Why should I bother taking out a PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE contract for my equipment, it is very reliable and I will call Kardex as and when it breaks down?

Firstly the LOLER regulations encourage annual inspections of all lifting equipment and this inspection would be included in the agreement. Secondly, Kardex’s engineering resource puts existing contract customers as a number one priority in terms of response times and also the level of spare parts carried in stock. Of course, we will attend all breakdown calls but this has to be fitted in around the existing contract holders . All of our equipment needs regular preventative maintenance visits and if the equipment is left un-serviced for lengthy periods of time, then its performance and reliability will suffer accordingly, and it will start to let you down.
Also the longevity of the equipment is greatly improved when a Preventative Maintenance Agreement is in place, thereby protecting your valuable investment.

Preventative maintenance contracts are too expensive and the departmental budget holder will not sign off the expenditure.

Kardex storage solutions typically cost between £14 and 30K to purchase. Our entry level preventative maintenance contracts cost approximately 3% of the original capital investment, for a comprehensive parts and labour inclusive annual agreement. This is a small percentage when compared to other office and factory equipment maintenance rates. The amount spent on a Preventative Maintenance agreement will help to protect the original investment made, ensuring optimum value for money over the expected life time of the equipment. Very much a case of speculating a little to gain a lot.

If my KARDEX Industriever, KARDEX Shuttle, KARDEX Lektriever automated storage and retrieval systems should fail, then the down time costs to my organisation in terms of lost production , customer delivery failures, lack of access to parts/vital documentation  will cost several £000’s for each hour -- therefore I need an engineer on site within a guaranteed short time frame.

Kardex offers a range of contract options from 8-00am to 5-00pm 5 days a week to 24 hours 7 days a week. We will also give a  4 to 8 hours sliding response time promise for certain mission critical industries.

Is there anything else I can do to reduce downtime as my machines are critical to purpose?

Yes, Kardex can place on your site a stock of CRITICAL PARTS at a highly discounted cost to enable PLUG IN PLAY on the day, reducing outage to a minimum.  Also additional routine Preventative Maintenance visits can be built in to the contract where equipment hours of operation are very high. We believe that “PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE.”

There is a local engineering company that can service my Kardex machines cheaper, why should I not take up this offer?

All companies have a legislative responsibility to ensure that mechanical equipment is serviced regularly (minimum annually) by competent staff. Kardex trains no 3rd party service companies nor does it supply any 3rd party with spare parts. All Kardex engineers are factory trained and all parts are factory tested and genuine original parts. This position is not the case with local engineering companies who can sometimes utilise second hand or reconditioned parts—hence they can sometimes initially be “cheaper” –but at WHAT LONG TERM COST?

What can happen if incompetent personnel try to service and maintain my Kardex equipment?

Kardex equipment is becoming more and more sophisticated, and electronics testing via computers using specific programmes is playing an ever important role. Personnel and product safety systems need checking regularly by competent staff and there will be safety risk exposure for all operatives if the preventative maintenance is not carried out by Kardex trained staff. Kardex equipment can be carrying up to 60 tonnes of product weight in equipment that travels at 2 metres per second, there is no margin for error when talking about the personal safety and well-being of your employees.  In addition, Kardex warranties equipment for a period or 12 years provided that the servicing is carried out by qualified Kardex engineers only. If a 3rd party service company is employed this warranty is void.

 
I have, on site, other manufacturers equipment as well as Kardex, and I want just one preventative maintenance provider, can Kardex service others machines as well, and can they respond in the same way as they do with their own equipment?

Yes, we have just formed a new joint venture with a facilities company where we can offer service contracts for all manufacturers equipment. We have OEM trained engineers and 24 hour access to all relevant spare parts. The range of agreements we can offer reflect those for our own equipment.

Will Kardex guarantee a fixed price contract for an extended period of time?   

Yes, increasingly we are being asked to provide up to 3 year fixed price contracts. Where prepayment is made there are no annual increases passed on during the period of the contract. And in many cases, ADDITIONAL DISCOUNTS can be offered.

What if we move or change offices?

Kardex can assist in this move with our dedicated Logistics Dept. and the service contract transferred to the new site address. An extension on the contract period would be given to compensate for the down time needed for the relocation if equipment had to be dismantled and rebuilt and was non operational.

How can I be sure that service levels are maintained throughout the term of the contract?

Kardex can schedule quarterly reviews if required to monitor performance and identify any areas that may require fine tuning.