Predictive Maintenance & Telematics Give You Control Over Your Equipment Fleet
Technology is now interwoven throughout newer construction equipment. Computer-assisted automation makes machines easier to operate and increases their efficiency. Telematics communicate with operators in real time, alerting them to impending maintenance needs or problems before they escalate. But there’s more. Those same telematics also communicate from the machine to your business operations software, gathering data that makes predictive maintenance possible.
Adopting some type of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for your business closes the data-gathering loop. After all, machines can only communicate diagnostics and other data if there is a receiving component to the system. Automation enables you to not only collect and store information, but sift and prioritize it to meet your specific business needs.
Predictive maintenance makes your equipment fleet more reliable.
It also enables you to predict machine availability and plan job schedules more reliably. Your entire operation becomes more efficient – and therefore more cost-effective.
It’s tough to manage an entire fleet. Every piece of equipment sees different usage hours, under different working conditions. Predictive maintenance streamlines the process of monitoring those machines. Telematics can supply an overwhelming volume of data about your equipment. But you can identify which information is most meaningful for your operation and focus on that. You can also custom-set notifications within your telematics, again to prioritize functions or timing.
If the telematics indicate an impending problem outside normal service intervals, you can pull that piece of equipment, fix it and get it back into service quickly. Or pull it, replace it with another machine and wait till it’s more convenient to make needed repairs.
Fewer repair “surprises” make it easier to stay on schedule. You can also use aggregated information about your entire fleet to uncover long-term maintenance trends or issues, then use what you learn to improve both work and service scheduling. These behind-the-scenes advantages can significantly strengthen your ability to work competitively.
You can’t predict everything.
Advancing telematics may make it easier than ever to detect and head off potential maintenance disasters, but the truth is you cannot completely control your equipment’s future performance. No machine is perfect, no matter how well-built or how well-maintained. Things can go wrong, especially as your equipment fleet ages. You need to be prepared for these inevitable situations.
Extended warranties can be your salvation. It’s the nature of life that machines break down at the worst possible time. Extended warranties help pay for repair costs, so you can get your machine back to work as soon as possible. Without this coverage, you’ll be left with a hefty financial bite – one that could bite you in the bottom line if you haven’t set aside enough money.
These investments pay for themselves.
New construction equipment that comes with the latest telematics costs more up front. Appropriate software that enables you to capture information and use it to best advantage also costs money, although cloud-based software solutions are surprisingly affordable. And extended warranties, like all insurance, also come with a fee in the form of premiums.
In the end, no amount of information can prevent breakdowns. But the earlier you know about functional anomalies, the sooner you can correct them. Small repairs are faster and much less expensive, so you save both time and money. But smart contractors (and dealership managers) know that these investments protect your equipment and your entire business.
Putting predictive maintenance to work for your operation and ensuring your equipment fleet is fully protected with extended warranties gives you the power to plan and work more reliably. And who couldn’t use a little more peace of mind?
