How is equipment usually serviced?

[Max Dee]

I am a sales professional for a software development company and I am currently conducting research about the industry to see how most heavy construction machinery is serviced?

From what I can currently understand, the heavy machinery is usually taken to a dealership to get serviced or repaired, or a repair technician from the OEM company is sent to the site to repair/ service any non-working equipment. Is this correct?

Is there any other way the heavy machinery is serviced (e.g. is it sometimes shipped/ or components of it shipped to the OEM for them to service it at their facility)? Does the end customer (construction/ contractor company) ever has to fix machinery on their own (if that's the case do they hire, their own repair technicians)?

From your experience which type of method is most frequently used in servicing heavy machinery?

Thanks for any feedback provided, I really appreciate it, since I would like to learn in more detail how the heavy machinery industry works.

 

[treemuncher]

If I can not repair it or maintain it myself, I don't own it. I service in the field or at the shop depending on severity of the problem or need of maintenance. I don't drag a machine home just to change the oil or basic filters - that would be inefficient.
I do bring it home for a full pressure washing prior to hydraulic servicing, if possible. Hydraulics must be kept clean to be done right. Spilled oils need to be cleaned off/out prior to putting machines back to work.

I do most anything I can to avoid the dealers because of their pricing is so high. Why should I purchase a bushing from a dealer for $149 when I can find the exact replacement for under $7.00 online? Or purchase one for over $400 per unit when I can cut two out of a $65 bushing with some minor machining work?

Only in the case of heavy labor intensive repairs will I consider hiring out the work. Think of swing bearings or a complete undercarriage as labor intensive repairs. I avoid the dealers like a plague if I have the option.

 

[DMiller]

Service work is based upon Hours of use as well severity of those hours. Really dusty or exceedingly wet, highly abrasive conditions or even just simple dirt moves will garner different schedules, get into Demolitions work and the entire schedule aspect dissolves to an as necessary.
Sampling oils on Cat Equipment can gain some time between intervals, running samples taken during services will define if soon enough or need to be extended.

80% of what I used to perform as to routine service was field work, needing major repairs before an all out failure was a shop trip.

 

[John Canfield]

A good friend is the engineer and owner of a large design build construction company. They have built Walmarts all over the US (who according to reports are a total PITA to work with by the way.) Their current large job is a stadium. I asked him about heavy equipment when I was dozer shopping. To my surprise they rent. Maintenance and service isn't their problem unless of course they get in a bind with down equipment.

 

[92U 3406]

It all depends on the nature of the repair. With regular maintenance (think oil, filters, grease, lights etc) it is not cost effective to transport the machine to a shop.

Now you wouldn't rebuild a major component in the field (too many opportunities for contamination). However, it is not uncommon to remove the failed or worn out component from the machine in the field and transport the component to the shop for repair/exchange.

Another variable is machine size. It is very easy to load a skid steer or mini ex on a trailer and pull it to a shop behind a 3/4 or 1 ton pickup. Its not so easy (or cheap) to load a D11 up to take to a shop. Virtually impossible to do with a large hydraulic or electric mining shovel.

 

[CM1995]

A good friend is the engineer and owner of a large design build construction company. They have built Walmarts all over the US (who according to reports are a total PITA to work with by the way.) Their current large job is a stadium. I asked him about heavy equipment when I was dozer shopping. To my surprise they rent. Maintenance and service isn't their problem unless of course they get in a bind with down equipment.

This is the norm for most general contractors I've been around and it makes sense for their business model. GC's need a spread of specialty equipment to build complex projects and unless they are large enough to have an internal rental house it makes sense to rent from 3rd parties.

There is a GC we work for who is larger enough to have their own internal rental fleet from hand tools all the way up to tower cranes. The equipment is all owned by the GC but is "rented" and charged to their projects as if they were renting from Sunbelt. All service is handled through the shop.

