A Complete Guide for Planned maintenance of construction equipement

Making sure your equipment and fleet vehicles are up to the mark and running efficiently is a part of running your construction program smoothly. Many construction site owners face multiple losses over the course of their projects due to negligence in scheduling the planned maintenance of construction equipment.

In the year 2016, the National Institute of Standards and Technology provided insight into the costs of machinery maintenance which were a whopping $74.5 billion however when compared with the preventable losses because of maintenance were even higher leading to $119.1 billion in the manufacturing sector.

Being a construction site owner it is your main goal to provide your customers with projects on time, without complaints and losses. Keeping track of your construction equipment’s maintenance is not only beneficial to your work but will also create a worthy reputation.

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What is the planned maintenance of construction equipment?

It is a procedure that utilizes such preventive measures that can save you a lot of time, money, and labor. The planned maintenance of construction equipment allows you to resolve issues that might arise in the future with your machinery.

That means you won’t be running here and there trying to fix a broken machine while all construction work stops but you would have already fixed the problem before-hand.

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What are the types of maintenance of construction equipment?

Reactive

This is not considered a planned maintenance of construction equipment because this one occurs when all hell breaks loose and one of your machinery items or fleet vehicles break down causing havoc on the construction site. This kind of maintenance is what we are trying to avoid.

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Pro-active

There are two types of Pro-active maintenance that helps utilize time, money and effort efficiently.

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Preventive

These preventive maintenance plans are based on time and usage. They conduct maintenance planning every 6 months or annually or after a certain usage limit (ex:12,000 Kms or 20,000 miles etc.) . However, one must be aware which equipment needs the most maintenance otherwise it could be a costly option.

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Predictive

This would be a cost-effective option but can be tricky sometimes because it depends on the performance of machinery to prompt maintenance planning. It can be performed by the technicians or laborers working on the machine and does not require highly qualified professionals. 

This technique can also be considered pro-active because the problem is likely to be resolved when the machine starts showing initial signs of failure. This type of approach works with every machine individually.

Some examples would be oil changes, pressure checks, tire inspections, brake checks, fluid level checks, and many more.

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Importance of planned maintenance of construction equipment

Reduction of downtime

When you consider planning maintenance on your construction equipment you are saving yourself from a lot of trouble in the future. For example, your high-powered machine breaks down or your fleet vehicle is stuck in the middle of its route.

This will cause a delay in completing other tasks related these. One problem will lead to another, and you won’t even know how many pieces of equipment will be sitting idle waiting for operations to restart.

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Safety regulations

21% of all deaths in the US are due to construction accidents which accounted for 1,008 deaths in the year 2021. While most of these are caused by slips and falls ( 35%) others are due to electrocution(7.6%), being struck (17%) and being caught (5.8%). 

As a construction site owner it is your responsibility to a critical and effective equipment maintenance plan to ensure no such fatalities occur on your property.

A machine if breaks down or faces a component failure can cause damage to not only the operator but the workers working alongside, other equipment , machinery and be hazardous to the environment.

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Cost saving

According to the NIST, in the year 2016 the profit made due to maintenance planning of construction was up to $73.8 billion! $6.5 billion was garnered from the reduction in downtime and the remaining $67.3 billion was from increased sales.

Consider this , if your machine breaks down, you have to order parts immediately, costing you additional for next day delivery and the loss of downtime as well.

Not only this but if that machine causes other machinery to malfunction, it will be a huge mess that will cost you a large sum of money and delayed delivery of the project.

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Increase longevity of equipment

Wouldn’t it be better if you didn’t need to order new machinery every now and then? Preventive maintenance allows you to maintain longevity of your heavy machinery by constant repairs and fixing any kind of malfunction before it gets too worse.

This will save you the hassle of ordering new machinery in the middle of a project (if it breaks down suddenly) and downtime.

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How to prepare for the planned maintenance of construction equipment?

You need to learn how to perform planned maintenance of construction equipment to make sure things run smoothly and effectively.

You can also utilize Clue’s software to keep track of tools that need to be repaired and parts that need to be ordered before they wear out. Let’s check out how you can take Clue’s insights and gain benefit from it!

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Step #1: Choose a tracking software

Although you can use Excel sheets, handwritten checklists or boards to keep check, it is best if you pick Clue to help you assist in tracking, managing and scheduling maintenance programs . The app will also help you with keeping an eye on inventory, life-span of equipment and workers assigned to the particular machinery.

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Step #2 :List the machinery in need of maintenance

With the help of Clue’s inventory management and rental management features you know exactly what needs to be restocked, refueled, and repaired. Clue also provides a whole asset management feature that allows you to see an exact report of which machinery is working with the flow and which needs to be replaced, repaired, and inspected.

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Step#3 :Create a schedule

You need a maintenance schedule depending on the number of hours the machine has worked, or the number of distances covered. For example, 

Clue’s app will remind you to schedule a construction equipment maintenance plan every 6000 hours your machine has operated or every 6 months/month/year. Or it can be every 5000 miles/km depending on the type of fleet vehicle.

