Maintenance Mistakes You Should Avoid Making with Your Fleet

For heavy equipment to perform in its optimal condition, it is important that it undergoes regular maintenance. Although most fleet owners are aware of the importance of maintenance when it comes to heavy equipment, they sometimes tend to overlook certain aspects of it. You may think that it is ok to put off an oil change for a day or that not checking the service light every once in a while will not do any damage, but that is not the case. 

When you start delaying maintenance, you only leave room for future damage that can seriously affect the uptime of your equipment. Most of the time, preventative maintenance mistakes are not intentional, but they still end up doing a lot of damage. The following are a few preventative maintenance mistakes that you should avoid making with your fleet.

Neglecting Routine Maintenance

Although most fleet owners have a maintenance schedule in place, not everyone always sticks to it. Remember that if your fleet is being used around the clock, it needs preventative maintenance. If you start delaying oil changes or brake checks, it will only result in more damage. 

Letting your equipment go too long without inspection will only increase your repair costs. If you do not set standards for your fleet’s maintenance, it will only hurt your equipment in the long run. To avoid any future issues, make sure that your equipment is always inspected in a timely manner.

Looking at All Your Equipment in the Same Way

Fleets consist of different types of vehicles or equipment like bulldozers, excavators, and tractors. You cannot use a one-for-all approach for all the machines in your fleet. If you think that all your equipment and vehicles will have the same issues and that you will be able to deal with all of them in the same way, you are wrong. You will have to set maintenance schedule intervals depending on the individual equipment’s needs. 

Disregarding Data Gathered from Inspections

Many fleet owners tend to overlook the information they get from inspections. If you do not pay attention to the right details, you will miss out on information that can help identify problems with your equipment. Inspection reports provide valuable insights into the condition of your fleet, and you can use that data to find out which of your machines are suffering and how you can work on those issues.

Not Providing Proper Training to Your Operators

As a fleet owner, you will have to shoulder any loss that results from accidents or problems that arise if the equipment is not handled properly. Train your operators properly on how to handle the particular equipment with which they will be working. If they will be working with a cat d8r Dozer they should be trained on how to handle it. If you do not provide them with proper training, you will have to deal with the costly consequences.