How to decide whether to repair or replace your industrial equipment?

It is deeply embedded in human nature to always want to get their hands on new and shiny things. From the latest gossip to the newly launched gadgets, they want to be the first ones to get it. But sometimes, fulfiling this desire is not always practically feasible. Manufacturing industries, for instance, cannot always buy the newest machines as they are extremely expensive, and it would be absurd to discard perfectly functional equipment just to get a new one. But if a part of an essential asset has broken down and is causing disruptions to productivity, how will you decide if it just needs a repair or a replacement? 

Replacing a piece of equipment is no easy task. It requires a huge investment and operating staff would have to learn the operations from scratch. It seems like a daunting task but is sometimes unavoidable.

There are several points of consideration before you can decide whether to go for replacement or repair. 

In this blog, we have discussed the factors involved in the decision-making process. Read on to gain some insights. 

Cost Analysis

While analysing costs, always consider the long-term effects of repairing or replacing the equipment. If your old equipment still has a significant service life remaining, it would be wise to get them repaired. Take the market value, operating cost and future salvage rate into account before making the decision. For instance, if a rubber part of the machine has been damaged, you can buy a rubber repair kit to fix it and save money. 

Age of the equipment

Unfortunately, ageing like wine is not something we can use for equipment. In reality, it is quite the opposite. With time, your machinery tends to lose its functionality and demands higher maintenance costs. However, if your equipment is relatively new, it would make more sense to just fix the faulty part. A rubber repair kit is much more inexpensive than buying a whole piece of equipment. 

Cost of repairs

How often will you have to pay for repairs, and what is their cost? Keeping track of asset repair events can provide insight into breakdown frequency and costs. If you can see yourself constantly calling repair people several times a year, it probably won't be worth it. However, if it is just a one-time fix, then you should probably just stick to it. 

Efficiency

What is the efficiency of your machine right now, and will a simple repair keep efficiency at the level you want, or is it better to replace it with a newer machine that uses less fuel, offers newer features, and requires fewer breakdowns? Consider these before reaching any conclusion about whether to repair your equipment or replace it. 

The Takeaway

In a nutshell, if you can see your old equipment burning a hole in your pocket in the future, it might be efficient to buy newer equipment, but unnecessarily spending money on the latest machinery when the old one can work just fine with a few repairs might not be wise. 

Increase the life of your machines with the best in the market repair, maintenance and protection products from MaxKote. With an experience of over two decades in the industry, we know just what your machinery needs. Check out MaxKote for more information.