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09/11/2017

All-round service: cost effectiveness with original KHS spare and wear parts

When sourcing spare and wear parts system operators attach great importance to a low cost of procurement and the fastest possible availability.

• False economy results in high consequential costs
• One-stop shopping means increased production reliability
• Line availability and efficiency the key to success

Dortmund, September 11, 2017 – When sourcing spare and wear parts system operators attach great importance to a low cost of procurement and the fastest possible availability. The general increase in price pressure frequently means that parts are bought in through alternative channels instead of from the systems manufacturer. Thought is only seldom given to the possible consequential costs caused by a gradual decline in line efficiency or production loss due to the inferior quality of such spare and wear parts. In time many customers find themselves faced with an increase in outgoings as a result of their alleged savings. This extra expense then often has to be charged to other cost centers. In order to prevent this, KHS advises that plant technology and service are always acquired from a single source. When ordering spare and wear parts many line operators primarily focus on their costs for maintenance. However, this is the first area where they could cut down on their additional outgoings as requesting and ordering components from a number of different suppliers is obviously more time and cost intensive than if these are specifically supplied by the systems manufacturer.

High product quality

When KHS questions customer personnel responsible for production as to what they find important, production reliability is inevitably given top priority, coupled with a fair pricing system and warranty for parts and the function thereof. Reliability starts with the actual purchase: unlike various suppliers of MRO or maintenance, repair and operations KHS provides all the necessary parts from a single source. It goes without saying that expert advice and an assured long-term supply of spare parts are all part of the deal. The systems manufacturer also adheres to current legal regulations and ensures that the relevant specific part is fully tested, has a long service life and a good fitting accuracy. It is thus worth taking a look at the overall costs. For a shopping cart containing all of the required items, even in direct comparison original parts are often less costly than the total sum of the spare and wear parts sourced from a variety of third-party suppliers. KHS has this regularly checked by different independent external organizations. High part quality also yields high production reliability, for these parts have no undesired side effects on the other components in the system. Only with original parts are the correct fit, material composition, surface quality and suitability for use with foodstuffs ensured.

Detailed advice when procuring parts

A full, regularly updated history of the machine documentation enables parts to be procured just as the customer requires. Even without the part number, thanks to KHS’ product-specific expertise its customers always receive the exact part they need for the job on hand. KHS Service experts also support clients during regular line inspections: an important step towards professional condition-based maintenance and therefore permanently high line availability with reduced maintenance costs. Here, KHS Service provides all-round advice and is available locally.

Extensive discontinuation management

Should a specific part no longer be available, KHS provides an extensive system of discontinuation management. In each individual case customers learn in good time of the date from which a certain part will no longer be available. KHS also regularly replaces obsolete parts with equivalent successor components without any extra cost to the customer. In some cases machine conversion is a good idea; reliably executed by KHS, this ensures the service life of the line for many more years and even extends it, thus further reducing the cost of amortization.

Good service for long-term optimization

On a line or machine which produces reliably quality assurance goes far beyond the mere availability, fitting accuracy and durability of a spare part. KHS thus continuously improves and optimizes maintenance intervals and concepts.‑ Periodic line optimization with the focus on media consumption, hygiene standards, production capacity or occupational health and safety also makes for long-term product safety and production reliability. In addition, auditing production processes in cooperation with independent management consultants, such as CIM Aachen or TÜV, can help to identify any weak points in the system and enhance employee qualification, in turn optimizing production planning and production processing. All told, thanks to considerably lower process costs and less logistical effort KHS’ one-stop service thus not only greatly cuts the cost of maintenance per production unit but also verifiably lengthens the system’s life cycle – with all the further cost benefits which come with it.

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Supposedly inexpensive but later costly: practical examples of the use of third-party parts

False economy: rapid deterioration of materials

A bottler purchases energy-saving bottle carriers for its bottle washing machine from a manufacturer of ‘replica parts’. After just two weeks the bottle washer ceases to function as the material on the energy-saving carriers has deformed. Reason: use of the wrong material and omission of necessary production steps. The result: the required new conversion carried out by KHS generates further costs and results in unplanned production loss.

Wrong part installed

The main drive chain on a bottle washer is replaced by a replica part. However, the chain links do not meet the required specifications. The result: increased wear on the drive gear wheels and chain. Unavoidable repeat replacement of the chain and drive wheels with machine downtime and additional expense.

Faulty programming

Replica parts are used for a controller upgrade on two fillers. The conversion fails and the system grinds to a halt. Reason: partly faulty parameterization and incomplete programming codes. Existing recipes and interfaces are ignored. The result: the machine and thus the entire line stops; the original system state cannot be restored; several weeks of production downtime and a repeat upgrade by KHS.

About the KHS Group

KHS is one of the leading manufacturers of filling and packaging systems for the beverage, food and non-food industries. The KHS Group includes the following companies: KHS GmbH, KHS Corpoplast GmbH, NMP Systems GmbH and numerous subsidiaries outside Germany. KHS GmbH manufactures modern filling and packaging systems for the high-capacity range at its headquarters in Dortmund, Germany, and at its factories in Bad Kreuznach, Kleve and Worms. The KHS Group's PET expertise is pooled at KHS Corpoplast GmbH in Hamburg, Germany, where innovative PET packaging and coating systems are developed and produced. NMP Systems GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of KHS GmbH based in Düsseldorf in Germany, designs and markets new, resource-saving packaging systems for PET bottles. In 2016 KHS and its 4,995 employees achieved a turnover of around €1.18 billion within the Salzgitter consolidation. The companies in the KHS Group are 100% subsidiaries of the MDAX-listed Salzgitter AG corporation.