Any business that relies on a manufacturing line typically wants to ensure that it’s able to get as many products as it needs out the door as quickly as possible. As such, taking steps to improve your productivity is vital. In that regard, there is no bigger enemy than downtime. However, it’s not just some hypothetical phantom to fear, but rather something that you can take real, active steps to mitigate, like the following.

Perform Preventive Maintenance Constantly

A zero-downtime approach might require you to change how you think about repairs entirely. If you’re only doing reactive repairs after problems have appeared, then you have to shut down operations while you get things back up and running. Fitting regular preventive maintenance checks allows you to take advantage of the time that you’re not actively using your machine to lubricate moving parts, inspect belts and motors, clean filters, and test safety systems on a fixed schedule. Keeping maintenance logs to track performance can also help you become more aware of wear patterns, helping you predict your future repair needs.

Maintain A Steady Supply Of Critical Parts

Prediction is the key. Not only can you use predictive maintenance to keep your machines running longer, but by being aware of which parts of those machines are likely to let you down first, you can have the parts at the ready to replace them. Essential components like nylon tubing, seals, and connectors can wear out, and having backups readily available minimizes repair time and gets your machines running faster. Regularly review your equipment manuals to identify key wear parts and set reorder thresholds to prevent stockouts.

Cross-Train Your Employees So They Don’t Lose Time

Cross-training employees can help you mitigate losses in a couple of ways. First of all, if an employee’s machine fails on them and they’re not actively involved in its repairs, you can make sure they’re not twiddling their thumbs by having them work in a different part of the production process. What’s more, they can step into a role if, for instance, a key team member is absent and you don’t have anyone to replace them. Include hands-on training, job shadowing, and regular refreshers as part of your workflow to ensure that labor gaps don’t appear too easily in your business.

Stay On Top Of The Data

The best approach to downtime prevention requires you to know where it’s coming from. You can use downtime tracking software or digital dashboards to log and categorize every interruption, planned or otherwise. This data can then help you identify recurring patterns, problem machines, bottlenecks, and other issues. Then you can look at the specific corrective actions that eliminate these problems, whether it’s looking for alternative machinery, changing the workflow on the floor to prevent blockages, or otherwise. Continuously review this data after making fixes to keep optimizing your production line.

Downtime is not often the result of an act of god, but rather something that’s manageable and preventable. The tips above can help you start preventing it now.