Control equipment maintenance costs

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As an important aspect of enterprise management, the concept of equipment management has shifted from emphasizing its role in serving production and striving for high equipment availability rates in the past, to focusing on the economic benefits of the enterprise. Equipment management should prioritize the management and control of maintenance costs, in order to achieve the highest equipment availability at the lowest possible maintenance expenses.     I. Pay attention to the procurement management of equipment. The selection of equipment is of great importance; if it has high reliability and good maintainability, the subsequent maintenance costs will be significantly reduced.       Additionally, it is necessary to choose a standard model, as this facilitates the stocking of spare parts, enables interchangeability, and simplifies maintenance efforts, thereby saving on inventory costs. The quality of equipment selection determines the level of costs throughout its lifecycle. II. Selecting the appropriate maintenance method It is crucial to determine the right balance between production and the market, as well as between production and maintenance. Failing to pay attention to maintenance, along with a high degree of randomness in production, and the inability to provide the most basic conditions for equipment management and maintenance in terms of organization, funding, and time, will inevitably lead to neglected equipment, a decline in its condition, which in turn affects its performance and results in increased maintenance costs. Improve the three-level maintenance of equipment that has been in use for a long time, as well as traditional practices such as major and medium repairs. A dedicated person should organize maintenance at appropriate times; for planned major and medium repairs, a flexible system of routine repairs and maintenance should be adopted in their place. III. Improve the effective operational rate of equipment. Poor equipment performance, low efficiency, and excessive idling also represent an invisible waste of equipment assets, leading to increased costs. To this end, emphasis is placed on improving the effective operational rate of equipment, and management systems such as \"responsibility and maintenance\" and an \"annual evaluation system for maintenance personnel\" are implemented to strengthen the incentive mechanisms for equipment management as well as the self-discipline mechanisms among maintenance staff. Organize proper maintenance of equipment, carry out rectification efforts to address the \"five types of leaks\", and eliminate various \"seven harmful practices\" in operation and maintenance. The improvement in the effective operational rate of the equipment has significantly reduced the cost per unit of maintenance. IV. Thorough Maintenance of Equipment Careful and meticulous maintenance, proper operation, rational use, and attentive upkeep of equipment can prevent abnormal wear and damage to its components, extend the time between repairs, and reduce maintenance costs. Currently, there are mainly two forms of maintenance waste: one is equipment deterioration. This is due to missed equipment inspections, inaccurate predictions, or a lack of funding that leads to insufficient attention being paid to the equipment, resulting in its deterioration. The second is excessive maintenance. This is due to excessive maintenance arrangements for the equipment, as well as the overemphasis on maintaining its optimal performance – such as requiring it to be restored to like-new condition – and the need for unnecessary functions that result in wasted maintenance efforts. V. Improve rules and regulations – A sound, scientific, and reasonable equipment management system along with relevant rules and regulations has a significant impact on costs. Cost management is the core of enterprise management and also a key aspect of equipment management. To eliminate and reduce management gaps in equipment management and maintenance, as well as wastages such as discrepancies between records and actual conditions, inadequate maintenance, operation of equipment in a faulty state, illegal operations, and poor lubrication, and to enhance the awareness of all employees. Based on the actual figures regarding maintenance costs, the company’s Equipment Management Department has established various management systems, including regulations for managing maintenance costs, procedures for reporting and handling abnormal damages and equipment failures, as well as rules regarding the assessment and rewards for repairing used parts. In addition, safety operation procedures, maintenance standards, and records for inspections and maintenance have been put in place to strengthen the institutional framework for equipment management. VI. Formulating scientific and advanced technical-economic indicators 1. Indicators serve as the basis for guiding, monitoring, and evaluating various business, technical, and economic activities as well as their economic outcomes. Indicators can be divided into individual technical and economic indicators as well as comprehensive indicators; they can also be categorized into quantitative and qualitative indicators. The main function of these indicators is to provide a quantitative assessment of the performance of management tasks ； Reinforce the roles of supervision, regulation, and guidance in the management process ； It serves to motivate and promote.       