KINGFISHER CLEAN BLOG
How to Reduce Manufacturing Downtime: Maximise Results with Industrial Cleaning
If you work in manufacturing, you know that time is money. You also know that unplanned downtime is the arch nemesis of productivity and output. In this blog post, we explore the causes and consequences of planned vs unplanned downtime, as well as how to reduce manufacturing downtime with effective and professional industrial cleaning.
If you work in manufacturing, especially 24/7 around-the-clock production facilities, you know better than most that time is money. For industrial managers, reducing downtime is a constant challenge.
Downtime, whether planned or unplanned, significantly impacts your operational efficiency and productivity. Senseye Predictive Maintenance reported that unplanned downtime cost manufacturers $1.5 trillion in 2021-22.
In this blog post, we explore how industrial cleaning can help reduce the risk of unplanned downtime, and also capitalise on precious planned downtime to clean areas that are impossible to clean while production is running. With the right industrial cleaning company, you can secure high value for money cleaning, increase your ROI and protect your bottom line.
In a hurry? Skip to the info you need below >>
Planned VS Unplanned Downtime: Understanding the Difference
The Cost of Manufacturing Downtime
Proactive VS Reactive Cleaning
Reduce Manufacturing Downtime with Tailored Industrial Cleaning
Balancing Act: Cleaning Frequency vs Production Demands
Reduce Possibility for Fires with Preventive Industrial Cleaning
Conclusion: Partnering with the Right Industrial Cleaning Company
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Our team here at Kingfisher have been in the industrial cleaning business for over 40 years. In that time we’ve built a reputation of being able to solve industrial cleaning problems where other companies have fallen short.
That’s because we will always source the highest quality equipment, materials and training to complete the project, often developing bespoke solutions for the trickiest of tasks.
Planned VS Unplanned Downtime: Understanding the Difference
There are two different types of downtime; planned and unplanned. It is really important to stress that planned downtime is not necessarily a bad thing, if you make the most of it. It is unplanned downtime which disrupts an entire plants’ operations, potentially costing hundreds of thousands per hour of lost time.
Planned Downtime
Planned downtime is the scheduled interruption in production for maintenance, upgrades or other pre-planned activities. Depending on the industry, it can be scheduled for when operations are quiet, for instance in the week between Christmas and New Year.
While it is a pause, it’s a strategic one. With careful planning, you can minimise your impact on overall operations and maximise efficiency for when you restart production.
Industrial cleaning often plays a vital role during planned downtime. It ensures that equipment and machinery are thoroughly cleaned to prevent unexpected failures. Most importantly, if you partner with a quality industrial cleaning company, they can clean the specialist, challenging and hard-to-reach areas in a timeframe that works for your business.
Unplanned Downtime
Unplanned downtime is the unexpected interruption in production due to equipment failures, breakdowns, accidents or fires. It is the more dangerous type of downtime because it catches your business off guard, especially if you don’t know what caused the issue at first.
Unplanned downtime is unpredictable, costly, and dangerous. Senseye Predictive Maintenance reported that the cost of an hours worth of unplanned downtime ranged between $39,000 and $2million depending on the industry in 2021-2022.
Despite our best efforts, the risk unplanned downtime is never zero. However, we can put measures in place to avoid it, and to reduce the duration of downtime episodes as much as possible.
The Cost of Manufacturing Downtime
The cost of downtime in manufacturing can be catastrophic. A recent report from Senseye Predictive Maintenance has explored some thorough yet shocking research on this.
Recent economic inflation and other factors have caused a significant increase in the cost of downtime, even if the number of incidences have reduced. Unplanned downtime costs for Fortune Global 500 companies soared from $864 billion in 2019-20 to approximately $1.5trillion in 2021-22, with the hourly cost of downtime rising by at least 50% across all industrial sectors.
These shocking stats prove yet again how essential it is to protect your site as much as possible against unexpected failures, breakages and interruptions. Your facility literally needs to run like a well-oiled machine in order to maximise efficiency and avoid nasty surprises.
In need of industrial cleaning? We give you the best quality industrial cleaning in the shortest time to reduce manufacturing downtime.
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Proactive VS Reactive Cleaning
As professional industrial cleaners, we often get called out to sites for reactive cleaning. For instance, if a client has an incident, fire or emergency situation. These situations are obviously fine if you partner with an effective, professional and reliable cleaning company, who can give you a quality clean for a cost effective price.
However, this type of cleaning is often more expensive in the long term due to the added downtime costs. Cleaning is often requested as an emergency solution to a problem which has been left to fester.
Our experience in the industry has shown us that industrial managers sometimes don’t or can’t prioritise planned maintenance cleaning into their shutdown schedules, which is very risky. Waiting around for a breakdown is a costly game.
Adopting a mindset of proactive cleaning and implementing a factory or industrial cleaning schedule is a great way to keep equipment in top condition and prevent unexpected hiccups. Better yet, a quality industrial cleaning company will cause the least amount of disruption, if any, to your day-to-day operations. High value-for-money cleaning services will help keep your industrial facility streamlined, aesthetically impressive and working at maximum efficiency.
Reduce Manufacturing Downtime with Tailored Industrial Cleaning
Partnering with a one-site-fits all industrial cleaning service is completely counter productive, as it doesn’t tailor itself to your specific site. Not all manufacturing processes are created equal, with thousands of specialised pieces of machinery, infrastructure, etc.
You can reduce manufacturing downtime if an industrial cleaning company offers a specialised bespoke service, taking the time to visit your site prior to the project. We always offer a free site visit so that we can plan the most effective cleaning solution in the most competitive timeframe possible.
Balancing Act: Cleaning Frequency vs Production Demands
Maintaining the balance between cleaning and production demands is an art. Too much cleaning means unnecessary downtime, while inadequate cleaning can leads to equipment failures, failed inspections, product contamination and more.
That’s why it’s important to develop a cleaning schedule that aligns with your production cycles, giving you a harmonious coexistence between cleanliness and production output.
Reduce Possibility for Fires with Preventive Industrial Cleaning
It’s no surprise that industrial fires can be catastrophic causes of unplanned downtime. They present danger to your employees and can significantly damage infrastructure and equipment, which can in turn prolong the time needed to restart production.
Industrial fire prevention cleaning is a powerful method of reducing risks of fires, through removing long term accumulations of oil, dust, grime and contaminants which are highly combustible. This however is a highly specialised service and it is important to partner with a trained cleaning contractor to undertake the work safely.
Conclusion: Partnering with the Right Industrial Cleaning Company
Industrial cleaning can significantly reduce manufacturing downtime, whether planned or unplanned, if you partner with the right cleaning contractor. A quality and professional cleaning company will work with you to arrange cleaning during your planned shutdown periods that won’t interfere with your planned maintenance or day-to-day tasks.
Don’t take the risk and wait for accidents to happen. By keeping on top of your industrial cleaning, you can keep your equipment and infrastructure in good condition and maximise efficiency for your production efforts.
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