Do you ever stop to think how important your overhead equipment is for completing productions? Not to mention it also has to be safe at all time for operations.
The brake system is essential to ensure you operate safely and efficiently. If you feel like you’ve been neglecting your brake systems, this article is for you.
Read on for three ways to know if you need a new brake system.
1. Your Production Has Changed or Increased
When your production and lifting requirements change, you might need to replace your equipment’s brake system.
Even the most reliable cranes and machinery need to have the brakes replaced once the production patterns change. If your machinery has been put through the following conditions, look into changing the brakes as soon as possible:
- You increased production during your the regular schedule
- On top of what it already lifts, you added more materials that are different and heavier
- You’re using the crane more often, and you need to make more lifts per hour
These factors will cause your system to take on more weight than originally designed for. Therefore, you will have to replace the breaks.
If you don’t, you’ll encounter more expensive repairs if you completely let your brakes give out.
2. Replacement Parts are Difficult to Find
Like with any piece of machinery, the older it gets, the more difficult it becomes to replace its parts.
You might want to change your entire system when the parts become difficult to find.
If you let time go by, finding replacement parts could be a hassle and expensive.
Meanwhile, replacing the entire system ensures you don’t have to struggle to find individual replacement parts.
This is why most people decide to upgrade a crane’s entire system instead of only fixing one part.
If you’ve been having trouble finding replacement parts and keeping up with the system, it’s time you replace the entire system.
3. You have to Make Repairs More Frequently
The third sign you might have to replace the brakes is if you’ve been finding yourself making a lot of repairs.
Since these machines get a lot of wear and tear, you might think it’s normal to have to make repairs more often than you would like.
You might choose to continue doing repairs to the brakes instead of replacing the entire system because you might not think it’s in your budget.
Looking at it from the financial aspect, continually making repairs to the brakes is quite costly in the long run.
When you think about production, having a machine down due to repairs ends up costing more.
You have to account for the times the machine will be out of commission, and the workers won’t be able to operate it.
Replacing the brakes doesn’t mean you should change everything in the machine. Getting a new system and performing regular maintenance is cheaper in the long run.
Time to Change Your Brake System
There are three easy ways of telling whether or not you need to replace your brake systems on your machinery.
Check to see if your production schedule has changed, do you regularly have to make repairs, or have difficulty finding new parts.
Looking to make some upgrades to your brake systems, check out our wide selection of products.