There are many situations where outsourcing industrial maintenance is beneficial to a factory: a sudden increase in production demand, the startup of a new plant, high levels of technical expertise required for a few critical machines, and so on. However, these are mostly situations where outsourcing is a temporary solution to a temporary challenge.
In other cases, is it really a good idea to outsource all maintenance on your production line — at all times and for all maintenance activities? Are the savings and profits promised by outsourcing companies always delivered?
Our intention is not to take a position on what is or isn’t good for your manufacturing business. We want to lead you toward realistic, objective thinking so that you can make the best decisions for your facility.
The Promises of Industrial Maintenance Outsourcing Service Providers
With the labor shortage, inflation showing no signs of slowing down, and the economic pressures experts keep warning about, it can be tempting to outsource your maintenance when service providers promise a lot. Remember, however, that they operate in the same reality as you — and while they may act in good faith, they’re not miracle makers.
Here’s the other side of their promises:
- “We adapt to your production volume” — True to a degree, but they won’t go below a certain minimum, and there’s no guarantee they’ll have the resources to scale up when you need them most.
- “We ensure a complete and competent team” — They too are experiencing labor shortages and are unlikely to have a secret bank of candidates you don’t have access to.
- “We manage the team members (less HR for you)” — You don’t choose the people who come to work for you. On the other hand, you won’t have to manage their vacations and absences.
- “We reduce your maintenance costs” — Costs can change without prior notice. If your supplier announced a 10–20% rate increase, how much would that wipe out your past savings? How quickly could you bring your maintenance team back in-house?
Maintenance Activities That Cannot Be Outsourced
Although outsourced technicians can carry out inspection and routine tasks, the manufacturing company must ensure ongoing monitoring and take charge of corrective measures. This takes time and resources and can quickly consume the overall benefits of outsourcing.
In addition, it is never appropriate to outsource:
- Maintenance of critical or strategic equipment
- Activities that ensure the safety of critical installations
- Tasks that help maintain the know-how and skills essential to your field
Are There Other Options Besides Outsourcing?
Not sure about outsourcing, but don’t want to go back to a large, expensive maintenance team doing several inspections a week? Predictive maintenance is a powerful alternative.
Predictive maintenance combines many of the advantages that make outsourcing attractive — for different reasons:
- Reduce maintenance costs by reducing the number of unnecessary inspections
- Reduce labor costs — a smaller team is often sufficient for all predictive maintenance tasks
- Adapt to production volume — smart sensors collect data continuously, so you don’t need to vary the size of your team
- Reduce repair costs by detecting potential failures before they become major breakdowns
- Optimize resources — maintenance work can be planned during periods of low activity, avoiding disruption to normal production
- Increase equipment lifetime by identifying and correcting problems early
- Improve budget planning — better forecasting of maintenance costs, fewer unforeseen expenses
- Improve worker safety by identifying safety problems before they become dangerous
How Do You Know What’s Right for Your Business?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to developing a maintenance plan. Predictive maintenance and outsourcing are not mutually exclusive — some companies combine both approaches by outsourcing less critical tasks while keeping predictive maintenance of critical equipment in-house.
The only real way to make the right choice is to be transparent, honest, and realistic in estimating potential costs — including hidden ones — before deciding to outsource. A proper analysis of costs and benefits, a comparison with other maintenance methods, and good communication with any service provider are essential to avoid unwelcome financial and production surprises.
Contact us to discuss how predictive maintenance can fit into your maintenance strategy.