How many of the things that you own do you maintain? Why should you maintain those things? What’s the point? Let me set the scene. You wake up, grab a shower, coffee, breakfast, and you’re out the door. You get into your vehicle and make your way to work but, you notice something’s not right with your car as you slow to a stop. You hear this loud, long squeak. Now, some of you may know that this is your brakes right off the bat and some of you may not know. Either way, you say “I’ll get it fixed later.” A month goes by, still not fixed and now when slow your car to a stop it sounds like Freddy Krueger dragging his knife glove across the pavement. Scary, right? What once would’ve costed you $90 - $180 for the brake pads you needed now, will cost you double or even triple that amount for the brake pads plus the brake rotors you need.

So, what’s the point? The point is by performing preventative maintenance on the things you own, you end up saving time and spending less money instead of wasting time and spending more money.

This concept also holds true in the Powdered Metal Industry. Performing preventative maintenance increases the longevity of equipment, allows the equipment to run like it should off the showroom floor, increases production time, and allows us to keep tighter tolerances and uniform components. Having this plan in place plays an essential role in providing customers good quality product they can count on, shipping to the customer on time, and allowing to quote with the most competitive pricing.

• Quality
• On-time
• Net-shape
• Pricing

By now, you should see the impact that preventative maintenance has on everyday life whether it’s from a residential or an industrial point of view. So which are you, the “preventative maintenance” type or the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” type?