Preventive maintenance pays off in shredder operations

In shredder operations, downtime is expensive. Every hour a shredder is offline can mean lost production, backed-up material, labour inefficiencies, and increased fire risk from growing scrap piles.

But according to operators at some of North America's largest shredding facilities, the cost of avoiding planned downtime is often far greater.

During a session at the ReMA 2026 Convention & Exposition, Randy Brace, president of Riverside Engineering, spoke with operators about the difference between reactive and preventive maintenance (PM) cultures in shredder operations.

Many larger shredding operations are relying on structured PM schedules, predictive monitoring, detailed maintenance planning, and disciplined shutdown routines to keep equipment running reliably and avoid costly interruptions.

For operators, the shift begins with recognizing that keeping a shredder running is not the same thing as keeping an operation productive.

Shifting from reactive to preventive maintenance

Many facilities continue to prioritize production over scheduled maintenance, operating with a reactive maintenance mindset: run the shredder as long as possible and repair failures when they happen.

Kevin Gershowitz, president of Gershow Recycling, says one of the biggest challenges in recycling is creating a culture where preventive maintenance is valued as much as production.

"I think one important factor, from a management point of view, is to have the discipline to value PM over running. So many times you see ownership or executive managers who think we got to run, we got to run, we got to run," says Gershowitz.

That pressure can create a domino effect. Small maintenance issues are deferred, inspections are rushed, and crews focus on temporary fixes to keep production moving. Eventually, those smaller problems can escalate into major failures requiring far longer shutdowns.

To avoid that cycle, Gershow Recycling schedules a dedicated PM shutdown every Wednesday, using an 8- to 10-hour maintenance window to complete repairs and inspections. Larger maintenance projects are scheduled for weekends.

Instead of treating downtime as lost production, operators need to view it as an investment in reliability. Strategically planned downtime often enables greater long-term uptime.

Preventive maintenance as an operational system

Effective PM programs should rely on communication systems, documentation, inspections, and planning routines to keep facilities operational.

At Gershow Recycling, operators log downtime incidents directly into the shredder operating software and also maintain handwritten day sheets that crews review daily.

Tony Cuevas, manager of SA Recycling's Terminal Island shredder operation, described a similar approach. Supervisors generate turnover reports at the end of each shift, documenting tons per hour, downtime events, and maintenance concerns. The reports are shared across departments, allowing operators, electricians, supervisors, and maintenance personnel to identify emerging issues before the next shift begins.

According to Cuevas, this communication between operators, electricians, supervisors, and maintenance crews is critical to an effective PM program at their facility. Consistent inspection routines create accountability across shifts and help ensure maintenance concerns are documented, repairs are verified, and equipment is ready to return to service.

Documentation alone, though, is not enough. Facilities also need a process for reviewing maintenance observations, prioritizing repairs, and incorporating those issues into future maintenance work. Brian Sackett of Riverside Engineering notes that identifying problems during daily operations is only the first step. The real value comes from turning those observations into planned maintenance work.

Planning downtime to reduce downtime

Minimizing downtime starts long before equipment is taken offline. For larger maintenance projects and shutdowns, preparation often begins weeks or even months in advance. Labour, spare parts, crane schedules, contractor availability, and production schedules all need to be coordinated before the first bolt is removed.

The goal is not simply to complete repairs quickly. It is to eliminate as many unknowns as possible before the shutdown begins.

At SA Recycling, major projects are planned using detailed charts that assign responsibilities, establish timelines, and identify critical tasks. Parts are inspected, test-fitted when necessary, and staged in advance.

"If you're on the clock and you're over here trying to sand and fit bearings, and if you need to send them to the machine shop, you just lost a day," says Cuevas.

Preparation also includes inspecting and cleaning equipment before a shutdown begins. Sackett says that maintenance projects can expand when crews discover additional damage after equipment has already been disassembled. Thorough inspections conducted during the planning stage can help identify worn components, damaged structures, or additional repair requirements, reducing the risk of costly schedule extensions.

Gershow Recycling recently replaced an entry conveyor system in less than a week by fabricating rebar assemblies in advance instead of during the shutdown itself.

Motor replacement is another example. SA Recycling completed a 9,000-hp motor replacement in a single day using a fully prepared spare motor. Gershow Recycling maintains the spare equipment, lifting resources, and contractor relationships needed to swap motors overnight rather than losing days to an unplanned failure.

In many cases, the difference between a one-day repair and a week-long outage comes down to what happens before the shutdown begins. The more planning, inspection, and preparation completed in advance, the less time crews spend troubleshooting once the equipment is offline.

Managing critical spare parts inventory

Even the best maintenance plan can fall apart if a critical component isn't available when it is needed.

"If anything's going to take more than 24 hours to get, it should be on your shelf," Gershowitz says.

Spare parts inventories are often treated as a cost until a major failure occurs. Once a shredder is offline waiting for a bearing, hydraulic component, or motor part, the cost of carrying inventory becomes much easier to justify.

"Business interruption always drove planning for projects and [we're] always looking at a way to shorten that business interruption," Sackett says. He notes that operators often focus on the cost of resources such as larger cranes or specialized equipment when planning maintenance projects, but those expenses should be weighed against the cost of extended downtime.

The most proactive operations apply the same discipline to inventory management. Rather than ordering parts when something fails, they keep critical components and tooling on hand so repairs can begin immediately when they are needed.

"The talent can't work without the tool," says Gershowitz.

Maintaining spare parts inventories also requires ongoing attention. Components that sit in storage for extended periods still need to be protected, inspected, and maintained to ensure they are ready for service when needed.

Operator experience still matters

Preventive maintenance programs may be built on schedules, inspections, and tracking systems, but many maintenance decisions still rely on experience. Recognizing an unusual vibration, a change in sound, or the early signs of a developing mechanical issue often comes from time spent around the equipment rather than from a report or dashboard alone.

Experience also plays a role in knowing when not to intervene. Temporary fixes intended to keep material moving can sometimes create larger failures later, a phenomenon Gershowitz referred to as "friendly assassins" — operators trying to help the operation while unintentionally increasing risk.

Experience is difficult to teach in a classroom. It comes from exposure to real-world failures and the opportunity to learn alongside experienced personnel.

"There's only so much mentoring you can do," Cuevas explains. "It's not until something breaks and you actually physically [fix] it, [that's] when you're really going to learn."

Management plays an important role in shaping that culture. Even the most experienced operators can struggle to prioritize preventive maintenance when production pressures consistently outweigh repair schedules and inspection routines.

Turning downtime into a competitive advantage

Unplanned downtime affects far more than production alone. It can increase fire risk, create environmental concerns, strain labour resources, and disrupt downstream processing across an entire facility.

The irony is that many of the industry's longest shutdowns begin with an attempt to avoid a much shorter one.

Specific maintenance practices may vary from facility to facility, but an important underlying philosophy emerges: address small problems while they are still small, plan repairs before they become emergencies, and create systems that remove uncertainty from the maintenance process.

The result is not simply fewer breakdowns. It is greater operational consistency, lower risk, and a stronger ability to meet production targets. For larger shredder operations, reliability is no longer measured by how long equipment can run before it breaks. It is measured by the discipline to shut it down before it does.

This article originally appeared in the July/August 2026 issue of Recycling Product News.