The app is also designed with such high technology that it will send you alerts in case of climatic changes ( ex, rain, snow, storm, etc.) .

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Step#4 :Train your staff to upkeep the machinery

In a case study where 150 samples were studied presented data showing that 64% of errors were skill based indicating the poor training of the staff present on the site.

Even though Clue can help you track your employees' work hours, in and out timings, and categorize responsibilities effectively, it is still important that you train your staff well enough that they don’t abuse the machinery or try to work on it with visible defects showing.

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Step #5 : Allocate someone to carry out the procedure

You can use Clue to allocate different responsibilities to every employee. You can find a trustworthy person or gather up a whole team to put all their focus on this issue.

This way, if something goes wrong you have someone to hold accountable and get to the root of the cause. You can also use this tool to plan incentives for employees working skillfully and efficiently.

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Step #6 : Maintain a checklist

The fact that only 23% of the organizations consider using a project management software like clue to run their business shows why 70% of these have had project failures in the past 12 months wasting 122 million USD from the 1 billion USD investments. 

With Clue’s insights on reports and further action that needs to be taken, the app makes your job much easier by keeping a maintenance history record. This way you can make a checklist on which items need further repairing and which ones are good to be utilized again. 

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Step #7 : Get advice from professionals

Bring your team of technicians and operators on the site and train them on providing you analytics and reports through the Clue app. The app will itself integrate and provide data to the team of professionals while bringing back complete diagnostics and satisfying results.

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Step#8 : Identify and find solutions for equipment failure problems

When you hook up your heavy machinery and fleet vehicles through the GPS tracking system to Clue’s app, you will be aware of any kind of problems leading to equipment failure. With aging equipment bearing 40% of equipment failure it is important to upkeep it maintenance for longevity.

Some machinery breaks down suddenly and causes a lot of downtime which can be due to worn out parts, temporary stalling or sputtering from a period of time. Others might give up due to lack of maintenance in lubrication, oil changes, overexertion or collisions.

Although sometimes failures are unexpected and due to electrical shocks or overloads , it is always useful to connect your machinery with Clue’s app so it can provide warnings in the form of data to keep you up to date with upcoming issues that need to be resolved.

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What are the important steps to take while performing equipment maintenance?

Here is an extra treat for you to help you gain more knowledge in assessing a perfect maintenance running plan. Even though Clue will help you determine all of these problems on its own, it's still your responsibility to order for such repairs immediately!

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Keep note of fluid levels

With the fuel management category , you will be able to keep track of engine oil, hydraulic oil, transmission fluid and engine coolant all at the same time. They indicate the true health of a machine.

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Don’t forget lubrication!

Just like we mentioned earlier, lubrication is a crucial part of a machine’s working ability. Without proper and often lubrication, the parts and wear out before the end-of life cycle.

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Always keep electrical wiring in the cover

Electrical wiring will not only keep your workers safe from any kind of shocks or accidents but will act as a component of longevity for your assets. A secure cover can help prevent any rainwater, melted ice or snow into your wiring.

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Check for any potential leaks

Keep an eye out for any leaky valves. Timely inspections can save you a lot of time and effort because leaks can be the root cause of many problems so its better to check those whenever possible.

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Be aware of the tire and axle coordination

Usually fleet vehicles acquire mud, debris or any loose gravel on the way that can cause poor tire and axle coordination. Getting it cleaned regularly can prevent sudden breakdown on the field .

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Get Clue to help you!

The planned maintenance of construction equipment is a very crucial aspect of running a construction project and heaps of paperwork, manual jotting and paper checklists won’t be a favorable option for an aspiring contractor. Instead of losing profits, customers and running around for repairmen and new parts, consider utilizing Clue’s software which brings all your management problems under one glass pane.

With Clue , you won’t have to worry about reminding everyone about potential repairs and preventive maintenance , rather the app itself will highlight issues, analysis and reports on the health pf your assets/machinery .

When 53%of large general contractors are using such software to maintain safety/inspection checks on their sites then what’s stopping you?

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FAQs

What is the most important part of the planned maintenance of construction equipment?

The most important aspect of planned maintenance includes preventive management and regular inspections to make sure no sudden breakdowns happen.

How can I track and monitor the maintenance history of my construction equipment?

With Clue’s app that brings all your equipment data under one glass pane you can view detailed logs, scheduling tools and checklists based on maintenance history.

What are some indicators that suggest it's time for immediate maintenance on construction equipment?

You should take serious action if the app provides you alerts with fluid leaks, excessive smoke , unusual noises or underperformance on  machinery.

Are there any specialized tools or software available to assist in managing planned maintenance for construction equipment?

Of course! Softwares like Clue make managing planned maintenance for construction equipment a piece of cake with their asset management, asset maintenance, reporting and analytics features.