this page] Communication between industrial units and repair company technicians is an important aspect of working well together. This is especially true during an electronic drive or servo motor emergency. It is also important for industrial companies to collaborate with a repair partner that has a large inventory of spare parts as well as fast and reliable services.
A plastic production unit was faced with an emergency: One of their production machines was down and the staff was busy troubleshooting the problem for hours. When they were finally able to determine that the issue was with the drive that controlled one of the motors, they did not have a spare part needed.
Unfortunately, sending the item to the OEM for repair is costly and can take up to 2-3 weeks. Thankfully, they had another trustworthy partner an industrial electronics repair company. They quickly called the company inquiring for a spare part, which they had in their inventory for backup until the other part got fixed.
Within hours, the repair company arrived with the replacement part, and the production machine was up and running in no time. The faulty drive was handed over to the repair team along with complete specifications of the issues detected. This process was organized and efficient for both the plastic production unit and the repair company as it eased out the job for the repair technicians and subsequently, the cost for the maintenance of the equipment.
Now, here is an example of a situation where communication caused a lack of productivity.
When a facility went down, their staff checked through the whole broken machine and found that the problem was with the Fanuc drive that ran the whole machine. Fortunately, they had a spare part available in-house, so they replaced it quickly and the machine restarted without a problem. The malfunctioning motor was kept in the warehouse until it was able to be fixed, and production went on with the spare.
When the specialist arrived a month later for their monthly contract visit, they were handed the faulty drive for repair. Since it had been so long since the issue happened, no one was able to remember what was wrong with the part and no input on the issue with the drive was given to the technician. Had the specialist been informed that the drive was not communicating with the feedback circuit from the motor, the testing and repair process would not have taken as long and the facility would have received their fixed part sooner.
This lack of communication often happens in industrial units. This will result in inefficiencies and unnecessary work the repair team, and in return negates all hard work put in by in-house engineers. This type of miscommunication can be avoided by ensuring that the repair specialists are informed about the problem at hand so that repairs can be executed quickly and efficiently.
For effectiveness, repair companies usually replace the faulty parts with their own spare ones and take the malfunctioning components to repair them in-house. This is a reason why it is beneficial for industrial facilities to work with a reliable repair company that has a large inventory of spare parts. Stopped production means sustainable losses for the manufacturer, so it is in their best interest to ensure that downtime is minimized.
There are times when a unit has a critical project to deliver with a tight deadline. For instance, a unit manufacturing pistons for automobiles may be required to produce 40,000 pieces by the end of the week and a key component in their machine blows up in smoke. The best solution is to have a repair company available for repair during all types of servo motor and electronic emergencies. This way, the unit does not have to wait for the OEM's delayed services.
Whether you need an Indramat, Allen Bradley or Fanuc repair; simply make sure that the servo motor and electronic repair specialist has a large inventory and a qualified staff of technicians who are there 24/7 to assist you.
