Managing the machinery, the process, and the product is not a strategic priority for most manufacturers of processing equipment. But it should be.
Clients today need more than just a manufacturer of processing equipment; they need the right processing partner that understands the intricate details and nuances of the entire processing system.
Processing experts should ensure customers understand the most effective way to run their machinery to meet their specific needs and not just walk away after the machine is installed. Without that knowledge, clients will more than likely experience faulty products and downtime soon after installation.
Rapid Response
And when equipment fails, the impact can be far-reaching, even devastating, for an organization. We’ve witnessed clients lose five days of production at $250k per day over a single gearbox failure. When a problem does occur, you need a partner who is willing to answer the phone at all hours. Time is costly and waiting for North American business hours to reach an expert can be disastrous to a business.
Saving money by trying to solve a problem without any experience can be equally problematic. In one scenario, a client purchased numerous drying or extraction lines. Anderson supported the startup onsite, trained the operations, and left the plant with everything running smoothly. After a year and a half, the client called to indicate they were having significant issues. They had suffered three months of downtime and were trying to solve the problem on their own to no avail. When we arrived at their facility, we were already familiar with the machinery as a result of our mandatory onsite training program. We identified their issues immediately. In less than 24 hours, they were up and running a quality product.
The issue: The client’s process was disrupting the mechanical abilities of the equipment, while the equipment itself was operating perfectly fine. Once the disruption started, the operators were running the line in an upset state, destroying the product as it was going through the equipment. We quickly identified the cause, fixed the issue in a day, and the client is still running to this day with no new problems.
Full System Assessments
We tend to experience issues like these more and more often, as the old guard is being changed out for younger operators. The new guard has the technical capabilities, and they’re used to working in the digital environment, but they lack mechanical aptitude and have received less hands-on learning. Sensors can indicate that the equipment isn’t running properly, but younger operators do not have the experience to know how to fix system issues as they arise. This is where Anderson excels.
Anderson’s advantage is that our processing experts have years of experience and have been trained in most machinery in the market today, not just Anderson equipment. This is highly important as clients often run a hybrid system – Anderson equipment and competitors’ machinery in the same plant. As a processing expert, you need experience with all machinery that is running in unison, and you must be dedicated to looking at the process holistically.
A client in Texas, for example, had a competitor’s equipment feeding Anderson machines. The client called Anderson in to fix the problem, as they were certain Anderson’s equipment was the cause of the issue. Because our specialists have vast experience with both Anderson and competing equipment, we were able to identify the root cause and solve the issue. Our equipment was performing well, but we recognized that the competitor’s equipment was failing. The client would have to address the manufacturer of the other equipment to resolve the problem. We offered the client sound advice on the situation and equipped them with the knowledge to approach the other vendor. Many of our competitors don’t provide Anderson’s level of service, and unfortunately, that can be difficult for the client when their processing line is down.
If you are considering purchasing new equipment, you should factor in the equipment vendor’s response capabilities and full system knowledge into your decision. Anderson is here to support you 24/7/365 in a variety of ways to ensure you are always up and running because downtime is your biggest enemy.
For more information about our full system assessments and rapid response rate, contact us today.