Like an annual trip to your local physician for a check-up, a well thought out Planned Maintenance agreement with a qualified and reputable service company can dramatically increase the longevity of your equipment as well as significantly reduce your operating costs.  Conversely, operating heavy equipment without planned maintenance or allowing an inexperienced company manage your program, can result in increased operating costs, downtime and reduced useful life of your forklifts, not to mention decreased safety.   

Through years of performing planned maintenance for hundreds of companies on thousands of pieces of heavy equipment there are a few basic things we have felt all our customers needed to know about Planned Maintenance and we want to share those topics with you to help you perhaps understand Planned Maintenance more thoroughly, or simply reaffirm the plan you already have in place.

How Planned Maintenance reduces costs – Like the old Fram Oil Filter commercial whose moniker was “you can pay me now, or you can pay me later”, ignoring small costs now leads to bigger costs down the road.  But what does that mean and what causes this?

Keeping lines clean – Let’s face it, our equipment operates in less-than-optimal atmospheric conditions.  This leads to build-up in the filters that keep the air, oil and hydraulic fluid clean.  Sediments can wreak havoc on the internal working parts and result in premature failure, thus increasing your costs over the life of your equipment.

Tires – Tires that are worn or damaged increases the likelihood of failure. Failure can result in product loss, equipment damage and employee or worker injury.

The squeaky wheel needs the grease – When a part breaks, that equipment is out of service and typically results in more down time and decreased productivity. Keeping key points properly lubricated reduces friction which reduces wear.  This results in smoother operation, improved performance and elongated part life.  Combining all these reduces your operating costs.

Worn parts – Replacing worn parts before they fail saves in several ways.  When parts fail it can often lead to damage of or failure of other parts.  Replacing what’s worn now improves up-time and reduces the likelihood of the forklift needing to be taken to the shop for more extensive repairs.

Increased Equipment Useful Life – Well maintained equipment not only performs better, but it lasts longer. Equipment that lasts longer means you don’t have to replace it as often and that lowers your costs!

Reduced Product/Equipment Damage (Safety) – Equipment that is properly maintained and inspected for safety has a reduced risk of component failure. This reduces the risk of damage to product, equipment or employee injury. 

Your Planned Maintenance Program is only as good as the provider performing the service. Brandeis Machinery is one of the region’s most trusted sources for heavy equipment as well as service and parts for that equipment. To inquire about a Planned Maintenance or Service Program for your heavy equipment,please contact us.