Neal Reid, aftersales service manager at Michael Weinig (UK) Ltd, is remarkably candid about how the company used to service machines, before its Preventative Maintenance Programme came to life.
“At one time, we were just reacting to any customer issues without any real structure, and servicing whenever required,” he said.
Not any more: Weinig’s aftersales business has grown steadily since its inception six years ago and it is now the fastest growing part of the business – up at least 10% year on year.
The service contract business was initially the idea of one of the company’s senior engineers.
“He had the foresight to see that customers realised that preventative maintenance was a much better solution than breakdown maintenance and, if done correctly, was easier to plan and a much more cost-effective answer for our customers,” explained Mr Reid.
Long-term maintenance programme
Weinig UK’s aftersales and service department provides all its customers with the option of a long-term maintenance programme. It aims to ensure that all Weinig Group machines work to customers’ requirements – 365 days a year.
It’s no easy matter, and requires a thoroughly documented maintenance schedule that is designed to be both flexible and cost-effective.
Mr Reid believes this offers the customer a number of benefits. The programme provides full compliance with PUWER 98 regulations; all maintenance records are kept like a vehicle logbook. It also offers flexibility.
“We have designed a programme to fit individual customer production schedules and planned shutdown periods,” explained Mr Reid. “These are then repeated year on year for the life of the machine. We also send a reminder about five weeks before any work is due to take place to give the customer time to plan around the stoppage time needed.”
Other benefits include reliability – customers report fewer breakdowns, less down time and hence increased production; cost reduction, where a transparent pricing system includes a 20% reduction in labour costs compared with standard service rates; and a three-month guarantee on both parts and labour.
How it works
So how does it work in practice? A discounted pre-service survey is available before agreeing to the programme and an agreed level of maintenance is then decided, depending on the type of machine, the workload and the machine hours of number of shifts run. A maintenance schedule is planned, detailing the number of visits per year. The first of these will be within three months of the start of the programme or following the warranty period of the new machine.
Maintenance visits are then scheduled. This includes Weinig providing at least one month’s notice before an engineer visits – and a full report on the machinery, indicating any parts required.
“The majority of our customers take out a preventative maintenance programme at the time of the purchase of a new machine,” said Mr Reid.
As a percentage of the company’s workload, only 2% is breakdown maintenance. “The figures speak for themselves,” said Mr Reid. “It’s obvious that when a machine is regularly maintained by highly trained engineers, fewer breakdowns will occur. Our engineers can diagnose and correct any areas of concern before a breakdown takes place.”
Weinig has more than 360 preventative maintenance programmes in place. “Not many of these customers operate in the same way, so we have to make sure we are as flexible as possible to meet all our customers’ needs and production processes,” added Mr Reid.
Staff levels in aftersales care have increased from 14 to 21, evidence of the growing importance to the overall business. “It’s absolutely critical that our customers receive the best possible support, to get the maximum profit from their investment,” said Mr Reid.
