Types of maintenance and servicing for your CAT equipment

  • Editorial Team
  • Heavy Construction Equipment
  • 8 October 2019

Your CAT fleet is a highly valuable investment that should be well-maintained and regularly serviced to ensure a prolonged lifecycle. Whether broad or specific, maintenance of heavy equipment is one of the requirements for effective and profitable usage of new or used construction equipment. The following are some of the types of maintenance that your CAT equipment may require.

Preventive maintenance (PM)

Every CAT equipment should have PM, which is aimed at addressing anticipated technical problems, wear, or tear. PM should be a continuous, corrective process. It is a vast area of service that is done even before the equipment breaks down. Additionally, it entails thorough testing and analysis of the overall health of the machinery in terms of the performance of various systems. By addressing potential problems before they occur, PM improves equipment reliability and its resale value while reducing expenses on sudden breakdowns.

Scheduled maintenance

Designers and manufacturers of CAT, like many other heavy equipment builders, have recommended schedules that machinery owners should follow in maintenance. Scheduled maintenance is aimed at ensuring your equipment remains operational and in good condition. Additionally, they act as the bare minimum of maintenance and a reminder for equipment owners who might have forgotten about other regular forms of servicing. It is advisable to follow the schedule provided for the maintenance of your CAT equipment.

Regular inspections

Equipment inspection is a maintenance procedure as well as a way of identifying other maintenance issues. Inspection of machinery should be a routine or regular process to avoid the occurrence of major issues in the future. Inspection can include checking of oil, air filter, brakes, engines, cooling systems, shocks, and radiator.

Tune-ups

Tune-ups are special maintenance procedures tailored for the engine of the heavy machinery. For an engine to run properly, it should be serviced occasionally and repaired in case of problems. Tune-ups include activities such as the replacement of spark plugs and can immensely boost the performance of your engine to peak levels.

Oil replacement and fluid analysis

CAT equipment uses oil and other fluids, such as fuel, hydraulic oil, and coolant, which must all be monitored. Apart from monitoring their levels, maintenance should also involve chemical analysis. Fluids such as engine oil should be replaced after some amount of mileage or period.

These types of maintenance are crucial for boosting the reliability and performance of CAT equipment. While eventual failure or breakdown of your machinery is inevitable, it is important to conduct maintenance procedures to correct defects or avoid severe and costly failures. Need to buy heavy machinery for sale or enquire about our services? Explore the MY Equipment website today, or get in touch with a friendly member of our team.