JCB Machinery news and articles

Regular Servicing Can Mean Big Savings

Monday, February 22, 2016

Servicing your machines regularly can save owners and operators in the long run when it comes to whole-of-life costs for new machinery.

Keeping up with regular servicing and day to day maintenance are crucial elements in managing whole-of-life costs for new machinery, according to Clinton Pearsall, JCB Construction Equipment Australia (CEA) WA State Service Manager.

Clinton says that postponing or missing a service or skipping a daily maintenance task can mean small problems can go undetected and turn into big problems.

“Regular servicing means you can catch any issues while they’re quicker and less expensive to rectify, so it’s essential that owners or fleet managers have equipment serviced on schedule.

“If you’re a business owner or a fleet manager with several operators, this can be more complicated, as accurate tracking of hours is more difficult. Sometimes the first reminder that a machine is overdue for a service comes when something goes wrong.”

He says un-addressed pin and bush wear is one of the issues he sees most often in the industry.

“Pin and bush wear is easy to find and fix if you know about it, but if you don’t, dirt or sand can wear away the components. If that happens, parts may need to be machined and that can easily cost thousands of dollars.”

Clinton recommends oil sampling as part of the regular service cycle, as it’s an inexpensive way to diagnose problems.

“Oil sampling works by identifying foreign materials in the oil. For example, silica can indicate that there is dirt flowing through the component in question, while heavy metals like iron, copper or lead can indicate internal component wear.

“They’re a cheap test to run at around $30 and the information they provide can alert you to looming issues while the fix is still relatively easy,” Clinton says.

In addition to regular servicing, he says ongoing daily maintenance is essential.

“What this involves will vary depending on the type of equipment, so owners need to be sure to check against their manuals and discuss with their dealership. As an example, clearing out the mud and dirt from rubber tracks is a critical part of maintenance. Neglecting this step can actually halve the life of tracks.”

Clinton says maintenance is an investment in the long-term health of a machine.

“It’s worth having your equipment serviced by technicians who know it inside and out. JCB service technicians must complete eight modules of online training before they even start factory training.

“The training we put our technicians through is rigorous so you can be confident that a service from a JCB dealer will be thorough and efficient.”

Now also fitted as a standard to the majority of JCB machinery is JCB LiveLink, an innovative real-time software system that keeps the operator in complete control and lets them monitor and manage their machines remotely via a PC or Smartphone.

“JCB LiveLink is the quickest way to confirm that your machines are well maintained and in good health without having to travel around work sites inspecting machines,” Clinton says.

“It was designed to help improve productivity, maximise uptime and make it easy to manage the health of your machines by providing essential operational data.”

Clinton’s top five tips:
• Keep up with regular scheduled servicing. Some dealerships use calculators to help them estimate when machines will be due for their next service and will provide reminders to customers.
• Inspect older machines more frequently, particularly if they are outside their warranty period. The sooner you identify a problem, the cheaper it usually is to fix.
• Ensure tracks are regularly tensioned and cleaned.
• Be on the lookout for pin and bush wear. A clunking sound when lifting a bucket is a tell-tale sign.
• Book your machines in for a full assessment well ahead of warranty expiry to ensure any problems will be covered.

For more information or to request a demo or quote, please contact your local dealer.

Categories: News, Service

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