If your production machines could talk, what would they tell you? Would they be annoying and over-dramatic with their problems, or would they be pretty chill, and just tell us what we need to know. I don't think anyone needs or wants drama from their production machines (or anyone else for that matter). I think a simple "compressor unit 3 in location10, needs bearing size X replaced within the next two days" would be good. No chit-chat about your vacation plans or how your BBQ turned out last weekend; none of that; just straight to the point and clearly tell us what they need and when they need it by would be great.

You and your amazing employees have worked hard to build your OEM business, and it shows in your long-term success and happy end customers. Now that you have created processes that are tried and true to your business model and fully support your company sustainability, you may be thinking it's a good time to think about how you can take it all to the next level through building out stronger efficiencies and better work-flows that will simplify day-to-day operations and also present your people with the right data they need to make better, faster decisions while being much more focused on what really matters (your end customers).

You and your dedicated staff have all worked very hard to get your production levels to exactly where you want them to be and that's not an easy task, and certainly not an easy one to keep rolling without loads of serious challenges. Sure, every company has obstacles and set-backs here and there; but when it comes to production; one tiny hiccup can result in several factors of safety, profitability and even your organizations long-standing sustainability.

It's no secret that production downtime can be significant and negatively impact your operations very quickly.

These challenges happen with the blink of an eye - and cause long-standing downtime, lost profits and serious safety impacts. Here are five keys to prevent production downtime to help you remain up and running while keeping your people safer, profit margins up and maintaining your operations for a life-time of strong returns for generations.