Construction equipment maintenance tips to reduce cost, minimize downtime, and enhance safety

Construction businesses have always had to be nimble to remain profitable. Now, with increased demands, supply chain disruptions, and workforce shortages, the need for smart thinking is greater than ever before.

Your equipment maintenance practices might be the key to reducing your overall operational costs and equipment downtime. Our Delvac™ lubricants team shares its best practices for construction equipment maintenance, gathered from decades of experience in collaborating with businesses across the country to protect their investments in heavy equipment, and keep things easy on your jobsite.

1. Stay organized

With the increased industry competition, it’s imperative to minimize unplanned equipment downtime, not only to reduce costs but to free up your team for more sophisticated work. On that front, staying organized is key — a little effort now can help save a lot of effort later.

Meticulous records of all maintenance and performance issues will help address potential problems before they manifest, and more easily identify the root cause of a failure to improve reliability across your fleet. In fact, new technologies are making this easier than ever before to get ahead with managing your maintenance program.

“You should ensure that there are clear and easy-to-follow instructions for key maintenance procedures, schedules for maintenance activities, and records of what has been done by whom and when,” said Mobil Engineer Rob Meldrum, who services the Indiana/Kentucky region. “This is especially important because you may have many different people interacting with these machines at different times and locations.”

2. Find more ways to reduce human interaction with equipment

Reducing employee-equipment interaction at the jobsite is a major focus within the construction industry and revisiting your maintenance program can help you achieve that goal. When you maximize reliability and optimize equipment service intervals, you reduce how often teams need to fix issues or maintain the equipment. Working with your equipment vendors and component suppliers can help ensure that you’re getting the most out of each piece of equipment.

“With lubrication, you may be able to safely extend drain intervals to avoid having to bring that machine back into the shop just for an oil change. Our teams are well experienced in optimizing your PM schedule to help sync up with other critical inspections,” said Mobil Delvac Engineer Barry Horsmann, who serves collaborators in southern Texas. “There is also a range of digital tools, like Mobil℠ Lubrication Analysis, that you can use to help streamline and automate some of these processes.”

3. Streamline product inventory

Managing inventory can be one of your biggest headaches without the right process in place — but we have the systems to make it easy.

Today, new base oil technology has allowed us to create multi-grade hydraulic and transmission oils that can be used in several components while allowing the hydraulics and transmissions to remain cooler compared to monograde oils. These oils flow better at lower temperatures and reduce the risk of cavitation in hydraulic pumps while remaining thick enough to provide optimal hydraulic responsiveness when at normal operating temperatures.

“When it comes to lubricants, a lot has changed over the past 10 to 15 years,” said Mobil Delvac Engineer Alex Morrow from the Colorado/Utah region. “Products can now be used for multiple applications, and last much longer - offering you an opportunity to streamline your inventory management process. We work with customers all the time to help simplify their product mix."

4. Don’t be afraid to ask for support

One of the biggest challenges any company faces in this environment is reliable (and flexible) supply of parts and products. Work with your suppliers to ensure that they are still able to deliver — it keeps things simple down the road.

“You shouldn’t be afraid to share your challenges with them and ask for flexibility when needed,” said Mobil Delvac Engineer Victoria Dachille from Tennessee. “This is a difficult time for everyone, and your suppliers are there as a collaborator through it all.”

In the end, incorporating these best practices into your construction equipment maintenance program helps allow you to reduce operational costs and equipment downtime, simplifying your life while allowing your business to maximize profitability today and in the future.

If you have any questions for our lubrication experts, feel free to connect with us today — we’re all about easy.