Why in-house maintenance is so important

What is in-house maintenance?

In-house maintenance, in the context of contract manufacturing equipment, is having the personnel and tools on site in order to maintain and repair machinery and other facilities within the business.

Manufacturing is one of the biggest industries in the UK. In 2021, there were 270,000 business enterprises in the manufacturing sector, with over 5,000 of these employing over 500 people. With this many factories and millions of pieces of equipment utilised day after day it is essential that preventive maintenance is executed to ensure consistent quality output and prevent costly repairs.

In-house maintenance vs. outsourced maintenance

There are pros and cons to both in-house and outsourced maintenance. With automation at its peak and fierce competition for speedy productions and reduced costs, downtime isn’t an option.

Once you’ve invested in automation, such as CNC machining, which is often high speed with many small, moving parts and reliant on precision output, it needs to be protected. Automation brings efficiencies and cost savings but contract manufacturing equipment is a considerable investment and regular maintenance will ensure a long lifespan. So, should you outsource your maintenance or hire an inhouse team?

Cons of outsourced maintenance

You may have to wait: Outsourcing maintenance limits the control one could have over another contractor’s time, priorities and task list. What may be the most important job of the day for you may not be considered as high a priority as the company you’re waiting on a contractor for, and without an in-house team, there’s little you can do but wait.

Different priorities: Many manufacturers with an in-house maintenance team that have many years of service will know the machinery, the business and its expectations in terms of priority and potential financial losses from downtime. This site specific knowledge is extremely valuable and could prove to be more time and cost effective than temporary contractors. With so many unique manufacturers and therefore unique machines, it will take an outsourced contractor much longer to diagnose the issue, source the part and repair, than an inhouse team with a deep understanding.

Pros and cons of in-house maintenance

Instant repairs: Have you measured the financial impact broken contract manufacturing equipment could have on the business and how long you could hold out for repairs? Having in house staff available instantly will give you a significant advantage on response time thus limiting damage to productivity and profits. However, it does depend how vast your machine portfolio is and how they differ, and the skillsets of your in-house team. It may suit better to have an outsourced maintenance provider that can lower the time it takes to repair, depending on their availability.

The right equipment: If you have unique or specialist contract manufacturing equipment, it may require exclusive tools or servicing procedures that your inhouse team need to acquire and learn.

Staffing costs: An in-house maintenance team obviously comes at a cost, staff wages, HR requirements, safety certificates and more could potentially be more expensive than having a contractor execute maintenance and repairs as and when required. This needs to be considered against the factors already outlined.

Why is in-house maintenance so important?

In-house maintenance is so important because it directly impacts profit; the essence of (most) manufacturing businesses. In the case of Dudley Industries, a high end sheet metal product manufacturer that operate an advance sheet metal manufacturing facility, in-house maintenance eliminates the danger of unforeseen lost profit. The in-house, highly skilled maintenance team are on hand to ensure that products continue to be manufactured on time, at the agreed cost and quality.

Discover high-quality contract manufacturing services

Consider Dudley Industries contract manufacturing services for your project, with sheet metal design, metal tooling, cutting, forming and welding services at your disposal. Our digital, high precision contract manufacturing equipment allow us to create tools, products and more with an in-house maintenance team for peace of mind. We’re ISO 9001:2015 certified with over 80 years of experience and a high quality guarantee. Contact us on sales@dudleyindustries.com or call 01253738311 to learn more.