The purchase price of a product is only the beginning. Many things can impact the total cost of ownership, including how reliable the system is and how efficiently it runs. So what can you do to get the most out of your product investment? The first and most obvious step is to select the right components with a holistic systems approach, but once you have the equipment purchased and installed, will it operate as intended? That depends on several factors, but one very important one is making sure your staff is properly trained. 

Training programs for engineers, programmers, maintenance and operations personnel can provide up-to-date technical expertise for existing and new products, processes, and technology advances. For example, ABB University offers educational opportunities at our own training facilities, locally at your plant site, and even on-line. Make it a priority to increase the skill level and knowledge of your employees through training assessment programs including competence development, custom courseware and coaching services. Accurate training will increase your capability to respond rapidly and efficiently in any given situation hence improving operational efficiency of your assets.

In addition to training operations and maintenance personnel, support your staff with tools that monitor both onsite and remote assets. This will help to minimize unplanned downtime, give you opportunities to analyze your system, and determine ways to improve efficiency. 

Consider remote monitoring solutions that can provide visibility to the critical characteristics of drives and motors, enabling you to keep tabs on the overall health and reliability of the system. By tracking month to month performance, changes in the efficiency of operation can be identified and leveraged to maximize uptime and enable solid maintenance and capital decisions. 

Make a Plan

Create a support plan for the drives installed in your facility with options for spare parts, preventative maintenance, and labor. For example, an ABB DriveCare plan is based on the age and condition of your drives and is designed to help extend their life and control maintenance costs. When you have a plan to maintain your assets, you can maximize your investment.

Your facility has to run every day, all day, so make sure you have the right resources to support you whenever you need it. Don’t forget there is 24/7/365 technical support phone access to ABB partners with industry expertise who provide local support, including troubleshooting and system diagnostics. Call if you need anything!