Top Strategies to Reduce Heavy Equipment Downtime
In order for your project to go smoothly and stay on schedule, you need your equipment operating at its best. Machine downtime can cause costly job delays, additional expenses, and angry customers. The best way to avoid this situation is to take the proper maintenance and training steps and to put a plan in place in the event that equipment does end up going down on the job. Here are the strategies that you can implement to help maximize your uptime:
- Sticking to a heavy equipment maintenance plan
- Correctly training your operators
- Keeping tabs on your machines throughout the workday
- Having spare parts on hand
- Choosing OEM components
- Being ready to rent if a machine goes down
Sticking to a heavy equipment maintenance plan
If you want to significantly reduce machine downtime, then you have to stick to a preventive maintenance schedule. Regularly conducting inspections, fluid analysis, fluid changes, and wear part replacement are the easiest ways to recognize and prevent costly problems, before they lead to a failure on the job. We recommend completing daily walkarounds prior to beginning work, watching out for any signs of damage or excessive wear, greasing pivot points every day, and keeping your equipment clean.
Correctly training your operators
Your operators can play a huge role in minimizing or eliminating equipment downtime. By properly training them, you can make sure they know how to use the machines properly and avoid situations that might cause damage or delays. They have to be able to recognize equipment irregularities, including abnormal noises, signs of intermittent electric failures, accelerated wear and tear, and more. Your operators should also be aware of which situations increase the risk of overturning, like quick load swings, traveling too fast, and exceeding the machine’s capacities or working range.
Keeping tabs on your machines throughout the workday
It’s important to closely monitor all the equipment in your fleet in order to reduce downtime. The majority of new models are compatible with telematics technology that helps owners and managers track performance, fuel use, maintenance requirements, and physical location. Plus, these programs can alert you if there is an issue with your machine, so you can act fast to solve it.
Having spare parts on hand
Another strategy for minimizing equipment downtime is to have extra wear parts at your facility or at your jobsite. By stocking things like filters, belts, hoses, and fluids, you can replace them quickly without having to wait for them to be ordered, picked up, or delivered, which can all lead to further delays.
Choosing OEM components
OEM parts are typically the best option when you have to buy new components. They are engineered and designed by the same manufacturer as your machine, so they fit exactly, offer optimal performance, and you are less likely to experience problems with them that may lead to machine downtime. Plus, if you do have an issue, you are likely to receive better support than you would with aftermarket components, and there shouldn’t be any problems with warranties.
Being ready to rent if a machine goes down
Even if you put all the right pieces in place in terms of heavy equipment maintenance, operator training, machine monitoring, and OEM parts, you can still have downtime due to a number of different reasons. To keep that equipment downtime from leading to job delays and angry customers, we suggest having a reputable equipment rental dealer that you can turn to quickly. If you experience an unexpected problem, then you have to be able to rent a suitable replacement machine until your equipment is back on the job.
Our team completes heavy equipment maintenance, offers on-site emergency service, provides OEM parts, and maintains a large fleet of high quality equipment rentals. If you want to reduce machine downtime, contact our team today.