Challenges in the Engineering Sector
What challenges do you face on a daily basis?
A couple of weeks ago we posted the question to the Engineering Sector on social media and from all the feedback we received there were two specific challenges that stood out
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The lack of Operator Training in South Africa
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The lack of maintenance of machines
So let’s start with the first challenge. Why is this a problem and what is happening in the manufacturing sector.
The biggest issue is this. Operators are training Operators.Every time a new Operator starts, instead of calling in the Machine Supplier, you have the current Operator training the new guy. The issue here is that that Operator training the new guy was also once trained by an Operator and every time the knowledge is passed on, more and more information gets lost. They don’t know how a CNC Plasma, Laser or Waterjet Cutting Machine or any other machine actually works.
The results are bad quality cuts, your consumables not lasting as long as they should be, machine downtime and breakdowns and slow production lines. This costs the company a huge amount of money that they cannot afford to loose. Often the company owners don’t realize that it can be resolved with a simple thing such as Operator Training.
So next time a new operator starts rather spend the extra money in training and save in the long run.
The second challenge is machines not being maintained.
Unfortunately, due to the industry still being slow and the economy struggling companies forfeit the maintenance of the machine, because they feel it is a waste of cash flow.
However what happens when you drive and drive and drive your car and never have it serviced. It breaks down and you need to spend a large amount of money to get it fixed and often you are without your car for weeks. If you are relying on your car for income, this is a huge problem.
This works the same way with your machine. A broken machine is not going to make you money and often cost you a lot more to have it fixed, than it would have cost you to maintain and service it.
So next time you are thinking of skipping that service, think twice.
