Of Ice Packs and Ibuprofen

Wind power is not necessarily all it's cracked up to be.

A recent windstorm that swept through southern Ontario a few weeks ago not only relieved my house of some of its shingles, but also taught me several valuable lessons. Among them is the fact that I'm not in as good of shape as I think I am.

While the sore knees and skinned knuckles will heal, the bruised ego may linger a while.

The warning signs are there that my body just may be breaking down, and it's past time that I do a thorough maintenance check of all my major systems. If only it was as simple as replacing some noisy bearings.

The roof itself was another lesson. It needed some repairs before it degraded past the point of no return.

In the Bible, Noah, who could teach the Boy Scouts something about preparedness, started building his ark before the rains came. And Benjamin Franklin, when he wasn't signing historic documents, reinventing the glass armonica, or posing for the U.S. $100 bill, once opined that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

And so, by spending a few bucks and a little time, I have added months, if not years, to the roof's lifespan. Preventive maintenance is actually applicable to all aspects of daily life—your body, the family car, and the manufacturing equipment you use at work. From major checkups involving spindle alignment and geometric testing to simple, regular cleaning, machine maintenance affects uptime, and uptime affects your bottom line.

There exists today a need to continuously update the knowledge and skills of shop workers, and educating these workers on the importance of proper maintenance techniques is another piece of the puzzle. As shop veterans retire, diagnosing machine problems is falling to a younger generation. With most companies now adopting CNC technology, proper preventive maintenance becomes of paramount importance.

Simply put, preventive maintenance is good for the machine, your business, and your bank account.

Practically speaking, it's important to follow a regimented maintenance schedule since it can affect your shop's overall productivity. Daily, weekly, monthly, and annual maintenance operations can go a long way in avoiding costly and unnecessary breakdowns.

When you consider the costs associated with downtime and repair bills, it turns out Ol' Ben was correct.

It's just too bad that the machines on your shop floor can't be maintained the same way I am: with ice packs and Advil®.