Coined in the 1860s, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is perhaps the most well-known piece of preventative health care advice to date. Compared to today’s laundry list of preventative health measures, it sounds so easy, so doable. But then again, life expectancy back then was around 40 years. In 2024, doctors require a bit more than just a daily Granny Smith. And that’s a good thing.
To a certain degree, capital equipment should be treated with the same preventative care routines as a doctor would prescribe to their patients. When routine maintenance tasks are taken seriously, businesses will significantly extend the lifespan of their machinery and other capital assets while also achieving higher quality parts, safer work environments, better machine reliability and efficiency, and ultimately, zero unplanned downtime.
Entry-level care
Like personal health, there is a lot that can be done for capital equipment to address minor issues before they escalate into major problems. Take TRUMPF Inc.’s bi-annual 130-point maintenance checklist for its fiber laser cutting systems as an example. The only difference is that with TRUMPF’s Service agreements, daily support is always at the ready and, if desired, TRUMPF service experts will show up at the front door to handle a business’s preventative maintenance needs for them.
With TRUMPF’s three levels of Service agreements, the goal is to give customers a variety of options, so they can pick and choose a package that fits their needs best. Customers can choose from the remote service agreement, maintenance level service agreement and performance service agreement.
“With the remote service agreement, customers get unlimited remote phone support from our in-house experts,” says Christine Benz, director of TruServices at TRUMPF Inc. “If a customer runs into an issue with their machine or has questions about how to do certain things, they can call our in-house technicians who will walk them step by step through resolving any issues or answering any questions they might have.
“Our product support group is made up of engineers and other employees, many of which have 10 or even 20 years of experience servicing TRUMPF machines,” she adds. “Very often, they come out of field service and bring their expertise and experiences to the phone support team.”
The remote service agreement also provides customers with a MyTRUMPF account to access the service app where a machine’s detailed history can be accessed, including past service calls, parts orders and software downloads.
“They don’t even have to pick up the phone anymore,” Benz says. “Instead, they can use the service app to punch in an error message or warning that popped up on their HMI to create a service ticket. From there, AI combined with powerful software uses algorithms to analyze the warning. Almost instantly, the customer receives a technical guide with step-by-step instructions on how to deal with that specific warning or error message.”
Very often at this point, the customer has only received a warning, meaning the machine didn’t go offline and that true downtime was avoided. And that is TRUMPF’s goal with its service agreements – for customers to achieve zero unplanned downtime.
Building up
With the maintenance level service agreement, preventative maintenance tasks are the focus. Within the agreement, bi-annual preventative maintenance visits are covered in the overall package.
“When a customer keeps a machine in tip-top shape by keeping things lubricated, replacing filters before they clog up and so on, they prevent machine downtime,” Benz says. “And we do that for them by taking the initiative to set it up, calling to remind the customer that they are due for a preventative maintenance visit. For our fiber laser systems, we typically send a service technician to a customer’s facility twice a year where they walk through that 120- or 130-step process to really make sure the machine is like new.
“Customers are so focused on fulfilling customers’ orders that, too often, preventative maintenance takes the back burner,” she adds. “What we’re trying to do is make that task as easy as humanly possible, up to the point where we’re essentially saying, ‘don’t worry about it because we can do it for you.’”
The maintenance level service agreement also includes a 10 percent discount on spare parts and consumables. Benz says that when customers use TRUMPF-brand spare parts and consumables versus third-party parts found on the internet, less downtime and higher cutting quality are the result.
Customers can also include an additional level of coverage to the maintenance level service agreement, which ensures that they will never be invoiced for a service call. If TRUMPF’s technical guides or in-house service technicians can’t resolve an issue without an in-person service call, the customer doesn’t have to worry about the cost typically involved. In addition to no invoicing, there’s also no limit to the number of service calls that a customer might need.
“That’s a testament to how much we trust our machines,” Benz says. “If preventative maintenance is done correctly and the right parts are used, the machines won’t need a large number of service calls.”
All inclusive
For what Benz describes as “an all-around, bumper-to-bumper, worry-free package,” TRUMPF offers its performance service agreement, the highest level of coverage customers can choose. Within the top-tier agreement, everything is included – preventative maintenance visits, service calls, spare parts and a discount on consumables.
“With the performance service agreement, it’s all about controlled costs,” she explains. “When everything is included, customers won’t have any surprise costs coming at them, so they can really plan their spending for the upcoming fiscal year.”
And because that includes original parts, customers aren’t forced to find cheaper third-party parts somewhere on the internet. Original parts are tested on TRUMPF machines, guarantee a certain lifespan and move customers closer to the goal of zero unplanned downtime and higher quality parts.
“Zero unplanned downtime and higher quality parts are two sides of the same coin,” Benz says. “When a machine performs at 100 percent, not only does it produce parts quickly, but it also produces parts perfectly. If a machine performs at 90 percent, it doesn’t really trigger any repair activity, but it potentially leads the customer to start accepting lower quality output.”
Third-party nozzles are a good example of this phenomenon. The laser cutting quality won’t be where it should be, which among other quality issues, makes it difficult for the machine operator to remove parts from the skeleton and causes hiccups downstream. And, to make matters worse, the maintenance team might not have the easiest time pinpointing the culprit behind the subpar cut quality.
“Meanwhile, the nozzle – and quality levels – are further deteriorating,” Benz says. “Technically, the machine isn’t down, but it’s still having a negative impact on business. This is why we hope our service agreements will inspire customers to use our spare parts and consumables. We can guarantee that they’ll last and keep a machine at the highest cut quality level possible.
“If you have a powerful sports car, but you put the cheapest tires on it, you’re doing the engine a major disservice,” she adds. “You need good tires to get the full benefits of the car. The same thing is true for powerful TRUMPF machines. You need good consumables and parts to really benefit from that powerful machine.”
Whether it’s personal health, a sports car or a fiber laser cutting machine, it’s critical to focus on the long road. Cutting corners and skimping on preventative care just won’t cut it.
“We see customers that have TRUMPF machines they’ve been running for more than 20 years,” Benz concludes. “If you take good care of your machines, you get a big benefit out of them.”
