Construction Equipment Maintenance – Eliminating Unnecessary Breakdowns
Construction equipment: It’s bigger, meaner and more costly to repair but otherwise not much different from your personal vehicle. Both types of equipment require routine maintenance, daily upkeep and an experienced operator. Elimination of unnecessary equipment breakdowns comes from three fronts:
1) Responsibilities of the Construction Equipment Operator
To keep your construction equipment up and running make certain that your operators understand their part in the responsibility for equipment functionality and operation. Train them in the following aspects of equipment inspection, operation and safety:
Know the Machine – Operator responsibility means knowing the equipment operational features, its capabilities, its load limits and its safety requirements. The following video reveals what can happen when equipment operators overlook violations of standard operating capabilities, load limits and safety concerns:
Practice Daily Operational Prep – Operators must take responsibility for ensuring that heavy equipment under their care remains fit and ready for daily use. Train, test and confirm that your operators know how to perform basic daily operational preps:
- Check the fluids: oil, water, brake and transmission
- Look for leaks, broken hoses and other obvious issues
- Ensure that all safety features are engaged and functional
- Check digital construction maintenance records to affirm completion of any necessary operational repairs as well as completion of routine maintenance schedules
- Listen for changes in normal sounds of operation
- Confirm the functionality of on-board monitoring gages, lights and switches.
Enhance the pre-start process. Take advantage of the Assignar workforce and asset allocation and planning software routines that enable operator-access to a user-defined digital pre-start equipment inspection checklist.
Using the Equipment
- Drive with respect, observing all safety options while also monitoring all onboard warning systems
- Stop if necessary and inform management and maintenance of any perceived equipment functional concerns
- Clean up before put up.
2) Responsibilities of the Construction Equipment Maintenance Department
Timely and competent equipment maintenance ensures reliable equipment up time, better workforce safety, and greater lifetime durability of the machinery. It begins with routine safety inspections. But equipment maintenance also ensures that your machinery operates at peak performance day in and day out. This is the deep-level care of your construction equipment. Payback comes in terms of:
- Fewer site accidents
- Reduced wear and tear on mechanical and digital components
- Greater long-term equipment durability
- Less downtime, fewer missed deadlines and less waste of personnel and money.
Learn how Assignar digital construction maintenance technology can help your maintenance team improve "Construction Equipment Lifespan and Durability."
3) Construction Equipment Maintenance, Responsibilities of Operations Management
Keep your construction equipment up and running. Management is responsible for ensuring that operators and the maintenance crew have real-time access to all tools of the trade, including digital maintenance software. It’s about applying methodology that helps your team maximize equipment efficiency through a simplified approach to safety, operator training and active traceable routine maintenance.
Click here to learn more about "Why Your Construction Company Needs A Computerized Construction Equipment Program."
