When you are running a business, no matter the sector or industry type, there is one thing you want to avoid: downtime. Downtime is, among other things, a business’s worst nightmare. It can be caused by human error, technological fault, or even something a little bit more serious, like a cyberattack. Either way, downtime means that something, somewhere, has gone wrong, and it is stopping people from doing their jobs, which is stopping customers get what they want, and money coming into your business.
But What Exactly Is Downtime?
Downtime is what companies experience when for example, a conveyor belt breaks down. It might be a maintenance error, somebody might have broken it, or it might have just gotten old. Either way, the conveyor belt is broken, meaning that people who need the conveyor belt to work are faced with multiple issues, all of them resulting in that they cannot get on with their work.
This can mean, as [pointed out earlier, that the company loses money as there isn’t anybody working. This example was chosen because a conveyor belt is a fundamental piece of equipment on any shop floor, meaning that it can be a huge issue if it breaks down. Not only does it mean that the specific area cannot work properly, but the whole process is also slowed down and will continue to be until the conveyor has been repaired and meets all health and safety requirements.
If the company is unprepared, they might not have replacement belts for conveyors, meaning that they will have to order another one and wait for their new one to arrive before work can continue as it once did.
How Can a Company Avoid It?
Downtime is, unfortunately, an inevitability. It can happen at any time, to any company. Whether it’s lack of staff due to people being off sick due to COVID-19, a cyberattack making the tech in the business unusable, or even things just breaking down due to negligence or old age, no company can completely avoid downtime. However, there are some ways that a company can make it less likely to happen, and here are just a few:
1. A Preventative Maintenance Regime
Making sure that all tech is working at peak performance, most if not all of the time can be hard work. However, it is well worth it, and usually, this process will also give some warning as to whether there is going to be a malfunction soon or not. Naturally, repair and replacements will take up time, but this means that you have more time to plan it rather than having to work around it.
2. Make Sure Staff Are Well Trained
Making sure that staff are well-trained and ready to combat issues can be another great way to help a company avoid downtime. Making sure that there is a little chance of human error as possible can go a long way to ensure that people are doing the best job they can. This can cost a lot of money but might be cheaper than an employee breaking some equipment due to lack of knowledge.
