Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/117833
Contractor Connection (���The Best Dealers Are Team Players��� continued from page 27) Merritt says the Tier 4 factor ���has not been a deciding factor yet. It changes our maintenance schedule some, but not our equipment-buying strategy. We understand where we have got to be and I think we will be OK. We are environmentally sensitive and understand our role in the matter.��� However, what the Tier 4 regime and other economic factors have done is encouraged more equipment renting and leasing. Rather than counting out a six-figure sum for a new excavator and trying to convince oneself what a good deal it is, equipment executives at URS and elsewhere are more often choosing to amortize the cost of renting one. ���We do quite a bit of rental and have done a lot more of it in the last couple of years,��� Merritt says. ���It���s been driven by the economy. Sometimes renting just makes more sense in the financial model ��� weighing such things as how long we���ll need a machine, the capital expenditure for a new one versus rental, net return, and so on.��� The comparative bottom lines often favor rent, rentto-own, or lease options over outright purchase. Merritt doesn���t see much change in that in the near future. ���I see it becoming a bigger part of our industry because of the high capital outlay.��� Economic slowdowns affect procurement, of course. The current economy certainly has not warranted iron-buying sprees at URS, but neither has it meant that the fleet is aging. Merritt says the slowdown in the U.S. and elsewhere so far hasn���t really affected the company���s fleet strategy. Workforce and Technology Issues Forty years in the industry ��� at every level, from manual laborer to mid-management to executive director ��� gives Merritt perspective on workforce questions. He literally has ���been there, done that��� in many workplace situations and Bob Merritt, AEMP���s 2013 Chairman, would like to see more AED dealers involved with the fleet managers��� association to complete the ���Equipment Triangle.��� URS fleet is parked after a day���s work at a Washington State reclamation project. has a good idea of what it takes to succeed. And his experience recruiting quality employees mirrors the rest of the industry: There is not a plethora of candidates to fill critical positions in equipment operation and maintenance. While URS companies have talented and skilled people in these positions, Merritt says ���there is a general lack of skill out there.��� The company has 50,000 employees in about 50 countries, so training programs are de rigueur, including certified training programs for new and veteran equipment operators. Recruiting capable people to the maintenance side of operations, however, is something else. ���Finding people who are willing to give maintenance a try is a little harder,��� Merritt said. ���I think it is going to be challenging to get those maintenance-type people, those technicians. It takes highly qualified and intelligent people to work on equipment today. The day of using a big hammer to fix something is gone.��� All of which means that companies like URS will keep turning to equipment distributors for help in keeping machines running. ���A lot of work is going to be put back on the dealers,��� acknowledged Merritt, ���and they���re trying. Dealers are making a concerted effort to meet the goal of keeping our equipment operating.��� Basically, the pressure to employ heavy equipment technicians is shifting from owners of the equipment to equipment suppliers. Responsive dealers are recruiting to expand their shop and field maintenance work crews and are upgrading their support equipment. Like it or not, for companies like URS it���s the new paradigm in maintenance. In theory, today���s bigger, more agile, and more versatile pieces of equipment do more work more efficiently than the old ones ��� and in some cases are engineered to run longer with less maintenance. In fact, when a GPS unit goes haywire, a laser-guided mechanism shuts down, or some other electronic guidance or operational system fails, whipping ���a big hammer��� out of the toolbox is not something a machine operator can do. He just climbs down from the cab and calls for a field repair truck, which as often as not is dispatched from a dealership. One technology that excites Merritt is telematics, which integrates GPS, computers and 28 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | April 2013 26_Contractor_Conn_Feature_KP.indd 28 3/25/13 12:08 PM