Back to the OP question -

We self perform 250, 500 and 1,000 hour services either in the field or at our yard if the equipment happens to be there. I like to bring every piece of equipment to the yard at least once a year for a "drop the belly pan" hot water wash. It needs to be more often but it doesn't always happen.

Small repairs are done in the field as well by our staff. R&R items like alternators, water pumps, etc including A/C work we can handle in the field. Re-sealing cylinders, P&B's, undercarriage work and heavier repairs are done by others in their shop.

 

[kshansen]

A good friend is the engineer and owner of a large design build construction company. They have built Walmarts all over the US (who according to reports are a total PITA to work with by the way.) Their current large job is a stadium. I asked him about heavy equipment when I was dozer shopping. To my surprise they rent. Maintenance and service isn't their problem unless of course they get in a bind with down equipment.

That reminded me of something I was told back in the mid 1960's. At that time ATT was running a large underground cable from I believe Boston to Chicago, that thing had to be around 4 inch diameter and most of the wires in it were something line 20 gauge! Well that cable just happened to go straight down the middle of our driveway. Dad, who worked at the quarry where I ended up a few years latter was talking to some of the equipment operators and he asked about how and where they service the equipment, I think there were at least three D-8's along with some other equipment. Anyhow the answer to the servicing question was "We don't!" They said they bought new equipment at the start in Boston and when they get to Chicago they go up for auction, just keep fluids full till then!

 

[cuttin edge]

Brand new stuff, the dealer sends someone out to do the first service. After that, we do our own service. We do most of our work within 50 miles of the shop, so if possible they bring it back to the shop. Anything big that needs a special permit to move stays on site. When daily walk around inspections are turned in at the end of the week, the hours are entered into the computer, and a notice will popup when a machine is getting close to service. The quarry equipment is serviced in the quarry. With the exception of trucks, and halftons, a lot of repairs are done by the dealer. The peatmoss companies all use Volvo, so the Volvo guy is in the area regularly. Once we have a list of to dos, he comes for a day or so. The Cat guy lives here, so he is easy to get, he also does Saturdays

 

[Vetech63]

It seems around here nothing gets serviced until it breaks down or is rendered useless because of lacking power. Pm service isn’t a big priority to so many here in Oklahoma.

 

[AzIron]

We service pretty much everything ourself at the yard 99 percent of the time my iron is back by the weekend so in the last year I have only serviced 2 machines on the job cause they were there for extended duration and it was not worth the effort to haul to yard

Now repairs it kinda varries we will take on most anything if we have time or it has to be done right now so its running tomorrow warranty goes to dealer otherwise the dealer is only involved in something that's a 20 hour plus job or specialty tooling you cant get around and we dont ever hit the jesus button known as field service unless the world is going to end or we are dead stranded it's way t ok expensive

 

[DMiller]

Many companies have adopted run to failure tactics
Many also find that does not pan out over time

 

[John C.]

Lot's of good responses. What I am curious about is why would a salesman from a software development company care about maintenance and service work on equipment? It's obvious in the post that you don't know anything about construction equipment. So what is your angle?

 

[Max Dee]

Wow... so many great responses. Thanks a ton to everyone who recounted their experiences in equipment servicing or repair.

From what I gather is that dealers service machinery sometimes but certainly not the majority of the time. Most of the time the service/ repair is done by the general contractors themselves (I didn't know this).

Which leads me to ask how do the GCs know how to service machinery?

Do you get technical service manuals from the OEM when you purchase the equipment on how to do these repairs? Wouldn't the servicing individual need to be trained on how to repair the equipment or be a repair/service professional (since construction and equipment servicing are two different professions - how can someone be a master in both). Do the GC hire a service/ repair professional and put them on their payroll (for when the time inevitably comes to repair equipment)?

 

[John C.]

Everyone here likes to help those in need facing similar issues that we may learn from. Since you are obviously not part of the industry, what are you offering in return?

You could do your own research on here by simply using the search function.

