Repair methods for material handling equipment

Repair methods for material handling equipment

The proper maintenance of material handling equipment is extremely essential for preventing the occurrence of bottlenecks or points of congestions. Production line flow can be maintained only if the material handling equipment is in proper working order. Out of many maintenance techniques available, preventive maintenance is the one of the best maintenance techniques suggested in case of material handling equipment.

These are three stages of preventive maintenance and they are

•        Inspection

•        Repair

•        Overhauls

Maintenance  strategies for hoists and cranes:

Portable crane:

•         It is necessary to keep loads within design limits on portable cranes that are mounted on wheels platforms.

•        Frequent inspection of brakes, load hoisting and lowering mechanism

•        Inspection of boom, base and platform for any sign of stress

Eg: cracks, bends, breaks

Over head cranes:

•         Keep the attachments in overhead cranes loaded within the rating capacity.

•         Maintain safety factors for replacement parts according to manufacturer specifications

•         Check welded connections for cracks, bends abrasion and corrosion Maintenance strategies for conveyers:

•         Conveyer system need to be inspected on a regular basis. The important areas include rollers, bearings chains and belts. All of these moving parts are subjected to wear and tear

•        Check conveyers to detect  any bolt slippage, dragging or defective rollers.

•        Moving equipment parts are subjected to breaks caused by metal fatigue,

loose bearing and obstructions.

A typical scheduled conveyor maintenance plan:

Check/lubricate all bearings, universal joints, and pulleys.

i.       Check chain tension, wear and lubricate

ii.    Check sprocket alignment, wear and screw set.

iii.  Check flat belt tension, wear and acing

iv.  Check V-belt tension, wear and sheave alignment.

v.    Check general condition of system

vi.  Operate entire system after service

vii.                        List any items requiring replacement or repair.