Capital Equipment News August 2023

needs to be in the field doing the work. Factors such as the design and quality of the machine affect productivity and how well the installation is executed. Plants that want to complete maintenance as quickly as possible and to have the best quality installation must make sure to invest in equipment that is not the least expensive to buy, but the least inexpensive to own. So how can operations make this distinction? There are a few key indicators to look for to help determine which machine will be the best long-term investment and offer the lowest total cost of ownership. Purchase Price The most obvious and easily factored-in component of the total cost of ownership is purchase price. While it can be tempting to favour the cheapest possible option, operations must evaluate whether the product offers good value and what the long-term costs might be. A bargain bricking machine may be constructed from aluminium and galvanized steel or painted wood and steel – making the machine heavy and cumbersome to handle. Such machines can tip the scales at 1 850 kilograms and take five to six crew members, a forklift and 6 to 10 hours to set up – wasting an entire shift simply getting ready to work. A bricking machine constructed of strong, yet lightweight 6061-T6 aircraft grade aluminum is a lean 1 400 kilograms. A four-person team can easily set up the all-aluminium, pin-together machine in just 60 to 90 minutes, and a larger crew can finish even faster. That allows most of the shift to be used for actual installation and brings the job to completion more quickly. Despite the heftiness of bargain machines, they can lack durability. They are often manufactured with lower quality material that is not welded to the highest industry standards, resulting in premature cracking. These machines have a lifespan of no more than a decade and sometimes three years or less. With proper maintenance, however, a machine built with high-quality aluminum has a minimum lifespan of 20 years, offering many more years of efficient, quality performance. That means operations could end up replacing the bargain machine two to six times over 20 years while a higher quality machine could perform reliably throughout that time. At that point, the bargain machine starts costing more than the single investment in a higher quality option.

A high-quality installation guards against premature failure, downtime and safety risks while also protecting a plant’s substantial brick investment.

QUICK TAKE

With machines not used daily, you should expect quality installations, twice a year, for 20 to 30 years.

Bargain machines are bargains because they are manufactured with a one-size-fits-all approach, and don’t last.

With proper maintenance, a machine built with high-quality aluminum has a minimum lifespan of 20 years.

A four-person team can set up the all-aluminium, pin-together machine in 60 to 90 minutes.

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