Planning for the Unplanned

Have you ever heard of the quote, “Lack of planning on your part does not necessitate an emergency on mine?” Sure, it sounds a little harsh but scrambling in the midst of a crisis is even harsher.

In manufacturing plants, emergencies are bound to arise from time to time. And when operations require compressed air, one of the greatest potential emergencies is downtime. While some air compressor downtime is inevitable, having a contingency plan in place beforehand can ensure operations suffer little-to-no interruption.

A contingency plan is all about being a step ahead. Unexpected things happen and preparing for them usually makes for a better end result. That’s because there’s less time spent running around trying to figure out what to do, and more time spent executing the plan so production can continue.

A good way to minimize the impact of a compressed air interruption is with a contingency plan that includes implementing temporary equipment via short-term air rental.

When an air compressor goes down for one reason or another, it may not be cost-effective to continue operations with reduced production capacity. In these situations, short-term air rental can ensure minimal impact to operations so there is little financial loss.

A contingency plan for the deployment of temporary equipment gets that equipment in place faster and more efficiently than the plant that has to figure out who to call and what needs to be done on the manufacturing floor before a rental is brought in. And when an air compressor is down, that time is precious.

A compressed air contingency plan can give plant operators peace of mind with the following benefits:

• Reduces the risk of financial loss
• Decreases time needed to install temporary equipment
• Schedules building modifications for temporary solutions in advance
• Identifies any weaknesses in the compressed air system
• Provides flexibility to schedule maintenance and new equipment installation

Contingency planning doesn’t have to be complex.

All it takes is a bit of time with your service provider to fill out a questionnaire so you can determine what steps to take if unexpected downtime occurs. That’s it. There’s no added cost to create the plan and once it’s in place, plant operators can rest easy knowing they won’t have to scramble during an emergency. That’s so much upside with so little hassle. So the question is: Do you have a compressed air contingency plan in place?