Everything You Need to Know About MRO: We use an umbrella to protect ourselves from rain. Similarly, MRO protects an organization’s equipment from damage. But do you know what is MRO?

What is MRO?

MRO stands for maintenance repair and operations. MRO carries a set of operations and activities related to the maintenance of the plant. This mainly includes the physical maintenance of the equipment used in the plant. MRO is essential for the output of a business.

Do you know that the MRO market is about USD 600 billion? Yes, you read it right. The great demand and the variety of activities performed in the MRO industry are one of the main reasons for its huge market value.

Types of MRO

Infrastructure repair and maintenance

Activities like repairing the doors, windows, roofs, and loading dock bays, snow removal, maintaining the asphalt in parking lots and garages, HVAC services, pest control, waste pickup services, and many more come under infrastructure repair and maintenance.

Depending upon the nature of the business, different services are provided. These services are provided in almost every industry.

Production equipment repair and maintenance

The maintenance of vital machinery and systems used in the manufacturing of products and services sold by the business are the responsibilities of production equipment repair and maintenance. Unexpected failures of machinery and equipment can be very expensive.

It can result in a huge loss to the business. Thus to avoid this, timely product repair and maintenance are necessary. There are various types of machinery used in the production houses, like mechanical, electromechanical, and even electronic machines.

Material handling equipment maintenance

Some businesses have permanently installed material or moveable material mainly used for the transportation of raw materials to the plant, finished products to the warehouse, etc.

It is also important to keep these machines in proper working condition without any repairs for the smooth functioning of the business. Conveyor belts, pallet positioners, storage systems, containers, forklifts, jacks, etc are some of the machines used in this sector.

Tooling and consumables

The items used in the process of production but that are not a part of the finished product are known as tools and consumables. These are much smaller than the machinery and equipment used in the direct production of the finished product. Powered hand tools, manual hand tools, adhesives, glues, abrasives, personal protection equipment, janitorial supplies, etc come under tooling and consumables.

Importance of MRO

It is essential for the smooth running of the production.

If there is faulty machinery in a production house, the finished goods may not be of good quality. It may also slow down the process of production. In some cases, damaged machinery might even stop the process of production. Thus, it is necessary for the machinery and equipment to be in a good working state.

It prevents loss of revenue

If the production of the final goods is stopped due to some machinery defect, it affects the revenue of the company. This is because, though there is enough demand for the products in the market, if the company is not able to fulfil that demand, there are chances that the customers might choose a different company product.

This is definitely a loss for the business. Also, if the company does not meet the deadlines, they might have to pay a huge sum as a penalty. Thus to avoid such losses, the machinery in the production house should be in good condition.

It is important for the safety of the workers.

MRO includes helmets, gloves, face shields, goggles, dust masks, and other equipment used for the protection of the workers. The absence of these types of equipment might lead to many accidents which are a threat to the life of the workers.

It isn’t just this damaged or weak machinery that might cause harm to the worker’s health, there are chances that workers might sustain injuries due to the wrong functioning of the machines. To avoid this, the machines must be in good condition as well as have the workers wear their protective equipment.

The Maintenance Repair and Operations sector constitutes around 5% to 10% of a company’s expenditure. Since it looks like a small number, it is often neglected. This might result in the overall revenue of the company. Proper MRO management should be done to avoid loss.

It also helps in increasing the profits of a company. It is recommended to consider this huge MRO market and invest in it for the upliftment of the organization. MRO is an essential and unavoidable sector in a business. Proper strategies for MRO even for the small production houses will help in the development of the business.