An unexpectedly idle production line in the automotive industry costs manufacturers over £17,000 a minute, per line or almost £1 million an hour. Annually servicing equipment by programming software and calibrating or replacing parts ensures metrology systems are running as efficiently as possible and not causing unexpected downtime. Here, Simon Atherton, head of service at industrial metrology provider The Sempre Group, discusses the importance of servicing and advises on where manufacturers can make improvements.