How ACE’s Proactive Maintenance Solutions Address the Challenges of Today’s Operations Managers

In today’s fast-paced industrial environment, the role of operations managers is increasingly critical and challenging, particularly within the forging OEM industry. Extended shifts and understaffed teams are common pain points that lead to overwhelmed personnel.

Furthermore, the absence of local OEM support complicates these challenges. The situation is exacerbated when dealing with international OEM support, introducing language barriers, time differences, and the logistical difficulties of distance. These issues can delay responses and extend downtimes.

At Ajax/CECO/Erie Press (ACE), we understand the complex nature of these challenges. Our preventative maintenance (PM) solutions and Equipment Health Checks are crafted to address not just local but also international support issues. We offer a strategic approach to maintenance that anticipates and proactively addresses problems before they escalate, reducing reactive maintenance practices.

Additionally, the industry faces the challenge of an aging workforce. This demographic shift results in the loss of tribal knowledge, particularly concerning the maintenance and operation of legacy machines. Such knowledge is crucial for the efficient running of these machines but is often not documented, making its transfer to newer employees difficult.

Our solutions are designed with these factors in mind, aiming to mitigate the impact of an aging workforce and the loss of tribal knowledge. By offering comprehensive maintenance strategies and support, we help ensure smoother operations, regardless of supplier locations or the age of your machinery.

Unlock Operational Efficiency

Our commitment at ACE is to unlock operational efficiency for our clients through comprehensive, proactive maintenance and stocking solutions. Our approach is tailored to meet the unique needs of all customers with Mechanical, Hydraulic Press, Upsetters, and Hammers, focusing on minimizing unexpected costs and downtime, thus revitalizing revenue streams. Here’s how we do it:

Proactive Maintenance Solutions

• Initial Health Checks: We begin by assessing the current state of your equipment and identifying potential issues before they become major problems. This initial check is crucial for setting the baseline of your machinery’s health and operational efficiency.
• Preventative Maintenance Program: Our PM program is the cornerstone of our proactive maintenance solutions, designed to:
• Reduce the Likelihood of Unplanned Operational Interruptions: By employing industrial maintenance services, we significantly lower the risk of unexpected machinery failures, ensuring continuous production and operational reliability.
• Extend the Life of Your Equipment: Our program integrates equipment lifecycle management strategies, focusing on long-term asset preservation and cost-effective operation to enhance your capital equipment investments.
• Improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE): We leverage total productive maintenance (TPM) practices to boost your machinery’s OEE, a key performance indicator in the manufacturing process efficiency and production quality management.
• Streamline and Anticipate Repair Needs: By adopting predictive maintenance technologies and maintenance scheduling, we preemptively address potential issues, minimizing downtime and minimizing maintenance costs, while also reducing prolonged shifts for your staff.

Our approach is underpinned by a deep understanding of the forging OEM industry requirements, ensuring that we deliver customized maintenance solutions that are not only cost-effective but also sustainable and reliable. By partnering with ACE, you gain access to a suite of services that are at the forefront of industrial automation and smart manufacturing trends, ensuring your operations are optimized for the future.

Efficient Stocking Strategies

We prioritize efficient spare parts management to ensure that critical spare parts are always at your fingertips, thus reducing protracted delivery schedules and minimizing equipment downtime. Our approach includes:

• Strategic Spare Parts Inventory Management: Leveraging inventory optimization techniques to maintain an ideal stock level, ensuring just-in-time inventory to support continuous operations without overstocking.
• Critical Parts Availability: Focusing on critical spare parts management, we identify and stock essential components that are crucial for your machinery’s operation, significantly reducing equipment downtime and enhancing production efficiency.
• Smart Stocking Solutions: Employing computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) tools to predict and manage inventory needs, enabling predictive maintenance and cost reduction in spare parts supply.

Integrated PM and Stocking Solutions

Our integrated solutions are carefully designed to anticipate your repair needs, seamlessly combining preventative maintenance with spare parts management to:

• Ease the Burden on Maintenance Teams: By providing maintenance support to your team members and spare parts logistics, we relieve your teams of the stress associated with unexpected repairs, allowing them to focus on core operations.
• Operational Efficiency and Reliability: Integrating preventive maintenance schedules with spare parts availability, ensure your operations run smoothly, improving asset reliability and operational performance.
• Customized Stocking Strategies: Tailored to your specific machinery and operational needs, our solutions support efficient repairs and maintenance operations, promoting sustainable manufacturing practices.

The ACE Advantage

Choosing ACE for your maintenance and repair needs comes with a myriad of benefits designed to ease the operational overwhelm. Here are some of the advantages:

• Expertise and Support: Gain access to our team’s enhanced expertise and dedicated support, ensuring you have the guidance needed for efficient operations.
• Minimized Downtime: With our proactive maintenance and efficient stocking strategies, minimize downtime and keep your operations running and increase productivity without interruptions.
• Enhanced Operational Excellence: Our tailored solutions are aimed at improving your OEE, ensuring operational excellence and optimized performance.

In the dynamic landscape of industrial maintenance, the extended shifts and understaffed teams represent significant challenges, impacting not just the emotional well-being of operations managers but also the financial health of their operations. ACE offers a suite of proactive maintenance solutions and Initial Health Checks tailored to these nuanced needs.

• Reliable and Efficient Maintenance Support: Our services are designed to alleviate the stress of extended shifts in industrial maintenance management, ensuring that operations managers have the support they need to maintain production process efficiency and workforce optimization.
• Local OEM Guidance and Swift Problem Resolution: By providing local OEM support and rapid troubleshooting solutions, we aim to bridge the gap in international OEM communication, offering clear, actionable guidance to preempt and swiftly resolve issues, minimizing equipment downtime and operational disruptions.
• Operational Continuity and Reduced Unexpected Costs: Our preventative maintenance solutions are strategically developed to ensure continuous operational efficiency, targeting the reduction of unexpected maintenance costs and safeguarding against equipment failure, thereby securing your bottom line against unplanned operational interruptions and extended delivery schedules.
• Streamlined Maintenance and Repair Processes: Emphasizing maintenance process optimization, our programs are designed to streamline and anticipate repair needs, effectively reducing maintenance cycle times and enhancing equipment life expectancy, which in turn supports financial performance improvement in manufacturing operations.

Join the ACE Preventative Maintenance Program

At ACE, we are committed to helping you overcome the challenges of today’s demanding industrial environment. Our Preventative Maintenance Program and Equipment Health Checks are designed with your needs in mind, tailored to increase presence in facilities and ensure parts orders are fulfilled efficiently. We invite you to take the first step towards operational excellence by visiting our Preventative Maintenance Program page.

In conclusion, the challenges faced by today’s operations managers in the forging OEM industry are significant, but not insurmountable. With ACE’s proactive maintenance solutions, you can unlock operational efficiency, minimize downtime, and revitalize your revenue streams. Let us help you ease the operational overwhelm and steer your operations towards enhanced efficiency and profitability. Lean on ACE for your integrated PM and stocking solutions, and experience the peace of mind that comes from having a reliable partner in your corner.

Connect with us today and discover how Ajax/CECO/Erie Press can be your partner in forging a future marked by excellence and innovation. Visit our website, explore our range of solutions, and take the first step in forging a lasting partnership with us. Join us in our mission to drive the industry forward – Forging Ahead with Excellence.