GET MY DEMO

7 Tips to Control the Cost of Maintenance Materials

November 4, 2021
3 min
Preventative

Regardless of the company’s size, the expense of material and facility management can be quite costly, and top management is always looking for opportunities to cut costs. Maintenance management expenditures can exceed a company's annual net profit in some cases, particularly in the manufacturing industry, where maintenance materials costs can put a strain on resources.

Even if it looks impossible to save money, careful planning can help to minimize costs. The costs of maintenance materials are manageable, and some simple measures, such as implementing a computerized maintenance management system, can significantly reduce them. The following are the steps for controlling the cost of maintenance materials.

1. Review Training Practices

Ensure that work processes are designed to be as safe as possible and that your maintenance employees are appropriately trained. Train employees on existing equipment as well as new machines or parts.

Avoid cutting costs when it comes to safety procedures and operational training since an injury to machine operators and technicians will cost you money in more ways than one. Therefore, you need to prioritize safety when looking to control the cost of maintenance materials.

2. Keep Track of Expenses

It is vital to keep track of maintenance expenditures. You can only manage your expenses if you are aware of them. Additionally, you can make better decisions if you keep good maintenance records through maintenance tracking.

You can figure out how much you've spent on labour,  materials, and supplies for whatever equipment you own in a matter of minutes—and where you are spending the most money.

For this, we recommend using the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) of Maintenance Care. You can use Maintenance Care CMMS to schedule preventative maintenance and manage any spare parts inventory in addition to tracking expenditures.

maintenance technician performing a preventive maintenance task

The Asset Tracking System of Maintenance Care CMMS can save all of your asset information in one place and can help you keep a record of all of your important assets, making parts and inventory maintenance easier.

On the other hand, The Parts and Inventory Management System of the CMMS can store all of your spare parts information in one easy-to-find location and keep track of your complete inventory, ensuring that your maintenance team always knows precisely what stock they have and how much of it they have.

You can use the data to determine your overhead costs and what rates are appropriate to charge for your inventory. Additionally, you can use this information to appropriately maintain assets and delay the purchase of a new item, saving money in the process.

3. Create Maintenance Schedules

Although not all failures or fixes can be foreseen, preventive maintenance can help to reduce them to a minimum. Therefore, it is vital to create a routine maintenance schedule that includes all necessary equipment and accessories. This provides a buffer, reducing the cost and time required to handle repairs, particularly in emergencies. When it comes to crucial repairs and maintenance, it's best to leave it to the professionals.

4. Practice Good Preventive Maintenance

Inspection is the single most critical aspect of maintenance. This entails knowing what you're searching for and double-checking that your equipment meets the manufacturer's requirements. You can utilize your owner's manual to develop a preventive maintenance management schedule in addition to explaining the correct specifications for different mechanical parts.

Instead of using the calendar, base your Preventive Maintenance schedule on operational hours. The issue with servicing a unit every few months is that how much time you use it varies. For instance, servicing an item every thirty days may indicate that you are over or under-servicing it in terms of actual hours.

Also, review the results of preventative maintenance checks regularly. Depending on the state of the service item, you may discover that you need to reduce the service frequency or that you can extend it. Doing so will help you to control the cost of maintenance materials.

5. Simplify Procedures

Another way to control the cost of maintenance materials is by simplifying your maintenance procedures. Assess your maintenance and operational routines for redundancies or superfluous activities that could be replaced with better systems or more efficient equipment.

maintenance technician checking preventive maintenance plan

The guidelines for a particular operation can often become overly complex due to additions made over time. Individuals are unlikely to follow all of the processes or specifications if there are too many of them. Therefore, make sure to include only the most crucial ones.

6. Optimize Equipment

Learn how to make the most of your equipment and machines. One important consideration is that they are used for the intended purpose. Make sure you're not utilizing them past their recommended lifespan or operational limitations, as this can affect their capacity to function effectively, leading to frequent failures and costly repairs.

7. Use the Right Technology for Maintenance Purpose

This is a no-brainer. Your maintenance activities can be more efficient and productive if you use the right tools. For example, everything is tracked, managed, and controlled in one place with Maintenance Care CMMS.

The Maintenance Care CMMS can interface with your existing systems to satisfy a variety of needs and objectives. Utilizing this technology will improve the efficiency of your database and procedures, allowing you to better control the cost of your maintenance materials.

Final Word

Many procedures that would otherwise be a burden on the maintenance budget and time are automated with Maintenance Care’s powerful CMMS software, which centralizes information for safety checks, asset tracking, and preventative maintenance management. Together, all this can help you to control the cost of your maintenance materials.

Book a CMMS Demo

Ready to Optimize
Your Maintenance Operations?

Experience the power of Maintenance Care first-hand by getting a demo or trying our FREE forever software.