A view on repairing electronic control systems
Sometimes it takes something drastic to happen to change your mindset on a process or decision. Let’s take a look at repairing electronic control systems or replacing with new. How repairs are viewed is the first question? are they or can they ever be as good as new? Surveying a number of contacts I found that most would buy new. It’s that attachment to having something new to use and unwrap, being the first to ‘have it’ that drives us this way. Now buying new is on the assumption that there is the money there to buy new in the first place. What if you are required to look at saving money? where does a repair feature then?
Last week I was fortunate enough to present to several Norwegian oil companies in Bergen and Stavanger about repairing electronic control equipment rather than buying new. I was out there at the request of a company I’ve known for over 20 years who sees that companies in the oil industry are required to reduce costs. It’s pretty simple to see why when the oil price per barrel has reduced from $100 to $30, predictions are that the price won’t alter much above $40 until the end of 2017.
Now I was there presenting that repairing electronic control systems is a genuine and credible alternative to buying new. My view is pretty simple really –
“If a repair can be carried out and the repair is covered by the same guarantee period as a new item, and if it costs less than buying new, then you are saving money”
Now I hope that by presenting an alternative to their current ‘buy new’ decision I’ll be helping in some way to reduce their costs.