Thursday 22 June 2023. – A few decades ago, I found myself crawling under a conveyor belt in the late Kuopio plywood mill in Finland. My task was to dig out a pile of wet, oily, and smelly wood dust. It was during the mill’s combined production and maintenance break. Experts were replacing ball-bearings, filters, seals, and gaskets, while summer workers like myself were cleaning up the wood residues accumulated over the past 11 months.

Industrial production lines require maintenance. Planned maintenance ensures smooth manufacturing operations and maximizes production output.

On the other hand, it can be expensive to replace machine parts that are still functioning well. When finances are tight, postponing maintenance seems like a simple way to save money. However, this increases the risk of unexpected breakdowns.

As Murphy’s law states, something usually breaks down when there’s a high volume of plywood orders and no time to spare. The nerve-wracking wait for spare parts becomes even more challenging when customers expected their plywood delivery yesterday. Unplanned production stops lead to reduced plywood output and sales on an annual basis, as well as a decline in delivery reliability.

Just as production lines require maintenance, so do we. For human beings, planned maintenance breaks are known as holidays, while unplanned ones are called sick leaves.

I wish you a sunny and restful vacation. It is not only a valuable investment in productivity but also a delightful time of the year!