Although maintenance activities have grown in importance within production companies over the last decade, the planning of most tasks remains largely “improvised.” While predictive and preventive maintenance actions are organized and well thought-out, those related to corrective maintenance during unplanned breakdowns are urgent and without defined rules.
Is Your Team a League of Superheroes?
The question seems silly, and most of you will answer “Of course not”… but think again. During a breakdown, if the maintenance team fixes the problem quickly and production restarts without too much damage, what do you say? Chances are something like: “Thank you! You saved the day” or “If we deliver this order on time, it’s thanks to you.”
What if, despite your good intentions, you are asking much more of them than that? What if, without realizing it, you are asking them to put their lives and health on the line every day?
The Day-to-Day Reality of Maintenance Work: Alarming Statistics
Every company has a duty to make health and safety at work a priority. Despite all the awareness campaigns and guidelines, maintenance workers are still much more exposed than other workers.
Did you know that every year, 15% to 20% of fatal occupational accidents are directly linked to maintenance work?
Compared to the average for all workers:
- 3× more serious accidents
- 6× more illnesses
- 8× more deaths
The Consequences of a Workplace Accident for the Company
When a breakdown occurs, managers tend to focus on the immediate losses: production delays, penalty fees, overtime payroll. But what if the true cost is far greater?
According to the Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé’s report on work-related accidents in Quebec, the average cost of a work-related injury was $38,507 in 2013 — and would reach approximately $49,500 in today’s dollars.
Experts agree that the indirect impacts of workplace accidents represent 2 to 5 times the direct costs. These can affect the company’s reputation, productivity, and the general motivation of all staff.
How Can You Reduce These Risks?
The answer has been proven by a number of studies: urgent, unplanned maintenance activities must be reduced to a minimum — or eliminated.
According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (OSHA), performing predictive and preventive maintenance divides the risk of accident by 12 for a maintenance worker.
Not twice as much. Not three times. Twelve times.
If you had a choice between two employers, would you choose the job where you risk your life 12× more every day? This is why migrating away from corrective maintenance has such a powerful effect on the attraction and retention of highly skilled maintenance professionals.
In Conclusion
Predictive maintenance allows interventions to be planned in calm, controlled, and safe conditions. We no longer wait for the machine to break to intervene in haste and stress.
Technology makes it possible to “humanize” maintenance by protecting what matters most: your workers.
Contact us to discuss how Soralink can help reduce emergency maintenance in your facility.