Since joining Konecranes in 2010, Fred Eberlein, manager of the Dothan, AL, service branch, has been working with a tire manufacturing plant, encouraging the facility to step up from an annual crane inspection program to monthly inspections with preventive maintenance.
By 2012 the facility, which makes tires for SUVs and light trucks, was seeing downtime and breakdown costs rise. And, Eberlein said, “We were just finding more and more safety items on our annual inspection report.”
Safety issues greatly reduced
“We suggested that the customer put money toward a monthly inspection program, and they would be able to save money on the other end with fewer breakdowns and repairs.”
By early 2013, Konecranes signed a contract to conduct monthly inspections of the plant’s 151 pieces of lifting equipment – the majority of it in the 500-pound to 2-ton range and about a quarter of it ranging from 5 to 10 tons.
By the end of the first year of monthly inspections, Eberlein said, “we reduced the number of safety deficits by 91 percent. This was a huge reduction for them, which really caught their eye. They’re just like Konecranes, where safety is a prime concern.”
Inspection program pays off
At the same time, the tire facility reduced emergency service calls by 50 percent and repair costs by 49 percent. “Obviously, the dividends were really paying off,” Eberlein said.
In the two years since, the customer has maintained these savings, Eberlein said, and has established a structured program to replace older equipment to further reduce breakdowns and service calls.
