Use till it breaks or stop and fix properly?

[EOC_Jason]

Long story short, I've noticed people lately that know some piece of equipment isn't running right, and rather than take the time to fix it just continue to use it until at some point it will more than likely stop working and cost a lot more to fix than if they did something about it sooner.

For instance, a friend of mine runs a machine shop. When their air compressor kicks on I can hear a severe air leak from inside the office! I don't know if it's a pop-off or a pipe or what, but it's not good. He knows about it but hasn't bothered with it. The other day they got out a big order so things were slow around the shop. Think anyone took the time to look at it? Nope, everyone left early...

Another person I know has a forklift that started running like ****. You can tell it has lost compression in one of the cylinders. He uses it daily for his business. I offered to lend him mine until the repair man could come check his out, no big deal. Nope, they just continue to run that forklift with it spitting, sputtering, missing, etc...

That's just two examples, I could go on and on and on...

One thing my father has always taught me, is things don't fix themselves. Also when something breaks, you stop using it! That's also the reason we probably own at least two of everything. Use your backup until you can fix the broken thing...

I just don't understand some people...

 

[nicksnothereman]

Long story short, I've noticed people lately that know some piece of equipment isn't running right, and rather than take the time to fix it just continue to use it until at some point it will more than likely stop working and cost a lot more to fix than if they did something about it sooner.

For instance, a friend of mine runs a machine shop. When their air compressor kicks on I can hear a severe air leak from inside the office! I don't know if it's a pop-off or a pipe or what, but it's not good. He knows about it but hasn't bothered with it. The other day they got out a big order so things were slow around the shop. Think anyone took the time to look at it? Nope, everyone left early...

Another person I know has a forklift that started running like ****. You can tell it has lost compression in one of the cylinders. He uses it daily for his business. I offered to lend him mine until the repair man could come check his out, no big deal. Nope, they just continue to run that forklift with it spitting, sputtering, missing, etc...

That's just two examples, I could go on and on and on...

One thing my father has always taught me, is things don't fix themselves. Also when something breaks, you stop using it! That's also the reason we probably own at least two of everything. Use your backup until you can fix the broken thing...

I just don't understand some people...

Depends on what it is, how dangerous it would be when it breaks, and whether or not it's an easily replaceable item. Hammer head comes loose I'll just cord wrap it and use it but slightly limit the "throws" and be sure to use safety glasses. Something that can really injure you, you should repair as soon as possible. The thing is people have different definitions of injury, especially the "mommy's little snowflake" type.

 

[Steroblan]

Some folks get mired in the stress of day to day events or in the fire fighting mode rather than the preventive maintenance mode. A critical piece of equipment that fails without a plan B can start the spiral down effect. Good organizational skills are a basic requirement to keep a business ready for or at least able to deal with equipment failure. Someone has to be able to see the big picture and have the authority to take action.

 

[sberry]

We spent 2 hours yesterday cleaning batteries that were working fine.

 

[Arps]

Totally depends on what it is.

 

[k1rodeoboater]

Totally depends on what it is.

this

 

[Strouty]

I used to spend one third of my time fixing or preemptively fixing things for that reason. Now money is tight and I have not been able to do things the same way. Just the other day I had an issue with my boom truck, because I hadn't kept up with the maintenance . Now I think I may have to dismantle the boom to get to a leaking cylinder. Sometimes I feel like I can't afford to own my stuff anymore.

 

[nit2wn]

Depends on the item and how often it's used. I have a work car that has 276k on her. The shocks are gone, the antenna is held together with duct tape, dent in the door, has a look of mold growing on the paint, you get the idea. However, it has good tires, great brakes, and the heat and air still work. When something major goes out, I'll scrap it. It serves one purpose, to go 22 miles to work each way. I have 5 other vehicles to fall back on and a several with less than 50k on them. Just trying to kill this one.

 

[the gypsy]

I guess people no longer live by the old saying, "A stitch in time save nine" or other similar sayings such as "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".
These are all good sayings which someone live through and decided to spread his knowledge or experience.

 

[Zeke]

Yeah, I'd run the forklift into the ground but I'd fix the compressor. Why, because the FL needs a complete rebuild regardless. The compressor needs one part. When the FL dies, I'd just look for another the put the repair money towards that.

But's that's how I roll. Sell off junk.

 

[chicken89]

i had an employer who did "profit sharing" with the employees 2x a year. well, right around month 5 and 11, the shop would get new "toys". so things never got fixed, just replaced. made us employees mad because that cut into the profit sharing. owner would boast about us getting new toys, most of the guys knew how to fix the old stuff, but owner wouldn't allow it.

 

[Tucko]

Yeah, I'd run the forklift into the ground but I'd fix the compressor. Why, because the FL needs a complete rebuild regardless. The compressor needs one part. When the FL dies, I'd just look for another the put the repair money towards that.

But's that's how I roll. Sell off junk.

