Preventive Maintenance: What to Do Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly

Three Approaches to Maintenance

• Breakdown maintenance: Fix it when it breaks. It looks cheaper, but the cost of downtime, scrapped batches, and rush-ordered parts is often higher.
• Preventive maintenance: Inspect, clean, lubricate, and replace wear parts on a schedule based on time or operating hours, so problems are handled before a failure.
• Predictive maintenance: Use vibration, temperature, current, and other data to judge the condition of parts and deal with them at the first signs of deterioration.

The service page on RHEON's Japanese website explains that the purpose of periodic inspection is to anticipate potential problems before a breakdown occurs and deal with them early; RHEON also offers overhaul services for machines that have been in use for a long time. For most small and mid-sized food plants, doing preventive maintenance well is enough to avoid most unplanned stoppages.

A General Tiered Approach

Common tiers for general food machinery are shown below. Actual items and intervals follow each model's manufacturer manual; for the recommended maintenance items for Dong-Yih models, please call 06-257-4644.

Daily (operators)

• Pre-start inspection and a no-load test run; see the pre-start checklist.
• Disassemble, wash, and dry at the end of the shift; see Daily Cleaning: Steps for Disassembling and Washing an Encrusting Machine.
• Visually check seals, scrapers, and conveyor belts for damage.
• Record any abnormal noise, vibration, oil leaks, or product leaks.

Weekly (operators or maintenance staff)

• Lubricate according to the lubrication chart.
• Check screws and fasteners for looseness.
• Check conveyor belt tension and tracking.
• Clean hard-to-reach areas of the machine body and the external filters of the electrical cabinet.

Monthly (maintenance staff)

• Check chains and belts for wear and tension.
• Check the gear reducer oil level.
• Check wires, plugs, and connectors for damage or looseness.
• Test safety devices: emergency stop and guard interlocks.
• Take inventory of wear parts.

Yearly (maintenance staff or the equipment maker)

• Full inspection: bearings, gears, motors, control system.
• Replace oils and wear parts as recommended by the manufacturer.
• Carry out an overhaul if needed.

Do It Yourself or Call the Manufacturer?

You can split the work like this:

• In-house: Cleaning, visual inspection, lubrication, simple wear-part replacement (seal rings, scrapers), and tightening screws. These require discipline, not specialized tools.
• Leave to the manufacturer: Motors, control systems, adjustment of precision mechanisms, teardown overhauls, software updates, and repair of safety devices.

Ideally, designate one person in the plant who understands the machines to be responsible for maintenance and have them attend the equipment maker's training; RHEON also offers paid maintenance courses. Remember to stop the machine, cut the power, and lock it out before doing maintenance.

Should You Keep Maintenance Records?

Yes, for three reasons:

1. Regulatory: Annex 3 of the Regulations on Good Hygiene Practice for Food (食品良好衛生規範準則) requires that the operation, use, and maintenance of equipment and utensils follow principles of hygiene and safety; Article 10 requires that inspection instruments, measuring devices, and recorders be calibrated regularly and records kept; Annex 1 requires that refrigeration and freezing equipment and instruments be regularly maintained, verified for performance, and calibrated. Article 11 requires that records made under these regulations be kept for at least 5 years.
2. Management: Only by knowing how often each part is replaced and which machine breaks down most can you stock spare parts and plan a budget.
3. Quality: When a product problem occurs, you can look back at the condition of the machine at the time.

Records can be simple: date, machine, item, result, parts replaced, person in charge, and next scheduled date. Paper forms or electronic forms both work; what matters is keeping it up.

Don't Forget Measuring Instruments

Scales, thermometers, temperature loggers, and the test pieces for metal detectors are the basis of quality control. Include them in a regular calibration plan and keep calibration records.

FAQ

Q: How often should a machine be serviced?
A: Follow the manufacturer's manual. The general approach is four tiers (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly), with different items at each tier.

Q: Can we do maintenance ourselves?
A: Cleaning, lubrication, visual inspection, and simple replacements can be done in-house; motors, control systems, and precision adjustments are best left to the equipment maker.

Q: How long should maintenance records be kept?
A: Article 11 of the Regulations on Good Hygiene Practice for Food requires records made under the regulations to be kept for at least 5 years.

Q: Does Dong-Yih offer maintenance service?
A: For maintenance arrangements for our own models, please call 06-257-4644 to ask.