CoatingsPro Magazine

SEP 2015

CoatingsPro offers an in-depth look at coatings based on case studies, successful business operation, new products, industry news, and the safe and profitable use of coatings and equipment.

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30 SEPTEMBER 2015 COATINGSPROMAG.COM Contractor's Corner Coatings contractors called in to undertake a renovation project during a holiday break, which can be viewed as a window of opportunity, will have the benefit of an empty jobsite in which to carr y out the application. By Dave McNeece, Managing Director of Flowcrete Americas Making the Most of Holiday Shutdowns T he downtime periods that accompany tradi- tional holidays, such as Tanksgiving and New Years' Eve, are often viewed with concern by industrial plant owners who worry about losing out on periods of proftable productivity. However, this holiday break could be seen as the perfect time to revitalize a facility with fresh coatings that will make the site more efcient, safer, and more visually appealing for when the workers return and the machines are switched back on. Tis is because downtime during normal operating hours costs most businesses, on average, at least 5 percent of their productive capacity, and at some companies, this fgure can rise as high as 20 percent. However, the true cost could be much worse; 80 percent of industrial facilities are unable to accurately estimate their downtime costs, and some facilities have been shown to underestimate this fgure by a huge 200–300 percent 1 ! Average downtime costs vary considerably across industries. For example, they can be much higher in 1 Figures from Crumrine, D., and Post, D. (2006). When True Cost of Downtime Is Unknown, Bad Decisions Ensue. InTech, 53(1), 55. the food and pharmaceutical sectors, where an organization may have to destroy any goods being processed during a renovation. Tese costs can also vary signifcantly depending on the scale of the business. For a medium- sized business, the exact hourly cost may be lower, but the impact on the company much greater. W hat all this means is that due to the unwanted consequences of unscheduled downtime, an applicator who can prove he or she can carry out the coating during the holiday period will be a major asset to any facilities manager who needs to schedule renova- tion works. Facility owners may not want to risk closing the facility at a later date when a shutdown could be more detrimental. Application Advantages Coatings contractors called in to undertake a renovation project during a holiday break, which can be viewed as a window of opportunity, will have the beneft of an empty jobsite in which to carry out the application. Tis has the obvious advantage of allowing the application team to get on with the task at hand, as materials, equipment, and team members can be easily moved around the area. Tey won't have to worry about getting in the way of the facility's normal operational activity. Te fact that the machines will be

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