Keeping the wheels turning: best practices for maintaining aging industrial facilities

by Emily Newton

Maintenance is a crucial consideration for any industrial operation. However, older facilities face more upkeep concerns than most.

Heavy industrial equipment and the machinery it houses can last a considerable time if companies take care of it. Such extended life spans do not come on their own, though, and even the longest-lasting facilities need upgrades at some point. Organizations must follow several best practices to get all they can from their aging assets.

1. Fix old infrastructure first

Infrastructure like walls, flooring and roofs deserves attention before anything else. While it’s tempting to focus on production equipment, as it contributes directly to the bottom line, not maintaining the building itself could have dramatic, costly consequences.

Commercial roofing often lasts 20 to 40 years — even longer in some cases — but the average warehouse is already 43 years old, and many are over 50. Consequently, businesses should inspect their roofs to determine if they should replace them. Such an update will be expensive, but it will last a long time and is cheaper than paying for broader damage should the old roof fail.

Plumbing, windows and wiring likewise deserve care before moving on to machinery-related concerns. Fixing these larger problems first minimizes hazards beyond normal wear and tear that could jeopardize equipment on the factory floor.

2. Replace old HVAC systems

After taking care of the facility’s infrastructure, organizations should consider their HVAC systems. Heaters, air conditioning and vents age relatively quickly but are critical to maintaining optimal conditions for other equipment.

In some cases, simple maintenance, like replacing filters and cleaning vents, is sufficient. However, it’s often most beneficial to replace aging HVAC systems entirely. Replacement may entail high initial costs, but newer alternatives are so much more efficient that the resulting drop in utility bills will compensate for the investment. Companies would save $3 billion annually if all industrial HVAC solutions met modern efficiency standards.

HVAC upgrades are additionally advantageous because they enable better performance from other machinery. Maintaining optimal indoor temperatures and humidity levels prevents early corrosion and excessive friction. It may also improve machines’ energy efficiency, further reducing ongoing expenses.

3. Review equipment testing practices

As with any facility, aging factories must embrace regular inspections to fix issues before they cause larger problems. However, older equipment may not withstand as rigorous testing as newer options, so businesses may need to adjust their approach.

Pretesting before a standard inspection is often beneficial. Many pressurized vessels cannot withstand two tests at 100% pressure, so checking for flaws at 80% pressure first will minimize risks while maximizing inspection accuracy. While the additional step may seem wasteful at first, it prevents damage from unnecessarily strenuous assessments, resulting in less costs and time loss.

Similarly, manufacturers may need to go beyond OEM-recommended schedules. Older machines benefit from less time between inspections than what new alternatives require, as it may not take as long for repair concerns to arise.

4. Compare repair and replacement costs

Proactive maintenance strategies will minimize ongoing expenses by stretching the necessary time between equipment replacements. Still, all machinery eventually reaches a point where it costs less to buy a new one than to maintain the existing solution.

Companies using older machines should perform cost analyses to determine when an upgrade makes more financial sense than a repair. These comparisons should consider multiple factors, including purchase prices, depreciation, current and future maintenance needs, energy expenditures and downtime from malfunctions.

Cost analyses are often more complex than they seem. Given the complexity, it’s usually best to use an automated solution to better account for all factors and minimize human error. Artificial intelligence (AI) excels at complicated comparisons, even predicting the point where businesses should replace rather than fix a machine.

5. Retrofit machinery with IoT sensors

Even when aging equipment does not need replacement, it can usually gain much from small upgrades. Retrofitting factory floor tools with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors is one of the most advantageous examples.

IoT solutions allow manufacturers to remotely inspect their machinery’s condition and performance metrics. They also enable predictive maintenance, where sensors detect and predict incoming repair needs before they’re noticeable otherwise. This strategy can result in 30% lower upkeep costs and less downtime from both inspections and malfunctions.

In all its forms, IoT connectivity allows organizations to detect potential problems earlier and with greater accuracy. As a result, they can stretch the value and life spans of their old assets further.

6. Keep a detailed asset inventory

After implementing IoT solutions, facility managers should create a detailed list of their assets, including each machine’s age, repair history, downtime reports and operational costs. This list must also be digital to facilitate accessibility and enable automatic updates from IoT systems.

Many management missteps stem from a lack of awareness. Consequently, making it easier to get the full picture of a facility’s equipment and its condition helps companies avoid costly mistakes.

The best asset inventories use a cloud-based platform to connect to complementary technologies and enable remote access. Cloud solutions also pose security benefits, as they offload the burden of protection away from manufacturers and onto software vendors. The manufacturing sector experienced 25.7% of all cyberattacks in 2023 — more than any other industry — so this benefit makes a considerable difference.

7. Upgrade slowly

Finally, industrial businesses must set their eyes on future upgrades. Updating infrastructure and equipment will yield long-term savings despite the upfront costs, but the initial expenses still deserve attention. Instead of spending too much at once, factories can focus on one system at a time.

Begin with whichever upgrade will yield the largest improvements. The most outdated machines or aging infrastructure posing the biggest potential threat if it fails are good places to start. Leaders should only consider smaller replacements or repairs once they’ve taken care of these concerns.

AI may be beneficial here, too. Predictive models can suggest which optimization strategies yield the greatest improvements and show detailed estimates of each method’s expenses and return timelines.

Aging industrial facilities require extra attention

As the nation’s industrial infrastructure ages, maintenance approaches will have to adapt. A rising number of businesses must pay attention to these seven steps.

Ongoing care is critical in any scenario, but older facilities require additional thought. Once organizations recognize the need for an adapted strategy, they can make better decisions about maximizing their asset life span.