Band-Aid Equipment Repair Approach Bad for Business

And they're just now figuring this out?

It depends on what level of "band-Aiding is being done.

Hack job repair work is never a permanent solution but for many machines and their intended applications regular tear downs and overhauls can mean spending $20,000 to get ten more years out of old machine opposed to spending $250,000 on a new machine that may also only go for 10 years before its worn out and needs to be rebuilt.

Very little of what I own equipment wise is new. The vast majority of the big ticket items I have where already on second, third, or fourth hand ownership when I bought them on the cheap, scrap price many times, and overhauled or at least did moderate rebuild and update work to. If its mechanically sound and does the job just as well as the new machines I don't care if its 50+ years old and with a fresh coat of paint many classic machines will look just as good as the new equipment and in some ways even better!

Where I am from we tend to judge and rate a company by the quality of their work not how new their equipment is. That being a master carpenter with a old hammer is still a master craftsman where as the village idiot with a brand new $500 nail gun is still a village idiot plus an accident waiting to happen.

A proper repair never has a degree of completion. True maintenance means keeping the machine within it's operating spec at all times. Repairs done based on RCM (reliability centered maintenance) are done by hour or by predicative factors.

Band-Aid repairs, or makeshift repairs are done "just to get out of a jam" or to "get by" - it's leaving these patches in place until something else fails (or they fail again) when the real money is spent to make the proper repairs the second time around.

tcmtech and Cbrunner, both good answers. Banaides are to get that job done at that moment of time, then repair it to the proper specs with the correct parts so it is 100% the same as before. This can be done with just about any equipment for years. There are certain times where this approach will NOT work, based on the age and type of repair that is required. Depending on the failure, a bandaide approach will not be enough to safely operate that piece of equipment.

I'm with post #5.

We've always bought the best quality tools and machinery and instigated an annual, or regular, service for all of it.

Recondition when neccessary, but good equipment, I've found, with good operators, and thorough maintenance, will last almost forever. I do have equipment which is 40 years old and still as it was when new.

I've had all the smarties tell me I'm mad, and to get new stuff all the time,

but they only do that because they can't, or won't, really afford their machinery in the first place.

Cheapest way to own machinery is to OWN it.

I know I'm so far ahead of that pack it doesn't bear thinking about.

"Poor man pays twice".

I've only replaced stuff when the newer has a significant operational advantage over the old. Not merely because some shiny-smart salesman tells me it's better to have the latest in (electronics,etc.) smart systems.

And because we aren't always chasing the repayment dollar, we can give our machines, tools etc and easier time ( as well as the operators), which makes 'em last longer again.

Frankly I question the thinking of someone who would describe this process as "Band-aid Equipment Repair."

You've been talking to too may of those shiny-smart salesmen.

As long as you can get spare parts or modify a machine to use other parts in place of ones which are no longer available (or too costly), by all means keep the old equipment.

There's nothing wrong with extending the life of older, still useful equipment. If the budget allows, I take it to my dealer for servicing; if not, my maintenance tech can usually do the job armed with the manufacturer's service manual.