Weiss Bros.

Over the lifetime of an unmaintained piece of equipment, you will buy that amount again in service. Maintained equipment will only cost 50% of that number and last on average 2 years longer. About 70% of companies overspend the repair budget due to lack of maintenance. Buying a piece of equipment is an investment, and proper maintenance can help secure that investment and save money in the long run. Equipment maintenance may seem like a hassle, but it’s worth it.

The total cost to clean is approximately 80% labor and 20% everything else. The equipment cost is significantly lower than the cost of employee downtime that arises from malfunctioning equipment. On average, 28% of equipment in any given facility either needs repair or is not working effectively. If you think that number is high, 88% of all facilities have broken down equipment and most of the time the facility manager is not aware. That’s a lot of money left sitting on the sideline because of lack of maintenance. You wouldn’t buy a car and then never have it maintained. The same should be said about floor equipment. When your machines are running smoothly, equipment maintenance may seem unnecessary, but it’s worth it.

Neglecting maintenance is not only dangerous for the machine; it’s also dangerous for the operators. Unmaintained equipment may not function properly, putting the user at risk for injury. Many employees may feel compelled to try and fix equipment issues themselves: After all, they’ve got a job to do. Only certified service technicians should perform repairs and maintenance on equipment, or else you run the risk of having to cover medical bills. Stitches can cost up to $2,000, mending a laceration can cost up to $10,000 and repairing a severed tendon can exceed $10,000. That’ll be much more expensive than maintenance costs. On the long list of tasks that facility managers have to cover, equipment maintenance may not seem like a priority, but it’s worth it.

So how can you avoid these issues and keep floor equipment maintained? It starts with a Planned Maintenance Program. These programs are designed to keep your equipment costs down and to ensure your equipment is running when needed. Keeping a schedule of equipment maintenance can help ensure that your jobs are getting completed when scheduled. You would not want to arrive at a carpet cleaning job ready to start only to find out that your extractor is not. Keeping regularly scheduled maintenance on equipment can also cut down on the repair cost of a machine. Neglecting maintenance costs while a machine is running smoothly may seem like a great way to save money at the time, until the machine breaks down and you’re left with the significantly larger cost of repair and employee down time. Equipment maintenance would’ve been worth it.

To find out more about equipment maintenance, visit our Service page. Don’t wait until it’s too late, maintain your equipment to keep it running great.