Pharma & Packaging Machines: Pre-Holiday Preparation and a Safe Restart After the Break
When a long holiday approaches, production teams usually focus on final orders, shipment deadlines, and workforce planning. Machines are often shut down quickly once production stops, with the assumption that they can simply be restarted after the break. In reality, Long holidays are often when hidden machine problems begin — not because the equipment is running, but because it isn’t. In many packaging and pharmaceutical plants, unexpected failures after a long break are caused not by machine quality, but by improper shutdown and restart procedures. Machines may remain idle for days or even weeks, exposed to humidity, dust, and temperature fluctuations. Without proper preparation, this idle time can lead to corrosion, contamination, mechanical degradation, and unexpected faults during restart. Experienced engineers understand one simple principle:a smooth restart always begins with a correct shutdown. In today’s article, we’ll show you how to properly shut down packaging and pharmaceutical machines before a long holiday, and how to restart them safely when production resumes, take our workshop as an example. Why “Simply Turning Off the Machine” Is Not Enough Once production stops, many teams believe the job is done.Power off, lock the door, and wait for the holiday to end. However, as a manufacture, I can tell you that packaging and pharmaceutical machines are not designed to remain idle without preparation. During normal production, machines operate regularly. Moving parts stay lubricated, surfaces remain dry, and operators can quickly notice abnormal conditions. During a long holiday shutdown, however: ● Machines stop moving for extended periods ● Factory ventilation and air conditioning may be reduced ● Humidity levels often increase For precision equipment like tablet press and capsule filling machines, even small environmental changes can have a significant impact. Metal surfaces may oxidize, powder residue can harden, and lubricants may dry out or separate. Many post-holiday problems—such as abnormal noise, unstable operation, sensor errors, or rusted tooling—are not caused by machine quality, but by insufficient shutdown preparation. These issues rarely appear immediately.They often surface only after production restarts — when schedules are tight and problems become costly. This is why experienced engineers treat long-term shutdown as a controlled process, not a pause. Possible Problems During Long Idle Periods When machines sit unused for days or weeks, several risks quietly build up. 1. Dust accumulates more easily 2. Residual powders may absorb moisture 3. Bare metal surfaces may oxidize 4. Lubricants may settle or dry Moisture in the air can lead to corrosion on exposed metal parts, especially like filling zones an...