Ways preventative maintenance saves money for factories

May 6, 2025 12

Preventative maintenance might not be the most glamorous topic, but it’s a goldmine of opportunity for factory managers and maintenance professionals. Preventative maintenance means routinely checking equipment to identify possible problems before they occur. In warehouses and factories, preventative maintenance is the key to guaranteeing everything runs properly and saves operators money.

Minimizes downtime

When parts break, it can lead to unnecessary downtime. If operators need to order a piece of equipment, the warehouse could experience delays for days without being able to move forward with production.

By regularly inspecting and servicing equipment, preventative maintenance identifies potential issues before they escalate into costly complications. When that happens, it can mean a surge in operational costs, missed deadlines, and halted production.

Example

In a warehouse, conveyor belts use pneumatic cylinders to move products. If the seals of a pneumatic cylinder wear down and suffer air leaks, it can completely shut down a facility. This would cause the factory to wait for a new part, delaying operations and preventing the factory from completing work until the new cylinders arrive.

Using preventative maintenance and learning how to extend a pneumatic cylinder’s lifespan can avert this situation. This could save the facility money because it would avoid a shutdown and prevent spending on new equipment.

Boosts energy efficiency

In factories that run energy-intensive machinery, energy costs are a large chunk of the operational budget. When these machines don’t function properly or have unseen problems, it can cause a larger drain on the energy system.

Machines that aren’t operating at peak efficiency intake more energy for a less efficient result, increasing operators’ electrical costs. If a piece of equipment, like an HVAC system, runs poorly due to broken filters, it has to work harder to maintain the environment in the warehouse. This causes the machine to operate more than necessary and use more energy without providing a better environment. With regular maintenance checks, these machines can maintain peak efficiency and reduce the energy input they need, saving the organization money in the long run.

Keeps workers safe

Maintenance requirements aren’t just for better productivity, but to optimize safety in the workplace. When any equipment breaks or isn’t performing properly, it can cause safety hazards for workers.

Regularly inspecting and repairing machines identifies potential hazards, such as frayed cables, overheating motors, and loose components, before they cause accidents. Fewer accidents lead to a safe workplace that reduces expenses due to damage control and the lack of worker downtime.

Whether you want to focus on workers, cost, or production efficiency, preventative maintenance provides the best results for saving money in factories. Routinely checking that the machinery can function properly and has no underlying problems allows factories to run smoothly.