Protecting Your Investment

Equipment maintenance is a key component of any construction company’s operating costs. If employees damage equipment or fail to use it efficiently, the profitability of the firm can be significantly affected. Enoch Legall of MacGyver’s Construction asks how to combat equipment misuse:

How can we encourage our employees to take care of equipment and use it efficiently?

Thomas G. Chelew
Senior Vice President
Enterprise Fleet Management

“Businesses that have a fleet of vehicles know the challenges of convincing drivers to protect the interior, avoid door dings and prevent cracked windshields, as well as practice good driving habits to conserve fuel and reduce the frequency and expense of repairs caused by excessive wear and tear. A vehicle care incentive program that includes specific policies and practices with incentives can increase awareness and motivation among drivers. Incentives can range from letters of recognition to monetary rewards or access to a newer vehicle with upgraded equipment. But, a fleet policy is only as good as management’s commitment to enforcing rules, changing behaviors and rewarding accomplishments. The most important factor is to develop standards and commit to enforcing them for every driver without exception.”

Luke Vermeulen
Director of Field Operations
LukArl & Associates

“On large equipment, I used to use maintenance and ‘neglect damages’ as part of a profit-sharing program. Standard maintenance and legitimate accidents were paid for by the company. Correction of damages caused by neglect or improper housekeeping, etc., came out of the profit sharing account. I also had housekeeping and maintenance of company-issued tools as part of the employee handbook and issued warnings and consequences signed off on when employee was hired. There were also different levels of equipment responsibility for different supervisors.

But most of all, the attitude has to be modeled from the top down. You have to set the example of willingness to plan for and pay for maintenance and housekeeping. If you tell a man part of his job is to keep the truck clean, then you have to be willing to give him time in his day or week to do it and to pay him for his time to do it. You also have to be willing to schedule in time and not skimp on scheduled maintenance. Yes, it is out-of-pocket and downtime expense. But, in the long run, it more than pays for itself in avoidance of unscheduled shutdown.”

Fred DeWitt
President
Design Development & Contracting Inc.

“At one time, our company owned several items—heavy drills, pumps, generators, scaffolding, laser levels, etc.—that were made available for use on our jobsites. We utilized a checkout system that made the foreman or superintendent responsible for the care and return of the equipment. The rule was ‘If you borrow it, you return it in as good or better condition.’ If it wasn’t returned clean, they were docked the cost to maintain it from their paycheck. And if it came up missing, the last person to check it out was docked the cost of its replacement. The rules were explained in writing at the time of their employment, and they had to acknowledge, by their signature, acceptance of the policy. I would review the equipment inventory once a week. In the 15 years we kept such equipment, we had only two instances requiring action on my part.”

Chuck Mabardy
President
C.J. Mabardy Inc.

“One of the most difficult tasks every owner of heavy trucks and equipment faces is training and getting the drivers or operators to take not only pride in the equipment they run but keeping up with daily maintenance. We at C.J. Mabardy Inc. always buy new, as over the years of managing over 150 pieces of heavy equipment, it appears that the maintenance program we have becomes more manageable when starting with a ‘fresh’ piece of equipment. The operator will have a great attitude arriving daily to a new piece of equipment. Occasionally along comes a good used piece, and we check out the history and make the best deal. Constant training from our service department is also very important. We have a Department of Transportation list that our service department uses every time a truck enters the shop for maintenance. A greasing gun is given to every operator that we employ so that the heavy equipment is greased daily as required. It’s a daily chore for all involved to be cognizant of their daily upkeep and maintenance duties.”