 

[Nige]

Which leads me to ask how do the GCs know how to service machinery?

They don't. They employ (hopefully competent) people directly or they hire a competent professional (or company) to do it for them as an outside contractor. As CM said above there are also larger GC's who have an "Euipment Rental Division (ERD)" that is responsible for all their equipment. I worked for one such company years ago. A project would rent all the equipment they needed from the ERD, whose staff would also be responsible for its maintenance & repair from the time it arrived on site until the time it was placed off-hire and returned to them. Often for large projects the ERD would second a number of maintenance staff to the job site to carry out all that work and their cost would be included in the equipment rental cost. It's also a tax write-off because money is simply going round & round in circles within the same overall organization.

Do you get technical service manuals from the OEM when you purchase the equipment on how to do these repairs?

No. Not unless you specifically include it in the Purchase Order for the machine - at extra cost. As an example a full set of manuals for Service & Parts for a single machine can cost anything from $800-$2000 depending on the manufacturer, size of machine, complexity of systems, etc, etc. As an alternative an ERD of a large GC might well pay much less in an annual subscription to an equipment manufacturer or dealer for access to internet versions of those manuals. And that's before you start talking about costs of the electronic diagnostic software & hardware necessary to communicate with today's electronically-controlled machines.

 

[Max Dee]

Everyone here likes to help those in need facing similar issues that we may learn from. Since you are obviously not part of the industry, what are you offering in return?

You could do your own research on here by simply using the search function.

Hi John C., the company I work for has developed a product that can assist in technical servicing, this product is not exclusive to heavy machinery but to all equipment where specialized servicing knowledge is required for repair and service. I believe this could be of great value towards this industry and may even help cut cost for the end user as well as make servicing machinery both more convenient and a bit easier. I'm conducting research to learn more about the way equipment is serviced to gain knowledge about how to structure my sales pitch. Who knows, maybe you may benefit from our product in the future.

 

[Vetech63]

Unless it’s some kind of robot that can take my place while I drink beer and watch I don’t know what kind of software is going to help me service equipment. Most of the major manufacturers offer pm service to their customers and can even keep track of hours and service intervals via GPS. The problem from where I sit here in Oklahoma isn’t the availability of pm service but more so getting the customers to understand how important it really is and getting them to pay for that kind of service. So could you maybe expand on what type of software will improve this?

 

[Max Dee]

Unless it’s some kind of robot that can take my place while I drink beer and watch I don’t know what kind of software is going to help me service equipment. Most of the major manufacturers offer pm service to their customers and can even keep track of hours and service intervals via GPS. The problem from where I sit here in Oklahoma isn’t the availability of pm service but more so getting the customers to understand how important it really is and getting them to pay for that kind of service. So could you maybe expand on what type of software will improve this?

I can't really go into deep details (for fear of revealing trade secrets) but I can say that it is an augmented reality software that runs on smart glasses, the technician/ repair professional wears while servicing the equipment. There are several features that will assist in the servicing operations. No, it wont completely replace service professionals (e.g. robot) but it can make their job a bit easier in their servicing/ repair/ maintenance operations. I would like to contact OEMs with a proposal, but at the moment the only people that it will cut costs for is the end users/ owners of the equipment, not the OEMs, so I'm looking for any angle (specifically financial, since that's what any company ultimately cares about) to persuade them to make a deal with our company.

 

[hosspuller]

There is a software company called Alldata that services the automotive repair industry. They provide OEM manuals and repair info on line through subscription. Perhaps Max Dee is aware of them ?

 

[BigWrench55]

This is just another way that the bean counters are trying to cut the cost of a mechanic. They compile data from us guys that actually know how to troubleshoot and repair the equipment. And have a knowledge bank with answers from our due diligence. They then hire some desk jockey to answer the phone and find these answers to help the mechanic/ parts changer find the problem. Thus giving companies and dealers the ability to hire a warm body to do the job a real mechanic can do for less.