Commercial machinery can be expensive to repair. However, there are ways to reduce costs if you’re savvy. Below are just some of the different ways to lower the cost of machinery repairs in your workplace.

Invest in preventative maintenance

Preventative maintenance can help to reduce expensive repairs by preventing faults occuring in the first place. Measures such as making sure factory machinery is well lubricated and controlling dust levels in the air can help to stop common issues like wear and blockages. This could involve carrying out regular services on machinery and taking steps to make sure their environment is well-suited.

Regular inspections of machinery can meanwhile help to detect faults early so that they can be repaired before they get serious. You can do this with everything from tractors to commercial coffee machines. This allows you to schedule repairs at a convenient time and potentially prevent costly downtime.

Source your own parts

When outsourcing a professional engineer to repair your machinery, they will usually be able to order parts for you. However, some engineers may try to make a profit on these parts. You could therefore potentially save money by ordering your own parts.

When buying parts, make sure that you know exactly what type of part you need. You can buy specialist parts online. In cases where you don’t need a specific branded part, it could be worth comparing different brands. For example, when it comes to safety valves, take the time to compare the differences in price and reputation between a Farris and a Kunkle valve. You don’t always have to use the same branded part that was already installed before.

Have trusted emergency repair engineers on call

There are instances when you may not be able to spend a huge amount of time shopping around. Downtime from broken machinery could cost your business more money with each passing hour. 

In these instances, having an emergency repair engineer on call is useful so that you can get repairs done quickly and get your business back up and running. Make sure that this is a trustworthy repair service that can attend your problem quickly without overcharging you. Do your research online and have someone lined up. 

Know when to replace machinery

Sometimes it’s more economical to replace machinery than it is to repair it. But just when does it become more economical to replace? Generally speaking, once total repairs exceed 50% of the total value of the machine.

With newer machinery that is still in its warranty, repairs are still the best option. However, once this warranty runs out you need to start tallying up the cost of repairs. As machinery gets older, you will usually experience more faults. This is when keeping track of total repair costs becomes particularly important. Replacing machinery in good time could prevent you from spending huge amounts of money on unnecessary repairs in the future. Just make sure that any machinery that you buy as a replacement is in much better condition so that you’re not putting yourself back in the same situation.