Lend-An-arm Support can be acquired through a service contract or a be as simple as a phone call to fix a problem.
Field Support
From maintenance to management, Lend-An-Arm’s professional engineers and technicians can triage simple and complex system bugs, machine failures, and process interruptions. Need to add a sensor? Want to simply install a new Safety Light Curtain? Our Field Service Support team can respond quickly and efficiently to your needs. Our Field services are designed to be used “As-Needed”. Buy in bulk or pay by the hour. Give us a call and we will arrive with a team ready to support you production.
Field Services DIagnostic
Our field service diagnostic support includes troubleshooting systems whether the problem lies with the PLC program, system wiring, instrumentation, VFDs or the mechanical assembly of your components. Once we have identified the problem, we’ll do our best to either fix it on the spot, or assist you in getting the right parts and personnel there to perform the repair. Our field service professionals are available to visit your facility on an as-needed basis and are personally invested in your success. Whether it’s the middle of the night or during a holiday shutdown, we’ll be there. Our field services are billed on a T&M basis. You can also purchase service as a block of time or through our Automation Service Contract.
PLC Remote Support
Working remotely has its perks, such as giving Lend-An-Arm the ability to support your machine or process from anywhere in the world. Thanks to the installation and configuration of an Lend-An-Arm Remote Access Router, we can provide expert level service that can drastically reduce your maintenance costs and optimize your machine up-time. Remotely, we can troubleshoot and program PLCs, view and control your HMI, connect to a web camera for assistance, and even support our field technicians.
Programming Support
Programming in the Automation world is diverse. With each device PLC’s, Robots, Drives, and specialty components having their own programming language and environment the term “Programming” can be a broad description of the support required to keep a system functioning or update a current system to new production needs.
Service Areas
Located in Greenville South Carolina, our manufacturing support service areas include SC, NC, GA, FL, TN, AL, VA, WV, KY and beyond. We offer both remote and onsite support services nationwide.
How Can We Help?
We will definitely respond to emergencies, but this service comes at a cost. Most of our service clients take advantage of our annual support plans that cut down on cost and response time. Give us a call to discuss your specific needs.
Comprehensive Maintenance Plan
When you start a Comprehensive Maintenance Plan with Lend-An-Arm you get a team of dedicated professionals to manage your machines. With our proven process Lend-An-An creates a full analysis of your systems functionality, operation, and performance. Once a base line of the machine is established, Lend-An-Arm leverages remote support, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) calculations, Computerized Maintenance Management Software (CMMS), scheduled maintenance visits, customer approved upgrades, and today’s cutting edge technology to effectively control and improve your process. The most important operation preformed on any machine is maintenance. Without proper care a functioning machines will malfunction.
Step #1: Discovery Phase
The goal of this phase is to understand the machine. Lend-An-Arm technicians review the documentation you have and validate the information, if documentation is not available it is made by Lend-An-Arm. A detailed sequence of operations outlines the systems functionality, including system warnings, and fault recovery. A Bill materials is created documenting exactly what is on the machine and spares are purchased and held by Lend-An-Arm. Maintenance personnel, operators, and quality technicians are interviewed and documentation is created outlining the requirements of the machine to operate within tolerance.
We then take what we learn and your defined goals to create a road map for getting the machine to maximum operation and performance. Major land marks are defined and prioritized from most significant to lease significant including upgrades and proposed redesigns.
Step #2: Performance Plan
After all of the initial discovery is done, our engineering team puts their creative problem solving skills and technical know-how to work to identify what components should be upgraded, what components should be on a corrective maintenance plan, and what should be redesigned. Using our knowledge of the latest trends in the industry, as well as the most advanced technology, software and state-of-the-art tools, we’ll thoroughly outline our recommended solution.
Step #3: Corrective Maintenance
Next we stabilize your process with corrective maintenance. Corrective maintenance is a maintenance task performed to rectify a fault so that the failed equipment can be restored to an operational condition. We now have the list of all the needed corrective maintenance tasks and how often Lend-An-Arm needs to perform each of those tasks. The data is entered into a maintenance planning tool, tasks are assigned, and a priority and due date are created to ensure the whole team is on the same page.
Step #4: UPgrades and Monitoring equipment
This is where Lend-An-Arm service technicians shine. After stabilizing your machine upgrades are introduced systematically. Each section or station is upgraded with the most appropriate sensors and equipment. Data monitoring is introduced or updated to create a real time picture of the machine performance and failures or faults are automatically documented and inserted into weekly or monthly report. If possible remote access is introduced allowing Lend-An-Arm to leverage Remote support to access and update your process as needed.
Step #5: Preventative Maintenance
With the machines performance data received, updated equipment proven, and corrective maintenance completed we settle into the preventative maintenance process. During this step Lend-An-Arm technicians visit the site on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule to complete maintenance procedures. If a fault or failure occurs during this phase Lend-An-Arm will respond to the site and complete machine repairs. Lend-An-Arm technicians will supply replacement parts and return equipment to operation within an agreed amount of time.
Step #6: Track and Adjust
Now the focus shifts to how much preventive work has been done on an machine and how many failures (if any) did it experience since we have upgraded the system. If the machine didn’t experience even a single breakdown? Maybe it could still operate without failures with less preventive work spent on it. If the machine experiences regular failures despite regular check-ups and other preventive measures? It is time to make a change or update the preventative maintenance schedule.
Step #7: Documentation
After the equipment is proven to operate reliably, Lend-An-Arm creates a cloud based document management system available to your team and company. All of the information gathered is presented and stored using our easy to use Web Based Dashboard. This system display productivity and up-time, Fault history, Maintenance schedule, operating instructions, mechanical and electrical schematics, a spare parts list and any special documents necessary to run your machine independently and successfully.
Step #8: Training or Renewal
Finally we can provide engineering and technicians to train your staff and turn the machine back over to your personnel, or you can let Lend-An-Arm continue to run your maintain at a reduced service contract rate. Either way We will follow through to make sure that the project meets the goals originally developed in the Discovery Phase. If the contract is terminated we are always a phone call away should you need us.