For heavy equipment teams, keeping your equipment in top shape is a constant battle against the elements. The daily grind of pressure, dust, heat, and constant use wears down parts faster than you can say "construction." That's why understanding the ins and outs of heavy equipment maintenance is crucial — it can be the difference between preventing a breakdown before it happens, and an unexpected repair that breaks the bank.
In this post we'll share our essential checklist for heavy equipment maintenance, from standard engine upkeep to technical maintenance for specialty equipment like concrete pumping and hydrovac trucks. We'll also show why heavy equipment maintenance is so important and how it can benefit your company, then give you some tips on how to create a heavy equipment maintenance strategy. Read on to learn more!
Inside this article:
Heavy equipment job sites are harsh environments — things like dust, heat, extreme pressure, and constant use can cause parts to wear down extremely quickly. Heavy equipment maintenance includes anything you do to keep your trucks performing properly on the road and on the job site (one of the most important parts of maxing out your fleet utilization).
There are two main types of heavy equipment maintenance:
Corrective maintenance is usually geared toward things like repairs and part replacements that get equipment back up and running after a breakdown.
Another type of heavy equipment maintenance is specialized maintenance, which involves any task specific to a certain piece of equipment. We'll give some examples below, but it's important to remember that preventative maintenance is important for all types of machinery.
Unlike corrective maintenance, preventative heavy equipment maintenance takes a proactive approach to keeping your fleet operational. Corrective maintenance is reactive, and while it's great for getting your machinery back onsite fast, preventative heavy equipment maintenance keeps some issues from arising at all.
By thoroughly inspecting each component for common failure points, heavy equipment maintenance prevents any small issues in your machinery from compounding into larger ones. This makes your fleet more productive in the long run, and reduces your overall downtime — and increases your profitability.
Preventative heavy equipment maintenance enhances your fleet's overall performance and keeps your team running at its best. The main advantages are:
There are several types of heavy equipment maintenance, and each type focuses on a specific aspect of the equipment and should be part of your maintenance program. A few heavy equipment maintenance subtypes are:
Heavy equipment maintenance is essential for maintaining compliance with the leading industry standards. According to the 1926.431 standard by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), employers in industries that use heavy equipment must regularly maintain the machines, especially in hazardous locations. Non-compliance with these regulations can result in fines per Section 17 of the OSHA Act. This checklist should help keep you on track.
Engine maintenance means inspecting and maintaining all the components that keep the engine running smoothly, such as filters, belts, and fluids.
A standard vehicle maintenance routine involves inspecting all the major systems, including the engine, transmission, hydraulics, and electrical systems.
As the name suggests, daily preventative maintenance means performing basic routine checks and maintenance tasks every day before starting the equipment. The operator can do it without much technical knowledge.
While some maintenance tasks are common to all types of equipment, others may be specific to certain machines. For instance, an excavator may require different maintenance steps than a bulldozer. Here are the heavy equipment maintenance checklists for a few specialized types of machines.
A concrete pump transfers liquid concrete from a mixer truck to a designated location, such as a building site.
It is prone to particle contamination since contaminants like gravel and sand can get inside the machine's pipes and pumps. Here are some maintenance tasks specific to concrete pumps:
The hydrovac is a combination of a water nozzle and a vacuum. It uses high-pressure water to excavate soil and rocks. The following are some maintenance tasks specific to hydrovac trucks:
Heavy equipment maintenance doesn't have to be hard. Sometimes all it takes is a few easy steps to keep your fleet running like new — and taking the following actions is a good place to start.
1. Identify Major Causes of BreakdownIntermittent failure, when a machine malfunctions spontaneously. It's often harder to identify the cause of this failure mode, as it may be the result of electronic or software failure.
Gradual failure, when machine components steadily deteriorate. These parts are usually near the end of their life, and should be replaced before further failure occurs.
Understanding the most common causes of failure can help you form a heavy equipment maintenance strategy so that your team can tackle the highest risks of a breakdown.
2. Properly Train You EmployeesEducation doesn't just promote project safety — it keeps your equipment running well too. Properly training your employees on their equipment helps them run it according to manufacturer specifications, and helps them identify when problems may be arising.
Training also helps alert your employees to potential equipment issues. Once they've been around your equipment long enough, workers may start to notice when something sounds or feels "off." Heavy equipment maintenance training helps them hone in on potential failures so that they can report and resolve them faster.
3. Adhere to Manuals and Guidelines
Construction vehicles come with a long list of resources for proper use. These are created by the manufacturer's designers and engineers, so following them can keep your machinery running at its best. Some of these resources include recommendations for heavy equipment maintenance, such as:
When to check certain components
Proper fluid levels
Best cleaning practices
Meaning of signal lights
Parts lubrication
Technical manuals also include valuable insights on the best troubleshooting methods for your vehicle, so consult them if any unexpected problems arise in your heavy equipment maintenance.
4. Document Your Service History
Thoroughly documenting your heavy equipment maintenance will help ensure that all vehicles have been inspected in a timely and thorough manner, so be sure to keep a record of your service history. Keeping a thorough record of your service history can also help you support any warranty claims you may submit, helping you save on some costly repairs.
When you document your heavy equipment maintenance history, be sure to include:
The date
The employee's name who did the maintenance
What type of service was performed
Any components that were replaced
Any components that may need replacing soon
The next date of maintenance
Any other noticeable issues
You can use an office whiteboard, a booklet kept in your facility or vehicle, or a spreadsheet on a device, but these can prove scattered and inefficient, which weighs down your operations. Fleet management software like RapidWorks' Rapid Fleet offers a centralized, intelligent hub from which you can direct your heavy equipment maintenance workflows. Track repairs and maintenance requests, manage work orders, and generate the reports to demonstrate your compliance — and all from one easy-to-use interface that takes no time at all to learn.
Pro-Tip: Leverage fleet management software like Rapid Fleet to coordinate your maintenance processes, and keep your fleet out in the field for longer.
Even with a heavy equipment maintenance checklist, it can be hard to stay on top of all the maintenance tasks for your machinery. If you're managing a large fleet of heavy equipment vehicles, it becomes even tougher. That's where fleet management software like Rapid Fleet comes in.
RapidWorks' preventative maintenance solution, Rapid Fleet automatically tracks equipment usage and mileage while your team works, helping you schedule upcoming maintenance and alerting you when each truck is due. Our tool features a host of preventative maintenance functionalities, including a fleet health overview to see which vehicles need maintenance, and an inspection task queue to ensure that all issues are documented and resolved before your fleet is sent back into the field. The result is a streamlined preventative maintenance workflow that keeps your fleet operational and profitable. Schedule a demo to see how Rapid Fleet can reduce downtime and save you money today.