No Time for Downtime in the Forest Industry

Competition is stiff in the forest industry. Nobody has time for downtime. Downtime means stopped production. It means delayed and lost jobs. It can also mean products waiting to move into production, broken or damaged equipment, safety hazards, or even medical emergencies. Downtime means idle employees, disrupted supply chains, and lost profit.

The last thing you need in your quest to increase production and maximize productivity is down or inefficient equipment. Webster can help you significantly reduce downtime and prevent broken equipment issues by recognizing and addressing several common problems… before they become catastrophic.

Inconsistent Equipment Wear Rate

Your machine can encounter problems when its parts wear inconsistently. This can include double strand rakeback conveyors wearing at a different rate. In addition, abnormal wear characteristics can occur from running chains with the narrow end forward versus the open end forward.

Sprocket Interaction with Chain

Equipment downtime can result from improper sprocket interaction with the chain whether you’re in the middle of log handling, debarking, sawing, sorting, chipping, pelletizing, pulping, or paper roll handling. Proper chain and sprocket interaction is critical to predictive and preventative maintenance practice.

Conveyor Misalignment or Interference

In forestry, it’s common for equipment to get knocked around. Loose material or other foreign debris can interfere with the operation of your conveyor, jostling it or causing it to become misaligned.

How to Prevent Forest Industry Conveyor Downtime

There are three common mistakes we see forestry companies make to save a dime and save time: infrequent maintenance checks, buying subpar products, and doing a quick fix instead of the right fix. These mistakes feel great in the short-term, but they can significantly cost your business in the long run.

You can prevent equipment breakdowns that result in downtime by investing in quality products like Webster welded steel mill chains and drag chains, as well as ACTION vibrating conveyors that can get the job done efficiently and safely. 

Once you have the right equipment in place, the next most important step is to establish a preventative maintenance routine for all of your equipment. Webster Industries provides best practices and preventative maintenance training so that you can catch issues with your equipment before they affect your business’ bottom line.

The Webster engineering team is always available to help you troubleshoot any conveyor issues you’re facing. When something breaks down, make Webster your first call, at (800) 243-9327. We can make sure that your production line keeps moving longer and more efficiently with the best chain and  conveyor equipment in place. We are readily available 24/7 - 365 days a year.

Give Webster Industries a call today or contact us now to keep your machinery rolling.