Brushing teeth and fixing trucks?

Let me ask you a question. Do you brush your teeth? Most people do on a fairly regular basis, but why? You don’t go to the dentist and find out you have 3 cavities only to go home and brush frantically in hopes of making them go away. By then, the damage is done. You brush your teeth 2-3 times per day to PREVENT the cavities.

The same goes for preventative maintenance on your equipment. Your equipment, like your teeth, are some of the most valuable assets you have. To lose them (your teeth or equipment) would be devastating. So, what are some things you can do to be proactive in your maintenance? Let’s take a look.

Our last 2 posts talked about pre and post trip inspections. That’s where you catch the immediate problems that may become bigger problems. If you aren’t engaging in this practice, start right away.

One of the most important things you can do as the person responsible for such precious assets is initiate a preventative maintenance schedule. There are software programs that can automate things for you and track service items, labor hours, parts costs etc. In future posts, we’ll talk about how you can actually measure and manage these things. (Imagine that!) Remember the phrase, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” If you are just starting out and maybe don’t have the budget for that yet, start with old fashioned paper or white board and markers. Look in your owner’s manual to find service intervals specific to your equipment and set up the schedules for those items. Some are tracked by hours, others track by miles. If you have implemented the pre and post trip inspections and your operators are handing in their inspection sheets daily, then you can track the hours and miles and set up the time when you will service your equipment.

Follow your service manual to determine what needs to be done at different intervals. For example, you need to grease things like cart tippers, automated arms and packer blades often. Oil changes and other items are less frequent and won’t be done at every service. The main things you want to be paying attention to at these services are tires, fluids, hoses, brakes, lights, belts and high wear items like floors and hoppers. These are the things that will cost you precious time out on the road if not addressed at the shop. A blown tire, ruptured hydraulic hose, or an out of service violation from a DOT officer for bad brakes will cost you hours and precious dollars.

There’s a lot to unpack here so in the coming weeks we will brake (see what I did there?) it down even further and get into the nitty gritty of what to be on the lookout for when you’re crawling under, around and on top of your equipment. Until next time, don’t forget to brush!

Ed Dryfhout

ed@vantholenassociates.com

Van Tholen and Associates