Owning and operating construction equipment is a costly investment. A small construction firm can have hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in equipment. A huge operation could have millions invested in building equipment. Besides the price of buying and running machinery, there is also the expense of performing routine and preventive heavy equipment maintenance. It is an investment that can not be neglected.
Smart construction firm owners realize exactly how important it is to keep their equipment. They know what they put in their equipment maintenance program completely pays back. The yield on their maintenance investment is enormous, and that is important irrespective of company size.
There are a number of reasons for the significance of building equipment maintenance. There is also lots of information available on maintaining construction equipment. Our best tips include implementing a preventive maintenance program and understanding the causes of equipment failure.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO DO PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE?
To start with, there are two different types of construction equipment maintenance. Construction businesses practice routine maintenance and preventive maintenance. Both maintenance types go awry but there is a distinct difference.
The value of preventive maintenance can not be overstated. Everybody’s familiar with an expression that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Better put in the building world is a dollar of treatment comes from a dime of prevention.
PREPARE A ROUTINE AND PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
A well-established program involving regular and preventive maintenance measures extends construction equipment durability and guarantees accessibility. A good preventive maintenance program reduces overall business expenses, increases employee confidence, and enhances safety. Additionally, it decreases the possibility of litigation should something fails.
There is nothing complex about preparing a regular and preventive maintenance program. It revolves around a building firm’s commitment to keeping its stock and taking positive measures to follow through. A regular and preventive maintenance program only lays out a prescribed program and establishes ways to make sure it is carried out.
An organization’s commitment always starts with management and ownership. Once employees see and believe that a building company is serious about its maintenance program, they will naturally buy-in. Total buy-in effects in a team approach where each organization manhood stands out for issues and pitches in to prevent them. It is a win-win scenario that no construction firm should ignore.
Although regular and preventive maintenance tasks are somewhat different entities, they are tied together by a common denominator. That is the action of inspections where attentive eyes catch problems during regular maintenance tasks. This way they intervene in a regular role and transition into prevention. They step in and fix machines until they break down.
Preparing a preventive and regular maintenance program involves four steps. Combined, each step ensures complete program success and efficacy.
MAKE A COMPREHENSIVE EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE CHECKLIST
There is no doubt that checklists work and give value to your organization. Progressive construction businesses benefit when they create comprehensive equipment maintenance checklists part of the regular and preventive maintenance program.
There is no one-size-fits-all checklist for building equipment maintenance. Each machine has individual requirements and characteristics that need attention. Although a lot of checklist templates are available online, most service administrators prefer to create unique maintenance checklists in accordance with their company’s equipment.
How comprehensive your checklist depends on the specific equipment piece and which sort of maintenance it is scheduled to have. As an example, a routine short hour and mileage support spans may just check-off oil changes, lubrication, and fluid top-offs. Mid-range service milestones will need in-depth inspections that go into greater detail.
Major service overhauls and rebuilds need multiple-point and broader checklists. They ensure front-to-back and top-to-bottom inspections that enable mechanics or technicians to dig deep in search of problems. A fantastic checklist design ensures all equipment parts are analyzed.
INVOLVE OPERATORS AND MECHANICAL TECHNICIANS IN THE MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
Nobody is more familiar with building equipment compared to professionals who operate or fix them. Operators and mechanical technicians are in the best position to recognize and anticipate problems based on their knowledge, experience, and instinct. Every regular and preventive maintenance program must include the mechanisms and machine operators.
Provided that these ground-level employees see their institution’s management show a real commitment to a preventive maintenance program, they will commit also. Committed workers act differently than those that are merely compliant. Operators and mechanics that feel involved and empowered will take proactive actions in identifying issues. They will report potential issues before they become disasters.
Listening to mechanics and operators is a vital part of a preventive maintenance program. They’re acutely conscious of how their machines should perform and how it’s performing. Operators will feel when equipment problems are growing. According to their experience with similar machines, mechanics will know what to search for during regular inspections. Combined, machine technicians and operators can identify and discuss problems in their equipment.
