Importance of Preventative Maintenance for Lab Instruments

March 2022

Many customers don’t recognise the criticality of long-term planning for service and maintenance of lab instruments. 

In fact, most customers rely on the standard Factory Warranty, and opt to use third party engineering services in an effort to reduce costs– without realising that maintenance and repairs that are not in line with the original equipment manufacturer will compromise their warranty and ultimately incur a much greater cost. 

Utilising local engineering services and support is risky business when it comes to buying parts for lab equipment. Many customers are not aware that if their parts are not serviced directly through the original manufacturer, they risk voiding their manufacturer’s warranty.  

According to Thermo Fisher Scientific’s services and support team, which is comprised of more than 2000 on-call field application specialists, these risks can be prevented by arming lab instruments with an adequate preventative maintenance service plan at the point of purchase. 

Consequently, the service and support team has developed a comprehensive tiered system for lab instrument preventative maintenance and repairs that can be tailored to the specific requirements of any application. 

Thermo Fisher Scientific customers can choose between three tiers of premium support and proactive maintenance service plans for their instruments: 

1. Premier – The highest tier with priority next day service, unlimited on-site visits for preventative maintenance, repairs, digital, and remote support –plus value added extras.

2. Essential – Priority of service within 2 business days, unlimited on-site visits for preventative maintenance, repairs, digital, and remote support –plus value added extras.  

3. Tech Direct – Priority of service within 4 business days, a 10% discounted rate on on-site visits for preventative maintenance, repairs, digital, and remote support – extras are an additional cost.  

Each plan includes various levels of service for on-site repair and replacements and the higher the tier of service plan; the greater the priority in the repair queue; and faster the response time. 

It’s important to note that a Factory Warranty plan does include on-site corrective services, but all preventative maintenance, remote monitoring and compliance services are at an additional cost and full charges apply. 

With Thermo Fisher Scientific’s on-site corrective services, customers can choose to be prioritised for on-site service calls which include parts, labour, and travel costs. These on-site service plans were designed to accommodate larger systems such as real-time PCR, genetic analysis, capillary electrophoresis, flow cytometers, and next-generation sequencing instruments. 

In addition to this, each plan allows for on-site corrective maintenance using factory certified parts and industry standard quality testing performed on demand, which includes repairs and replacements of malfunctioning computers that were purchased with equipment. 

Premium service plan customers also have access to digital remote support and diagnostic tools with specialised engineers through secure remote desktop tools and augmented reality platforms, as well as our extensive online knowledge hub. 

Ongoing preventative maintenance services can be scheduled regularly for customer convenience with the option to record ongoing service history for every piece of equipment. 

Working directly with Thermo Fisher Scientific to establish a long-term preventative maintenance service plan is important for de-risking lab instruments and extending the life of equipment.  

By maintaining close relationships with original equipment manufacturers, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a direct line to the source when creating lab instrument service plans for proactive maintenance, reducing the chain of command when it comes to procuring parts and maintenance that meet the specific requirements of the manufacturer. 

To consult with one of our experts, contact the services and support team today.