There are a number of considerations that can be taken into account ahead of time to make things go as smoothly as possible
By Adam Fahrenholz, Wilmer Pacheco and Charles Stark One thing that is an absolute certainty in the feed mill is that equipment needs to be maintained and eventually will need to be fixed. And whether it be routine preventive maintenance or a required repair, there are a number of considerations that can be taken into account ahead of time to make things go as smoothly as possible. The preparation for maintenance begins (or at least should begin) in the design phase. Regardless of the situation (e.g., a new build or a renovation), care should always be taken to consider equipment placement and access. In a macro sense, this may mean making sure that inspection doors can be opened, that there is room to remove components, a clear path to lift or hoist heavy items, space to stage large parts, and ensuring that there is enough room to navigate support equipment such as forklifts. On a smaller scale, it means making an attempt to avoid having conduit, piping, and air lines installed in such a way that they would need to be removed prior to a repair being completed. It is also very important to consider the placement of bearings, sheaves and belts, sprockets and chains, and pneumatic components since maintenance and repair will often require the space to use hands, tools, and supplemental light. Sometimes making a conveyor a little longer or a transition a bit taller can make all the difference. Finally, consider where maintenance staff will need to work from. Catwalks and platforms are great, and portable scissor and articulating boom lifts can be good resources as well. The less time standing on a ladder and working overhead, the better.
Planning for maintenance also includes taking the time to identify the necessary parts and suppliers before they’re needed. In a perfect world, we’d have a catalog of every component of every piece of equipment and the ability to order anything required at a moment’s notice. More realistically, we’d at least like to make sure we have the ability to find that information without having to take something completely apart or scramble around rubbing grime off nameplates looking for specifications and part numbers. Another component to planning is deciding what you’ll keep on hand and what you will order when necessary. It makes sense to keep on hand at least a replacement or two of many smaller items, such as bearings and belts, since you don’t want to have unnecessary downtime just because the local supplier isn’t open in the middle of the night. This may apply to some larger/more expensive parts as well, such as motors, particularly if you know lead time is going to be an issue. Also, a well-organized collection of new nuts, bolts, washers, set screws, bar stock, and cotter pins can save staff a lot of frustration at a minimal cost. Anyone who has been involved in even the simplest repair knows that the right tools make all the difference. This includes simple hand tools, power and pneumatic tools, and specialized tools such as gear pullers, chain breakers, as well as bolt and screw extractors. It might also include torches for heating or cutting and fabrication tools such as taps and dies and various types of welding equipment. And don’t forget your favorite penetrating oil, flashlight, and writing utensil. First and foremost, the use of all tools requires training. This is important for both the safety of employees and the protection of the equipment. Any tool can cause an injury if not used correctly, or if used without the proper PPE. And many can damage equipment when used for the wrong application (no, that’s not how you use locking pliers or a pipe wrench). Secondly, tools are only useful when they are kept in good condition and when they can be located. It must be made a priority that tools are organized and put away in their proper location after use. Beyond safety training, it is generally a worthwhile investment to provide staff with continuing education on maintenance and repair techniques and how new technologies may change the way they operate. Advancements in both the tools of the trade and the equipment itself can make preventive maintenance and repair easier, assuming that people are aware of them. Such training might occur on-the-job and be provided by vendors on-site, which might often be the case for a new installation or upgrade. Or it could be something provided virtually, which could be especially useful for employees new to the maintenance arena, or to personnel currently involved in a repair; think along the lines of a conference call with an expert or a professional-level how-to video. Finally, there might be opportunities provided by trade associations and/or educational institutions that involve classroom-based instruction to a specified audience. One last thing to consider in preparing for maintenance is how you are going to document it. To begin with, well-developed maintenance programs (both computer and paper based) will utilize things like pre-planned schedules and work orders to establish preventive maintenance activities. These programs have the ability to track when tasks are completed, simultaneously establishing a record and setting a timeline for the next action. However, repairs to broken or malfunctioning equipment aren’t planned events. But that does not mean that they shouldn’t be similarly tracked and documented. Knowing and recording when a repair occurred does a number of things: it potentially resets the schedule for preventive maintenance, it may establish the working life of a particular component, and it can assist with future budgeting decisions. Overall, maintenance isn’t something that most feed mill staff is particularly fond of, and often for good reason. But it is necessary, and when well-managed can head off a lot of problems down the road. A little preparation can go a long way into making the process easier, which will make it both more likely to be completed and to be done correctly.
Adam Fahrenholz is Associate Professor - Feed Milling Poultry at North Carolina State University; Wilmer Pacheco is Extension Specialist and Associate Professor of Poultry Science at Auburn University, and Charles Stark is Feed Manufacturing and Technology Specialist at Kansas State University.