Wow, I can relate to this topic. I spent many years running an old mechanical press brake in a sheet metal shop. One of the owners was a notorious tightwad who didn't believe in spending money on anything. One day the press starts making a crazy noise which I reported right away. "Keep on using it." sure enough it fails completely 2 days later, making the repair bill many times what it would have been. Another employer had a forklift with NO brakes and wouldn't let anyone drive it except for him. Fine with me...

 

[doubloon]

Depends on what it is, how dangerous it would be when it breaks, and whether or not it's an easily replaceable item. ...

All this, no one right answer.

Sometimes it's more cost effective to replace the problem part/tool/equipment.

Plus there's a big difference between your own personal hobby workshop and a production workshop. Hobby guys get a certain sense of pride/validation from running a shop in tip-top condition 24/7 and burning money isn't really an issue since they're not running it like a business.

For a business sometimes it's more cost effective to replace "consumable" items when they break because you're depreciating the cost of your equipment as part of the business. Pride is wrapped up in product and profit, not so much a defect free shop.

 

[doubloon]

I guess people no longer live by the old saying, "A stitch in time save nine" or other similar sayings such as "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".
These are all good sayings which someone live through and decided to spread his knowledge or experience.

Old sayings go with old ways, things change.

In the 1700s when those sayings were coined you couldn't just hop in the buggy and go to the local WalMart to pick up a new pump. It was a several day lead time minimum to get anything replaced when those sayings were first popularized.

We live in a disposable society now and when you hang on to the old ways too long you go the way of the dinosaur. Adapt to survive.

 

[GarageWarrior]

In your poll there should be a third option - keep using it until it fails, scrap and buy a replacement.

A lot of stuff costs less to replace than to fix. Had HP inkjet printer with a bad head position belt - new belt was $29.99 + S/H. Bought a new printer on sale for $24.99.

Or if you have a $1000 car that needs $4500 worth of work, but it keeps running - the only thing that is cost-effective is duct-tape fixes to keep it running - then scrap once it stops running and can't be fixed with duct-tape any more.

 

[DieselDent]

Really depends on what it is and if it's under warranty but mostly I'm all about preventative maintenance since it was a big part of the operation when I was active in the CG.

 

[icenfire01]

We live in a disposable society now and when you hang on to the old ways too long you go the way of the dinosaur. Adapt to survive.

Welcome to Merica, land of the free and home of the "we what it new and we want it NOW"!

All kidding aside sometimes I look at all the stuff that is "junk" and it makes me sad. I almost wonder if people living in 3rd world country's are better off? I'd nag more but I'm in the middle of tracking some orders from Amazon and in a bidding war for some "rare" vintage SO wrenches...

 

[tatra]

rtf. ...run til failure

 

[EOC_Jason]

I think some of you are missing the point. I'm not talking about something little that yeah if it breaks you can just throw it away. I'm talking about a piece of equipment you use on a daily basis and depend on it daily... I just don't understand the logic of some people where you could spend say one hour of down time today, or spend eight hours of down time next week...

 

[icenfire01]

I think some of you are missing the point. I'm not talking about something little that yeah if it breaks you can just throw it away. I'm talking about a piece of equipment you use on a daily basis and depend on it daily... I just don't understand the logic of some people where you could spend say one hour of down time today, or spend eight hours of down time next week...

That's just it, I think we are so brainwashed we start treating our large important thing like our throw away junk, the line keeps getting thinner and thinner.

When is the last time you fixed a major appliance. I would qualify that as a big important item to most of us, yet I would be a lot of ppl just buy a new fridge, stove, washer, dryer, tv, ect.

 

[UIUC-Mech-E]

I've seen plenty of this in certain factories. Some places people work hard doing preventative maint then they can relax because things are running well. Other places people relax first then have to work hard because things are running like ****.

I don't know the specific reasons for these cultures but I do know that if a crew spends very long behind the proverbial 8-ball they can slip into a rtf mindset. Maybe if making things "right" seems like an insurmountable task people will just give up and deal with things when there's no other choice



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hpozzuoli]

I am neurotic with everything I own. I try to maintain everything in like new condition. I spent money on the stuff so I keep on top of it. Let me say I also have a ton of time to do this. People that work a 40 hour week can't always find time. Life has a habit of getting in the way sometimes.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Unfortunately, the last 19 years of running facilities maintenance departments in privately owned businesses & more recently public schools, has proven to me that many people subconsciously believe in RTF. Even though they say they want me to "maintain" everything in an "as new" state, they rarely come up with the funds to actually maintain or repair things before the major failure occurs. My current district is pretty good about doing "the right thing", but we still spend a LOT of time "putting out fires". Sometimes I think public school business administrators think their facilities are truly maintenance free...

Tommy

 

[yhprum]

Many mechanical probelms start small and progressively get worse and more expensive to eventually fail.
I try to fix things early. My father was the opposite, extracting maximum value, or otherwise known as running into the ground!

 

[coljar]

Totally depends on what it is.

Same here. At work, depending what it is and it's not a safety issue, we might run it 'til it breaks, because if it lasts, we'll probably junk it at the end of a run anyhow.