Planned Maintenance
- Also Preventive Maintenance or Scheduled Maintenance
- Pre-planned and scheduled
- Involves scheduled service visits by competent service agent, but may also include periodical checks and care by User
- Can be date-based or hours-based
- Allows for easier planning of maintenance
- Allows for easier ordering and inventory of spares
- Allows for easy budgeting and costs management
- Allows for an essentially trouble-free instrument life
Impact of Environmental Conditions and Other Factors
Environmental Conditions
- Basically temperature, humidity and light
- Comply with Manufacturers recommended environmental conditions
- Temperature affects instrument stability; high temperature may damage some instrument components and PCBs
- High humidity can also damage instrument components and PCBs
- Use of air-conditioners and/or dehumidifiers may be necessary.
- Light may damage optical components in spectrophotometers
Gases
- Instruments work within precise and specified gas pressure ranges
- Use high quality and functional pressure regulators; preferably 2-stage regulators
- High gas pressures can damage components such as valves and electronic flow regulators in instruments
- Instruments also require highly pure gases devoid of moisture, hydrocarbons and other impurities —–VERY IMPORTANT
- Impure gases can damage valves, electronic flow regulators, GC columns and block GC capillary gas lines
- Use high quality gases and gas filters
Power
- Perhaps, the greatest singular cause of equipment malfunction in the country
- Voltage and frequency very important
- Damage to instrument components can occur due to voltage and/or frequency fluctuation and intermittent power supply
- Facility wiring and grounding also very important and critical
- Use of good quality line conditioners, voltage stabilizers and UPS may be necessary
User
- An untrained User is the greatest source of danger to an equipment, as well as to himself and the facility.
- Users must be trained and qualified in the operation and basic user maintenance of an instrument before they begin to use