2. The technical and economic indicators for equipment management are a set of interrelated and mutually restrictive indicators that enable a comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness and efficiency of equipment management. The technical indicators of equipment management are an important part of the objectives of equipment management work. Equipment management involves various aspects such as funds, materials, labor organization, technology, economics, and production and operation objectives. To assess and evaluate the management level of each aspect as well as the performance of equipment assets, it is necessary to establish and improve a technical and economic indicator system for equipment management.       The maintenance quota is valuable for comprehensively assessing the labor organization, material resources, technical equipment, and level of repair skills involved in maintenance, and it should be continued to be used. However, as the proportion of equipment-related tasks increases, the maintenance quota coefficients need to be revised and supplemented, and scientific maintenance indicators should also be established.       The equipment integrity rate, as a key indicator of the technical condition of equipment, remains effective and can continue to be used. However, in practical implementation, the qualitative criteria for determining integrity should be studied and improved in order to minimize the influence of subjective factors ； Or improve the calculation of the indicators to ensure their accuracy. VII. Strengthening education on cost management 1. To control maintenance costs, a team composed of engineers was established to oversee maintenance and parts replacement, and specific regulations were formulated regarding the procedures for obtaining spare parts as well as the identification and handling of parts that are damaged due to abnormal causes.       2. To adapt to market conditions, maintenance staff actively participated in and cooperated with the factory management in optimizing the allocation of raw materials and auxiliary materials. They made adjustments to the equipment without significantly increasing costs, so as to enable it to function properly with various types of raw materials and auxiliary materials, thus facilitating the smooth progress of this optimization process.       3. Vigorously carry out cost education activities. To improve cost management, special meetings are held on expense-related issues for research and analysis, and various countermeasures are agreed upon. During maintenance work over holidays, as well as at daily production meetings, specific explanations and requirements are given, and specialized training is provided in conjunction with the evaluation of maintenance workers, thereby enhancing cost management efforts.     VIII. Promote the repair and reuse of existing assets to save energy and reduce consumption. 1. To reduce maintenance costs and motivate maintenance staff, specialized assessment procedures as well as reward and penalty regulations have been established for the repair of used parts and the handling of damaged components.        2. Reducing consumption and lowering production costs are also key aspects of equipment management. Most of the consumption of raw materials occurs in the equipment. Poor equipment condition increases raw material consumption ； In terms of energy consumption, equipment accounts for a larger share. Strengthening equipment management, improving the operational efficiency of equipment, and reducing energy consumption of equipment are important means of saving energy. During the operation of the equipment, certain materials are required to maintain its proper functioning. Equipment usually comes with standard parts and wear-prone components; if these parts are used up quickly, the costs associated with equipment maintenance will be high.     IX. Strengthening technical improvements Technical improvements are of particular importance for enhancing the performance of equipment and reducing maintenance costs. Active efforts are made to carry out technical improvement initiatives and make minor adjustments in order to eliminate the inherent defects present in the equipment, thereby enhancing the stability and efficiency of the system’s operation. This also reduces the workload associated with inspections and maintenance, allowing for significant savings on maintenance costs each year. X. Establish a monitoring system to emphasize the economic management of equipment. In the past, analysis of maintenance costs was mainly carried out at the end of the period, which constituted ex-post analysis and could no longer meet the requirements of a market economy. At present, companies should not rely solely on post-event analysis; instead, they should strengthen cost forecasting analysis by combining planned analysis, predictive analysis, and post-event performance analysis to establish a comprehensive analysis and budgeting system.        Establish an effective equipment monitoring system. By controlling the approval process for new equipment purchases, unnecessary investments in new equipment can be reduced ； The signing of technical agreements ensures after-sales service for the equipment ； By controlling and evaluating the maintenance costs during the equipment’s usage period, efforts are intensified in areas such as equipment maintenance, improvement of repair techniques, control of externally purchased spare parts, and recycling of used spare parts ； Optimize the allocation of equipment resources and revitalize idle assets through equipment reallocation, transfer, and reuse after scrapping ； By monitoring and evaluating equipment maintenance techniques, and by strengthening efforts to improve these techniques, it is ensured that the equipment remains in good condition ； Achieve comprehensive balance to maintain optimization in equipment management and equipment resource allocation.