Service Tips: Uptime and service tips
Diligent inspections and preventive maintenance will keep rental equipment ready to rent.
By Tim Phelps
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| Going over equipment operation with customers can help reduce the chance of misuse and equipment damage. |
Equipment uptime is crucial for a flourishing rental business. But in the hustle of busy days, simple maintenance tasks get pushed aside or forgotten. What may seem like an inconsequential detail can soon sprout problems, so it’s important to adhere to a few “Rental Basics” to maximize your return on investment.
Rental equipment can only make money if it’s functioning out in the field. Here are the basics needed to keep equipment running smoothly:
Application
The first tip is to help the customer choose the proper machine for the job. Ask about the project they want to use with the equipment. Are they grinding a small stump, or 20 large ones? Selecting the right machine for the job positions equipment to perform to the best of its ability and will minimize wear and tear.
If the customer uses a small, wheeled stump grinder to grind 20 large stumps, they will put many more hours on the unit and burn through cutter teeth at a fast rate. This creates more wear on the unit overall and opens the door for damage to other parts of the machine. A larger, tracked model designed for heavy use on larger stumps will accomplish the task faster and easier with less wear to the machine.
Training
Beyond simple mechanics, there’s a big human component to equipment uptime and especially downtime.
Training is essential, for rental personnel behind the shop doors and for the customers who walk out with your equipment. Uptime involves starting with quality equipment and extends to training all users on its operation.
Rental equipment can undergo extreme abuse. Experienced and inexperienced users will have their hands behind the wheel of a precious business asset and the damage from inattentive users can be costly. It pays dividends to take one-on-one time with customers to walk through proper startup, operating and shutdown procedures.
This is no doubt part of your rental process already but selecting proficient trainers and emphasizing key components will help eliminate common errors while empowering users with the experience and knowledge they need to run the equipment properly. Familiarity with the equipment is key to a successful rental and is crucial for operator safety.
Grease it
Grease zerks exist for a reason! It might sound overly simplified, but one of the easiest ways to prevent wear on equipment is to properly and frequently grease it. Greasing after each rental ensures that moving parts have the lubrication they need to keep operating freely and minimize wear. Without frequent greasing, there is the risk of components binding up, wearing down or corroding by exposure to mud and water.
Prevent excessive machine wear and tear by applying high-pressure, high-wear industrial grease wherever equipment requires it. Usually, manufacturers label each grease zerk on the equipment, so consider making a checklist or posting the grease schematic in a prominent place where service techs will easily see and use it.
Tighten up
The old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But with rental equipment, unfortunately, this does not always apply. Be proactive by performing routine maintenance before a full-blown repair is needed. Loose bolts, wiggly fittings and any hoses or parts that are not properly secured will make for headaches later when they have slowly worked their way off the equipment with use. Sure, you can always order replacement parts, but between the time spent diagnosing the problem and the cost of shipping, and the time it takes for parts to be sourced and delivered, down equipment has been riding the bench long enough to stop earning its keep in the field.
The only way to diagnose a potentially problematic fitting is to check it. Check fittings every time units return from a job site and save yourself the costs of running them beyond their capabilities.
Inspect every time
After 38 years in the equipment industry, a common trend in service requests and customer feedback is that maintenance crews are not thoroughly inspecting units each time they come back from rental.
For example, a customer returns a stump grinder with a broken tooth. Without fixing it, that grinder goes back out to the field, and the broken tooth begins to damage the tooth holder. This in turn creates more resistance on the overall cutter wheel, and the resistance begins to wear out the bearings. Often, small damage becomes multifaceted maintenance issues quickly, which are costly, frustrating to customers and affect your bottom line.
Shop crews can benefit with a rent-ready checklist – some form of systems-check, procedure, or a standardized process – that is easily followed to ensure the equipment is thoroughly inspected before it gets re-rented.
Rent-ready equipment creates better user experiences, ensures happy customers that return to your business and keeps equipment in the field where it belongs. Being proactive about what constitutes a rent-ready machine, and carefully inspecting each unit upon its return is the best solution for knowing fleet equipment is safe, functional and ready for many profitable rentals to come.
Tim Phelps is the sales and marketing manager at Barreto Manufacturing, Inc.
This article originally appeared in the January-February 2023 issue of Pro Contractor Rentals magazine. ©2023 Urbain Communications LLC. All rights reserved.
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