The saying ‘Time is money’ certainly proves true when you’re staring at a deadline. Falling behind – even slightly – will delay results and expectations. But making up for lost time can prove disastrous.

Outside influences impact businesses in a variety of ways, both positive and negative. For a construction business pouring concrete slabs, daily tasks hinge on more than a man-made budget or schedule: weather is the big unknown. Sunny days with low humidity are a welcome sight for pouring and production. A few days of steady rainfall has the potential to delay a project for weeks at a time.  When the sunshine returns, the mad rush is on to make up for lost time.

To get back on schedule, businesses may adjust working hours, extending to weekends or take other, more expensive shortcuts. For the concrete company, instructions to workers may be to focus on the task at hand – just pour concrete – setting aside scheduled maintenance until the job is caught up. Thinking ‘we’ll deal with it later.’

All things wear out over time, it is a fact of life. We take time to maintain the things that matter: vehicles, our health, a business. Working with industrial hose and couplings, we often can’t see they are worn out until it is too late.  Scheduled maintenance is a critical part of business planning, helping to uncover problems that are otherwise concealed. Ignoring maintenance in favor of getting the job done to meet a deadline is risky business creating the potential for worker injury, expensive product loss and damaged equipment.

Always adhere to all maintenance schedules, all the time. If there is pressure to keep moving, re-evaluate your maintenance schedule first, as it too may need to be accelerated. Scheduled maintenance saves more than money, it also promotes a safe environment. Sometimes hose assemblies are taken out of service on schedule, or taken out for convenience, but if you wait too long, they will take themselves out of service.