Replacement Parts are “Out of Stock”

Sounding the alarm once more as critical supply chain issues continue to escalate, it is getting extremely difficult to get ventilation equipment or spare parts on time or as needed. With “quick ship” no longer offered by manufacturers, fans shipped in 4-6 weeks can now take up to 16-18 weeks. Other critical items like dampers, motors, and bearings are extended out and can be up to 14 weeks! Parts feel the full effect like the stock of components since they are all pulled from the same short supply. Can you wait 14 weeks, or more importantly, can your production needs handle that downtime strain? The common practice of explaining criticality to upper management does not work as the manufacturers’ materials to make a product are unavailable.

An important question to ask is: Should a “key” manufacturing process go down because of worn parts? With current lead times, you must consider being idle for some time if you don’t have parts available. We urge clients to purchase spares for critical processes before essential spare supply stocks are depleted. Downtime and production loss can be minimalized and controlled by having the vital parts on hand.

Act now and stock spare equipment and parts if:

• you have a critical process with known wear parts.
• parts are a piece of a critical process that cannot afford to be down.
• you have regular wear items like air filters and dust collector filters. Filters have seen a 3-week addition to deliveries for many standard products. Due to raw material scarcity, specialty designs can be 10-14 weeks.
• your system handles abrasive materials and exhibits signs of wear, assume downtime.
• you have Process Critical Fans: Experiencing fan failure can strain production; SysTech suggests keeping a spare set of airstream parts on the shelf. This would include the wheel and bushing, shaft, bearings, and belts.

It’s the end of many companies’ fiscal year, and Yearly Maintenance occurs in many manufacturing operations during the holiday shutdowns. With December on us, get your parts for the July shutdown now and prepare for more profitable and reduced stress next year. With expected extended lead times and labor shortages to continue, short buying now could be a significant move.

The supply chain issue is not going away anytime soon. Many of our clients are ordering spares that will be shelved until needed; join the proactive wave and please act now.

Call us now to help with your future needs!