b'WINTER/SPRING MAINTENANCE PREPARING FOR THE By Warren HeeleyBUSY SEASONMaintenance planning is an investment in reduced downtime that can save operators time and money down the roadT heaggregateindustryisintheaAggregateproductioninvolveshighMatthew Lear, regional sales manager at midst of the winter/spring down- power,forceandcapacity,whichputsMcLanahanCorporation. time, when annual maintenancegreatdealofstrainonequipment.In is usually conducted. In Ontario,simpleterms,theaggregateproductionEffectiveplanningreducesthenumber JanuarytoMarchisusuallysetprocesssimplybeatsthehelloutofandcostofemergencybreakdowns aside for a thorough look at maintainingtheequipmentbeingused,andregularandunplanneddowntimeespecially all aspects of a facility ahead of the busymaintenance is a must.duringtheCOVID-19pandemicwhen working season that follows.partssupplydelaysincreasethetime Machinerypartsrequireatleastneededforemergencyrepairs.Not This early-year downtime provides theoneannuallookatthewearthathasperformingadequatemaintenancecan opportunity for operators to assess theiroccurredovertheseasonwithinthecostthecompanybothfinanciallyand facilitys machinery and plan what will beframeworkofacomprehensiveannualthroughreducedproduction.Winter/needed in the year ahead. It allows them tomaintenanceplan.Thereshouldalsospringmaintenanceforaggregateplants inspect and repair wear part aspects of thebelevel-of-useinspectionsthroughoutavoidssurprisesduringtheworking theyear.Tomanagewearandtearonseason, explains Alex Caruana, territory plant, make major changes, and performaggregateequipment,maintenanceplansmanager, Central and Atlantic Canada, at routinemaintenancelikeoilchanges,shouldincludelevel-of-useinspectionsPolyDeck. The most important aspect of lubricating moving parts, and repairing orattimeintervalsduringtheyear,suchthis maintenance is to reduce unplanned replacing leaking gear boxes.as100,250and1,000hours,notesdowntime in the comingyear. 20 AVENUESWINTER 2021'