If you have your own construction business, you know very well that your heavy equipment is the most integral part of your operation by far, and due to its crucial role, it is imperative that you take good care of it.
When you take proper care of your heavy equipment, it will perform better, last longer, and maintain its value for the long term. However, when it comes to handling heavy equipment, the biggest factor is always staying on top of routine maintenance.
Such maintenance can come in a variety of forms and serves a number of different key purposes. Generally, it should be performed anywhere from every few days to every few weeks, depending on the type of equipment and maintenance in question.
There are two main approaches to heavy equipment maintenance: preventative and reactive.
Consistent preventative maintenance is necessary regardless of whether you are experiencing any issues with your equipment or not. It should involve a regularly scheduled inspection of your equipment to keep it running smoothly, perform optimally, and avoid breakdowns.
In addition to visual inspections, such as checking whether all the parts move smoothly and whether the controls respond appropriately, your regular preventative maintenance should also include technical monitoring and oil and fluid analysis.
As you inspect your equipment, watch for any signs indicating deterioration or potential problems that could become serious if ignored. By identifying these issues early on and seeking solutions right away, you can prevent them from getting out of control.
Reactive maintenance is the opposite approach to maintaining your heavy equipment, as it only addresses issues after they have already come up and the equipment has malfunctioned or failed.
This kind of maintenance typically is not preferred, as it may result in your machines being out of commission for varied periods of time while they are fixed. By the time issues with your equipment arise and become obvious, they may have also already become serious, thus requiring more costs, time, or expertise to correct.
There are many benefits to performing regular maintenance on your heavy equipment. The following are some of the most significant advantages of consistent heavy equipment care:
Routine maintenance and inspections of heavy equipment are pivotal for managing and avoiding various risks, as they will allow you to discover when parts are likely to break or need replacing. Then, you can plan accordingly.
You can order parts in advance or speak with a mechanic as soon as you identify the potential issues. This way, getting your equipment fixed without any unnecessary delays will be easier. When you practice preventative maintenance, you will also have fewer risks to look for because your equipment will be kept in tip-top shape for longer.
Another key benefit of regularly maintaining your heavy equipment is that it will create a safer working environment for you and your employees. When machines break down on job sites, it can lead to injuries and even fatalities in extreme circumstances.
Fortunately, such hazards are typically preventative, as well-maintained equipment is much less likely to have dangerous breakdowns.
One of the reasons that some people may waver over whether to perform consistent maintenance is the associated cost (time and money). However, the money invested into such upkeep is almost always significantly less than the amount you must pay if you do not maintain your equipment and it breaks down.
When you do not inspect your equipment often enough, and problems go undetected (leading to a worse situation), you may even have to scrap entire parts and replace them rather than merely fixing them.
In addition, when your equipment breaks down, it requires much more downtime while it is being fixed. Thus, you may need to put off finishing the job until your equipment is up and running again, which may also lead to increased costs.
When you neglect the maintenance of your heavy equipment, its parts degrade much faster, which significantly impacts its lifespan negatively. As these parts degrade, the performance of your equipment will also decline at a much faster rate.
However, when you stay on top of regular maintenance, it has the opposite effect. Your heavy equipment will last much longer, thus saving you the hassle and costs of having to replace your machines every few years.
These days, the latest innovations are constantly appearing in the world of heavy equipment. As new equipment is released with impressive new functions and technology, it is natural to want to upgrade your own fleet.
Without a doubt, new equipment tends to be expensive, so if you want to add it to your fleet, you may want to sell some of your old machines to help cover the costs. If you have not been maintaining your equipment regularly, it will be hard to get much for it. If you take good care of your machines, however, they will maintain their value much better.
If you truly want to maintain your heavy equipment as best as possible, you will want to take it to a reliable specialist like Great West Equipment. We have trained and experienced professionals who will examine your machines and make any necessary repairs.
We have a wealth of experience dealing with all kinds of heavy equipment, from excavators and bulldozers to loaders and compactors. With the latest and most advanced technologies at hand, our experts can help you facilitate uptime, lower your operating costs, and increase your return on investment.
We specialize in the maintenance and repair of Volvo equipment, and we even offer a Volvo Customer Service Agreement (CSA) to help maximize cost control and minimize downtime. This service includes regular inspections and maintenance of your Volvo machine by trained dealer technicians who know all the ins and outs of Volvo machinery.
For more information about our heavy equipment maintenance and repair services or to learn more about our other varied heavy equipment services, call Great West Equipment at 1-833-730-0613 or contact us here.
It’s great that you emphasized how consistent preventative maintenance can help ensure smoother operations for our equipment and avoid breakdowns since issues are identified early before they become serious. My brother manages a construction company, and since their latest project is a condominium, they need to make sure the height safety equipment being used for it is in proper condition to function as needed. I’ll be sure to keep this in mind while I look for specialist services operating in Sydney to hire for the safety inspection their height equipment needs soon.
This post is very useful to us thanks for sharing this info with us…
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It’s excellent that you highlighted how regular preventative maintenance may guarantee our equipment operates more smoothly and prevent failures since problems are found before they get serious. My brother oversees a construction firm, and because a condominium is their most recent project, they must make sure they have all the necessary grinding equipment for the job. This seems like a huge investment so I’ll share your post with him to let him know about the maintenance plan.