Can we plan for the unknown?

We may not be able to plan for the totally unexpected, but we can plan for the possible. Being better prepared makes good commercial sense regardless of your business. Contingency planning is cost efficient and ensures that the likelihood of downtime is reduced, but that emergency responses are also more effective. A good level of forward thinking is especially important during these uncertain times.

“Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best; an old saying, but a very effective philosophy,” says Ken Upchurch, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Bruks Siwertell. “We are here to assist our partners throughout the lifetime of their equipment and have numerous strategies in place to ensure this, including a global presence positioned to provide customers with exceptional support. The current worldwide situation highlights the importance of good service and how it is needed to keep essential operations running. But it can also put the spotlight on a company’s level of preparedness.”

Prepare for the worst, effectively

There are a number of ways that Bruks Siwertell can help operators build-in redundancy, enhance their robustness and ‘prepare for the worst’ in the most constructive way. 

“Scheduled inspections, services and planned maintenance stops, either through agreements or otherwise, are nearly always the best starting points when developing an effective service strategy,” explains Upchurch. “Just a simple inspection can pay for itself repeatedly as these can often reveal opportunities for performance improvements and highlight potential issues that may lead to unplanned maintenance stops and emergency repairs. Reputational damage and the long-term impact on efficiency are also valuable reasons why many operators plan equipment downtime.

“There are also significant ways in which original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can add value,” he notes. “We can more rapidly assess and determine equipment condition and ensure that nothing is replaced unnecessarily.”

Planned service agreements, which are tailored to meet specific operator’s needs, such as Siwertell Care, ensure enhanced support and spare parts benefits for customers. 

Bruks Siwertell Americas offers customers a consignment program, which ensures that any necessary spare parts are rapidly available; an agreed quantity can be pre-ordered, consolidated, tagged, packed and shipped by Bruks Siwertell at any time.

Get to know your key account manager

“It is never enough to simply deliver equipment to an operator,” adds Upchurch. “Not only do our customers benefit from a dedicated contact, assigned to help navigate the process of every delivery, this commitment continues for ongoing support.”

Did you know that all our customers are assigned a key account manager following commissioning?

“Our key account manager program is designed to deliver customer service excellence. Having a single source for communication and support establishes consistency and encourages the development of long-lasting relationships,” he highlights. 

“The role of a key account manager is crucial to ensuring that operators receive the support they need to maintain their equipment and achieve their operational goals. Ultimately, through our customer’s eyes, they represent our entire organization.”

Our commitment to customers

“We are working hard to ensure that, while Covid-19 is putting unprecedented pressures on all aspects of our lives, our customers continue to receive our support and, as much as possible, uninterrupted services.

“To qualify this, for example, travel restrictions for personnel traveling from Europe and Asia are not impacting operations in the United States. This is because service teams have been cross-trained on all products manufactured globally. They can provide good support regardless of manufacturing location including equipment such as stacker reclaimers, ship loaders, ship unloaders, truck-receiving systems, conveyors, as well as screening and sizing systems. 

“These US service teams are also bolstered by shared knowledge from engineering teams. Any increased demands in mechanical or electrical service support is being met with local, but global knowledge.

“We have manufacturing capabilities on three different continents and within fifteen different countries. We are well-positioned to reallocate manufacturing activities if needed in the event a specific geographical area is impacted by productivity limitations or governmental policy related to the virus. We will make these adjustments without impacting delivery or pricing commitments made to our customers,” concludes Upchurch.