Maximizing Equipment Performance: Navigating Vendor Expertise for Operational Excellence

Have you ever reached out to your equipment vendor seeking enhancements to critical machinery or a line, only to be met with discouraging feedback? Maybe you were striving for better reliability, looking to refine quality for margin improvement, or trying to ramp up speed and capacity to cater to rising demand. Perhaps, in these pursuits, you've encountered:

"Your equipment is already operating at max performance."

"Improvement is possible, but it will require significant time and investment."

"The equipment you're using can't achieve that. However, our new models could."

"The issues you're encountering are likely because you're not using the equipment as prescribed. Consider adjusting your product or process."

In moments like these, it's almost instinctual to nod and agree. The fear of straying from the "recommended" path and potentially causing maintenance or reliability issues can be daunting. After all, aren't these vendors the experts?

In the heart of operations, equipment vendors play a pivotal role. They not only provide the machinery that powers your business but also the expertise behind their functionality. However, while they are specialists in their equipment, it's crucial to realize that they may not always be the optimal source for advice on maximizing its performance within your unique operational context.

We've engaged with myriad businesses and discovered that more often than not, there are paths to significantly raise equipment performance without jeopardizing equipment reliability or requiring capital investments.

Understanding Vendor Priorities

Turning to the equipment vendor at the onset of a performance or operational challenge is a logical step.

However, first and foremost, it's pivotal to understand the nature of a vendor's expertise. Equipment vendors have a foundational knowledge of the machinery they design, sell, and maintain. Their perspective is largely product-centric, focusing on how a machine operates and its maintenance. Their hesitancy to recommend operating outside of design specifications is grounded in genuine concerns about reliability and maintenance. However, the specific optimization of that machinery to align with your unique operational needs might not always be their forte. This isn’t a critique of their capabilities but an acknowledgment of their primary areas of expertise.

Tips for Working with Your Equipment Vendor to drive Operational Performance

Keep an Open Mind: This might sound rudimentary, but it's a cornerstone. Never blindly accept vendor suggestions as the only path. Their advice is vital but remember that they come from a place of product knowledge, not necessarily operational improvement. Be open to alternative solutions, consider second opinions, and remember that the vendor's word isn't gospel. After all, no one knows your operation better than you do.

Challenge Your Vendor (and your team): It's not about being confrontational, but about fostering a culture of critical thinking. By probing deeper into the vendor's recommendations, you either uncover overlooked aspects or fortify your confidence in the proposed solutions. It can be daunting when vendors caution about potential pitfalls, especially when those warnings touch upon the equipment's reliability if operated differently, however, it is worth digging deeper and navigating these push-backs with an open mind to understand how real this risk is, or if it is just a way to get you to back-off. Ensure you're not settling for the first answer but seek the best one.

Investigate Before Investing: Delve deep into the problem before committing to spend. A thorough investigation not only improves your grasp of the issue but also potentially equips your team with newfound expertise and a proactive mindset toward troubleshooting and reducing your reliance on external input.

Ask Detailed Questions: Broad questions get broad answers. Instead, drill down into the specifics. Asking detailed questions like "Can this pause in the cycle be eliminated?" or “Can we adjust the sensors sensitivity” rather than "Can we speed the machine up by 20%?" often lead to more actionable insights and facilitate a deeper understanding of equipment functionality. More importantly it often leads to a more collaborative relationship between you and your vendor. A big general ask is more likely to result in ‘no’.

Seek Expertise Beyond the Vendor: Relying solely on vendor expertise can be limiting. By branching out and seeking opinions from other industry professionals or internal experts, you might uncover alternative solutions that your vendor hadn’t considered. This is especially relevant before making big financial commitments.

Avoid Spending Without Guarantees: If a vendor recommends upgrades or changes without ensuring a problem resolution, exercise caution. Often when someone doesn’t understand the root cause of an issue the simple suggestion is to bring the equipment and settings back to original specifications, logic being ‘it used to work back then’. Worn or damaged equipment doesn’t always mean that it is causing an issue, and original specifications may no longer be optimal if you have since made tweaks and improvements unique to your product or processes.

Similarly upgrades and new technologies do not guarantee improved performance. It's crucial to seek clarity on the return on investment and ask for performance guarantees before making significant expenditures.

A Real-Life Example

In one scenario, a production line was no longer able to keep up with growing demand. Our client had reached out to the equipment vendor who suggested some basic tweaks that had some impact, but not enough. The company was on the verge of signing a cheque for a new line when but decided to give it one last go. We worked collaboratively with the client through a meticulous process of reverse engineering, analyzing the logic behind the speed limiting settings of the machine. This examination led to a breakthrough discovery—a previously unidentified configuration that the vendor techs were unaware of. The subsequent configuration changes led to a whopping 24% increase in daily output without jeopardizing machine reliability or longer-term wear and tear. By critically thinking and diving deeper into the machine's functionality, the team surpassed the original design specifications and achieved significant operational improvements that directly impacted efficiency and ultimately financial performance.

Conclusion

Your relationship with equipment vendors is undoubtedly invaluable, but it's essential to maintain an analytical and comprehensive approach when seeking operational enhancements. Foster collaboration, but also remember that sometimes the most innovative and effective solutions may come from stepping outside the vendor's recommendations and diving deeper into the problem at hand.

Isaac Operations takes an outcome-based approach, not a solution-based approach.? You need to increase productivity and profitability?? Lets start there!

We look at every constraint in your operation to find possible solutions and prioritize which solutions will have the biggest impact without the need for capital expenditure .? Our guarantee makes sure that you don’t pay unless we deliver significant, measurable, and sustainable improvements.