Today we take a break from our dye migration series for a simple maintenance tip.

I know that for maintenance,  folks have all kinds of ways to make sure it is done. There are checklists, sign off sheets, and clipboards full of notes and they are initialed, signed, and blah blah freakin’ blah. A signature on a form does not mean something was done when it says it was, nor necessarily that it was done. It just means someone signed it.

Workers are grilled: “you are oiling this every day/week, right?” “Oh, yes sir, every day or every week.” “Yes, yes, yes, whatever you say sir/ma’am.”

My embroidery tech Scott has a better way. He walks in and says, “where’s the oil?” “Uh, over here, well…maybe under there…it was right by the …”  Busted. If you don’t know where the oil is, you aren’t regularly using it. Where are the filters, where is the oil can, where is the tool to open this to change the thingamabob, where is the grease gun?  If you don’t know right away, it isn’t being done regularly.

If I have to convince you how essential it is to maintain your equipment, you are an idiot beyond help. Anyone that is not a nitwit knows that maintenance is important. The question for all of us is how to make sure maintenance gets done. Where’s the oil?