This is not the only way present bank can be made to profit at
the expense of future bank in a maintenance context. Another is
borrowing from the future bank to reduce the initial capital outlay
for an asset. This future-bank loan is subsequently repaid with
interest as a result of less-than-optimum reliability over the useful
life of the machine.
In the case of a hydraulic machine, the achievement of optimal
maintenance and reliability outcomes is all too often compromised
at the outset through bad or cheap design. Oil quality, tank size,
filtration, installed cooling capacity, conductor size, connector
type and component efficiency are just a few of the corners that are
all too easy to cut in a race to the bottom on price.
Even a relatively well-designed (from a
maintenance and reliability perspective)
hydraulic machine will suffer from reliability
issues if left to its own devices over time. This
means optimal maintenance and reliability
outcomes require a certain level of knowledge
and intervention on the part of the end user. If
these necessary maintenance interventions
are deferred or omitted, the result once again
is that present bank makes an increased profit
at the expense of future bank.
When proactive maintenance is performed
correctly and effectively, every dollar spent on
it should come back with friends attached.
This makes the expense a future-bank deposit.
However, the present-bank/future-bank
dichotomy means both discipline and resolve
are needed to resist the natural skew to
present-bank economics and to keep making
these future-bank deposits in good times and
in bad.
About the Author
Brendan Casey is the founder of HydraulicSupermarket.com and the author of Insider Secrets to
Hydraulics, Preventing Hydraulic Failures, Hydraulics Made
Easy, Advanced Hydraulic Control and The Definitive Guide
to Hydraulic Troubleshooting. A hydraulics specialist
with an MBA, he has more than 20 years of experience in the design, maintenance and repair of mobile
and industrial hydraulic equipment. Visit his Website
at www.HydraulicSupermarket.com.
www.machinerylubrication.com
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January - February 2013
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