Building Preventative Maintenance Programs – Creating a Preventative Maintenance Plans for Private and Commercial Escalators
Owning and operating an escalator brings with it certain maintenance requirements to ensure proper operation and long life. These escalators help increase traffic to commercial and retail businesses and making public areas more efficient. The right preventative maintenance plan goes a long way in maintaining these benefits. Owners and managers should conduct ongoing preventative maintenance activities to help avoid issues before they start. This helps improve the performance and provides significant savings by avoiding delayed cleaning and a need for repairs. But what policy program is best?
Let’s take a closer look at how to create an effective preventative maintenance program.
How to Plan a Preventative Maintenance Program
When it comes to preventative maintenance, the more often owners and managers plan the cleaning of escalator treads, the better. As a general rule, it is best to do it once a day or once or twice a week. Though this requirement may sound like a labor-intensive task, the cleaning is actually quite simple to do when maintained consistently, and it can save significant expense. Less dirt, grease, and oil build up over time, keeping the costs of deep-cleaning down and preventing unneeded repair to system components.
Using cleaning materials such as our EscaTEQ cleaning pads and solutions make preventative cleaning simple. The pads are designed specifically for escalators, wiping away dirt, oil, and grease as the escalator moves. The pads fit deep within the grooves on the top of the steps and along the face of the risers with our Riser-TEQ system, combing out damaging material as the steps pass. The pad is attached to a long handle, allowing the user to simply place a pad on the steps after it has been soaked in a our Clean-TEQ cleaning solution. And once the process is done, the pad can be easily cleaned and dried for reuse. When more pads and liquid solutions are needed, these materials can be easily reordered and shipped directly to the location.
These pads make frequent cleaning maintenance fast and easy with little strain on labor while improving escalator operation. And our special cleaning solution (Clean-TEQ) is formulated to prevent slips and falls during and after the cleaning process, making it safe for cleaners and passengers.
The Hidden Cost Benefits of Regular Preventative Maintenance
As a basic rule, the more often cleaning is performed, the more money is saved on materials and labor while prolonging operation. In the case of our cleaning pads, consistent cleaning results in many as 15 uses per pad. Cleaning once or twice a week can save three times the amount of labor and material costs for an annual clean.
This more frequent cleaning also cuts labor time significantly. An escalator can be fully cleaned in as few as two passes (2 to 4 minutes ), and is as easy to do as cleaning surrounding floors.
Timing Factors to Keep in Mind
The frequency of predictive cleaning will depend on the amount of use an escalator experiences. For instance, in commercial airports and subways where traffic is high, daily cleaning is likely the best choice. In areas such as casinos and shopping malls, twice a week is sufficient. For locations such as hotels and office buildings, weekly cleaning will do the trick.
Preventative Escalator Examinations
In addition to cleaning, a service plan and checklist should be put in place as a preventative measure against damage and high repair costs. Since this schedule can depend on the maker of the escalator, it is best to follow the requirements of the system provider. Examples of preventative maintenance checklists can be found online.
With any plan that is implemented, regular cleaning is vital to system longevity.
Why a Preventative Maintenance Is So Important
Expense in repairs
The more time that passes between cleaning, the more grease, oil, and dirt build up. This material is not only harder to clean over time, it can also harm mechanical system components and lead to damage to related components as well. And replacing those parts can take time and significant expense, both in parts and labor.
Harm to the Public
Delayed maintenance can endanger the people using the escalator by making surfaces more slippery. And if the mechanical system components are damaged while in use, it can result in dangerous consequences.
Aiding in the Fight Against COVID-19
Studies have shown that the coronavirus can travel on clothing and shoes, which means regular cleaning in both private and commercial spaces is an important requirement right now. The more frequently the escalator is cleaned, the less the chance of the virus being present. And as oil, grease, and dirt build between cleanings, the higher the chance the virus will adhere to these surfaces.
Increases the Life of an Escalator
The more preventative steps are taken to ensure proper cleaning, the more they increase the life of the product. Escalators are expensive and making predictive maintenance a requirement ensures the most for the investment.
Delayed Functionality
In between repairs, customers will struggle to get where they need to go, and this can affect business and clog important travel routes. The harder it is to get where they are going, the less they will function within a space as intended. Avoiding the hassle of non-working systems aids in business growth and efficiency, keeping a location a valuable destination.
Beginning A Preventative Maintenance Plan
Starting the process is easy. Cleaning is the most important task to prevent damage. It is also as important as maintaining a preventative maintenance checklist to ensure the optimal life of an escalator system. That process can begin anytime. We offer the best cleaning products for escalators to ensure system components work as intended. We can provide an ongoing supply of cleaning pads and liquid solutions to ensure ongoing cleaning throughout the year. The more often it is done, the easier the process goes.
To find out more about our professional cleaning pads and liquid solutions, visit us here.