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⚙️Machine shop · Customer story

Scrapped parts and a failed audit — both avoidable

A precision job shop tied every scrapped run and near-miss audit back to two things it wasn't tracking: calibration and coolant.

The business
Ardent Precision
CNC job shop · 14 machines · AS9100-minded
app.uptimehq.app/dashboard
Critical insight
CMM calibration expires in 9 days — 3 open jobs depend on it.
Downtime
38 hrs/yr
Cal. compliance
100%
Open PMs
2
Monthly spend
The results

What tracking maintenance actually saved

$31,000
Saved per year
Avoided scrap + recovered machine time
61% → 100%
Calibration compliance
No expired certs in production
58%
Less unplanned downtime
Coolant & spindle PMs on schedule
2 days → 20 min
Audit prep time
History exports on demand
Before UptimeHQ

The problem

Ardent runs tight-tolerance aerospace and medical work. A micrometer or CMM that drifts out of calibration doesn't fail loudly — it quietly greenlights parts that later scrap, sometimes a whole run.

Calibration due-dates lived in a spreadsheet one person maintained. When they were out, dates lapsed. A customer audit nearly failed on an expired CMM certificate.

Coolant changes and spindle warm-up PMs were tribal knowledge. A neglected coolant system took a grinder down for three days during a rush.

What they track

The equipment

CNC mills & lathes (×8)
Spindle-hour tracked
Surface grinders
Coolant-sensitive
CMM
Calibration-critical
Micrometers & gauges
Cert expiry matters
Coolant systems
Scheduled changes
Shop air compressor
Feeds every machine
A day with UptimeHQ

How Ardent Precision uses it

  1. 1

    Gauges and machines get labeled

    Every CNC, the CMM and each calibrated instrument got a QR label tied to its record — including manuals and calibration certificates stored right on the asset.

  2. 2

    Meter-based PM on spindle hours

    Spindle warm-up and lubrication PMs trigger on meter readings techs log by scanning, not on a guessed calendar — so service matches actual use.

  3. 3

    Calibration never lapses silently

    Each gauge's certificate expiry is tracked. UptimeHQ warns the quality lead well before a due-date — and flags open jobs that depend on that instrument.

  4. 4

    Audit-ready in minutes

    When the customer auditor came back, the quality lead exported each machine's full service and calibration history to PDF on the spot.

9:41No login
Report a problem
Haas VF-2 (Mill #4)
Won't turn onOut of calibrationLeaking
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The login-free scan a tech sees

Where the savings come from

Before & after, line by line

MeasureBeforeWith UptimeHQ
Scrapped runs from out-of-cal gauges~4 / year0
Unplanned machine downtime~90 hrs / year~38 hrs / year
Expired calibration certs3 at any time0
Audit preparation~2 days~20 min
We didn't have a maintenance problem, we had a memory problem. Once the certs and coolant changes reminded us instead of the other way around, the scrap just stopped.
Quality lead, Ardent Precision

Picture this for your machine shop.

Start free, label your first machines before lunch, and see your own numbers instead of ours.