Heavy machinery, from backhoes and bobcats to dozers and dump trucks, are a vital part of several major industries. You may work with a piece of heavy equipment if you are at a:
Being at most of these types of sites often comes with harsh conditions. Whether it is dirt, dust, water, or other contaminants, your machine is vulnerable to your environment. A little bit of dirt contamination in your lube system, engine, hydraulics, etc. can quickly cause wear and tear, damage and expensive repairs.
If you want reliable equipment and hope you experience little to no downtime, then you need to be proactive with your maintenance and inspections. Before you start using your heavy equipment each day, take a few minutes to:
Every joint on your machine, every moving part and pivot point is a potential failure point and needs to be regularly greased. Check your buckets, bushings, load arms, stabilizing legs, joints, pivots, and pins, then grease them! Be careful not to over grease, it can cause failure in some machines (primarily in electric motors). Listen for squeaking or grinding and if you hear it, grease it. The more dirt you’re working in, the more grease your joints and hinges will all need. This is the most important way to prevent them from wearing out and is probably something you’re already doing, keep up the good work.
In our dusty dry climate, rubber hoses, especially those exposed to the open air and sunlight, tend to fail and rupture. This is a very common cause of downtime. Keep an eye on your hydraulic hoses so you can spot weak points and catch them before they’re a problem. Keep extra hose and tools on hand so that they can be repaired or replaced quickly. Sometimes they need to be tightened down, so having tools close at hand can save you a lot of time and headache.
How are your coolants, transmission fluids, oils, hydraulic fluids, and diesel exhaust fluids? Making sure that the fluids flowing through your system are full and clean is a vital part of preventing wear and tear.
Are they topped off?
Do they need to be flushed and replaced?
How is your oil filter?
How is your air filter? Air filters on digging and hauling equipment need to be monitored weekly, to make sure that they aren’t doing more harm than good. Be careful when inspecting your filter that you don’t expose the intake track to dirt or dust, use your air restriction gauge if you have one, and handle with caution if you don’t.
Senergy is here to provide you with the diesel fuel, fluids, and lubricants that you need to keep your equipment up and running at peak performance.
If a dirt contamination problem does arise, our Clean Fluid Solutions team can help you mitigate it and take extra preventive measures including advanced filtration systems.
Contact our team today by clicking here.
