Breeze Into Peak Season!

Performance Maintenance (PM), also known as Preventive Maintenance or Planned Maintenance, is service work that is regularly performed on a piece of equipment to lessen the likelihood of it failing. Like an annual wellness visit to your primary care doctor proactively taking care of your physical health, this type of work in the food service equipment world is performed while the appliance is still working. This proactive approach, improves the long term health and performance of our customers’ equipment, which helps to avoid unexpected repairs and costly downtime.

Jamison Johnson, EMR field service supervisor and seasoned cold-side tech, explains further: “We can’t prevent your equipment from breaking down and malfunctioning. Equipment fails – this is why service agencies exist! What we can do, is regularly evaluate your kitchen equipment to ensure that everything is in good working condition, proactively handle any smaller issues that arise, and educate our customers to understand their equipment and how it ticks.”

Performance Maintenance Doesn’t Cost, It Pays.

Another expert on this topic, Colin Kauffman, an EMR PM technician, shares more knowledge on this critical part of servicing our commercial kitchen customers, particularly when it comes to high-traffic time frames.

• Clean Up Time! Keep your equipment running longer, at optimum efficiency. Refrigeration equipment has to work harder (read: less efficient) when it’s dirty.
  

  Colin Kauffman, PM Technician

• Catch a small issue early, save big later. Getting in front of future equipment repairs and replacements with routine maintenance is a key way to save on service calls and equipment downtime.
• Replacing equipment can actually save your bottom line. Monitoring the equipment in order to advise customers with their best interest in mind is a key element of a PM contract. In some instances, repairs will exceed the cost to replace. A recommendation from an expert-eye to replace the unit could be a better choice. Priority service calls + additional parts can hurt more than the up-front cost of a replacement.
• Economies of Scale – We want to see it all! Each piece of equipment in your kitchen has a critical function for your business and should be regularly cleaned and tested for optimal performance, whether it’s descaling ice machines, working on prep tables, slicers, kettles, reach-ins, walk-ins, steamers, ovens and more  — you have it, we service it.

Get Ready For The Heat – HVAC/R Tune-Up

Jamison Johnson emphasizes the need for HVAC/R tune-ups before the summer heat hits.

Jamison Johnson, Field Service Supervisor

A tune-up is similar to the PM in that it saves our customers money in the long run. Skilled technicians catch things like compromised electrical components; dirty filters preventing optimal air flow; fans and blowers wearing over time, due to lack of lubrication, all of which can be prevented by a tune-up.

• Your Equipment | How well foodservice equipment operates is directly affected by excess humidity and heat in the kitchen. When HVAC equipment fails, it causes all the other equipment to work harder. Refrigerators and freezers will run warmer, causing product to thaw and potentially spoil (read: $$ down the drain).
• Your Customers | Customer satisfaction is directly affected by how comfortable the environment is in your dining areas – keep them cool!
• Your Staff | Staff comfort is critical, too — a pleasant work environment for your kitchen + wait staff will parlay into a positive customer experience and affect profitability.