Automatic palletizer machines are an ideal solution for automating the palletizing process to create stable product loads that are ready to ship. With a modular design, concurrent stretch wrapping, consistent precision, total flexible control, and reliable, lasting performance, palletizers deliver safe and secure pallets every time. However, your palletizing equipment can only perform well when you follow proper maintenance practices.

Preventative maintenance is the act of following routine maintenance practices for the equipment in your facility. By following scheduled inspections and maintenance plans, you can identify equipment issues before they turn into major malfunctions. Preventative maintenance helps you avoid lengthy downtimes and costly repairs so that you can continue to run your facility as smoothly and effectively as possible.

How does preventative maintenance apply to your palletizing equipment? Discover how to keep your automatic palletizers performing at their best with these preventative maintenance tips for palletizers.

Make Maintenance a Priority

Saying maintenance is a priority and actually prioritizing maintenance are two separate things. It’s tempting to cut corners, especially in the name of better productivity. However, caring for your equipment must come before reaching your production goals. For example, neglecting a repair to preserve equipment uptime might help you meet production needs in the short term, but it can cause costly repairs and extensive downtime in the long run.

Emphasize the importance of regular maintenance throughout your entire end-of-line packaging operation. Use anonymous reporting systems to encourage employees to report equipment issues they experience. Stay on top of maintenance schedules and avoid overriding or postponing maintenance tasks. If your maintenance routine interferes with production needs, try to schedule inspections and other tasks during off-hours or periods when business is slower.

Ensure Quality Throughout Your Workflow

No single part of your packaging workflow can operate without the others. If you want your palletizers to function smoothly, you need every other packaging stage to perform well.

For example, a malfunctioning case packer might produce irregular cases that don’t stack well. This makes it harder for your palletizer to create uniform and stable product loads. Ensure quality throughout your workflow by implementing routine inspections and maintenance schedules for every piece of machinery. Report malfunctions and other issues quickly so that you can make repairs and keep your entire workflow running smoothly. Finally, conduct regular quality inspections to ensure that every stage of your packaging line is performing as it should be.

Create a Proactive Maintenance Plan

Your facility’s maintenance plan should be proactive instead of reactive. Routine tune-ups, inspections, and other maintenance tasks help you identify issues early—sometimes before they’re even noticeable to your general staff. The sooner you address these problems, the easier the repair will be. Preventative maintenance might seem like more work upfront, but it saves you time, money, and energy over time.

Be specific with your preventative maintenance plan. Factor in the way your palletizer operates as well as how much you use it. For example, a palletizer that runs all day and overnight will need maintenance more often than the same machine that only runs for eight hours a day.

Keep Seasonality in Mind

If your facility’s demand fluctuates, be sure to plan your preventative maintenance tasks around the fluctuation. If you experience slower periods during certain seasons, try to schedule longer or more comprehensive maintenance tasks for those times. It’s also a good idea to plan ahead for busy seasons. Perform inspections and tune-ups ahead of time so that your palletizers perform at their best when high demands hit your facility.

Keep Thorough Documentation

Thorough documentation is a useful part of any preventative maintenance plan. Keep records of repairs, maintenance and inspections, equipment parts you order, and any issues that occur, even if they don’t require a maintenance visit from a professional.

All this information is good for your business records. Moreover, these records allow you to reference past issues and see if a particular problem is ongoing. This, in turn, helps you identify larger equipment problems. You can also use maintenance records to fine-tune your preventative maintenance plan and better address the needs of your equipment.

Robopac USA’s palletizers feature programming software that allows the user to access all of the machine’s functions, including maintenance logs. These maintenance logs aid in documentation so that you can have a clearer idea of when and why your palletizer malfunctioned. Additionally, our software displays error conditions when something goes wrong, which assists in repair diagnostics and helps you reduce machine downtime.

Provide Annual Equipment Training

Your employees don’t have to be equipment experts to help prevent costly repairs. Annual training equips your workers with the knowledge they need to operate machinery safely and effectively. Even basic refresher courses can help prevent mistakes and accidents, which in turn reduces the need for unexpected repairs.

The more your employees know about your palletizing equipment, the easier it will be to identify any issues or irregularities. Workers who have a clear idea of how the palletizer works will be more likely to spot issues early on, which allows you to schedule necessary maintenance before the problem worsens. Train vigilant and knowledgeable employees so that everyone can work together to stay on top of maintenance and prevent costly repairs.

Keep Spare Parts in Stock

While these preventative maintenance tips for palletizers revolve around practices you can follow before issues occur, it’s still a good idea to prepare for the unexpected. You can’t always prevent every issue. That’s why you should keep spare parts for your palletizer on hand in your facility. In the unlikely event that you experience sudden problems, a stock of spare parts will help you make immediate repairs and get the machine up and running again.

Choose a Reliable Supplier

A reliable palletizing equipment manufacturer will offer preventative maintenance programs so that you can get help from the experts whenever you need it. The preventative maintenance programs we provide here at Robopac USA ensure that your palletizers continue to operate at an optimal capacity once they’re installed in your facility.

Our palletizing experts assist with every step of the process as you choose, purchase, and set up your equipment. Our service technicians audit your equipment on a regular basis to help you stick to your preventative maintenance schedule and identify potential issues before they occur. Additionally, we offer 24/7 customer care so that you can always turn to an expert whenever you have a question.

When you need an ideal palletizing solution for your facility, turn to the experts at Robopac USA. Our expertise and commitment to customer care allow you to worry less about your packaging equipment and more about other more prominent aspects of your business.

Preventative Maintenance Tips for Palletizers