Ask the maintenance man which of your company’s machinery and equipment he hates the most. It may seem irrelevant but he probably should speak up when the company is buying new equipment and discuss which of the machines costs the most, which break down more than others, which replacement parts are hard to get, more expensive and more difficult or more expensive to install (requires a company representative for installation). He will add more information that just financial calculations for justification ignore.
Ask your maintenance guy some or all of these questions:
- Which machines are the most difficult to fix?
- Which machines do the employees screw up the most?
- Which machine parts take the longest to order and replace?
- Which machine parts are the most costly?
- Which manufacturer is the worst at customer service?
- Which machines are the most difficult to have serviced by the manufacturer?
- Which machines have the worst warranty?
- Which machines cause the most damage to company products during manufacturing?