Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/267037
lawn maintenance on the mower until after they're more seasoned – usually start- ing out with trimming. "We let them go a little ways on the jobsite, explain what to do, see what their tendencies are and watch how they do on their own for a few days," Weston explains. If they see the newbie has any unsafe or bad tendencies, they work to correct them. Chris Shipp, owner of Shipp Shape Lawn Service in Sylves- ter, Georgia, starts new workers out by handing them the own- er's manual for the mower. He also shows them a Grasshopper DVD tutorial on how they should maintain the mower, what to pay attention to when operating and daily machine checks. During the busy season, he has 11 employees. Preventative maintenance Maybe the most common reason for downtime, improper mower maintenance can cripple a fleet. "Do your maintenance," Weston urges. "If any- thing, do it more than what it says. If it says to change the oil every 50 hours, change it every 40 hours. There's a reason those parameters are set." Crews should always check the air filters, oil, blade, belts and pulleys before leaving the shop. "You don't want to get to the jobsite and have the mower stop running," Weston says. During the winter, owners should perform extensive mainte- nance to reduce shop time during the busy season. Weston has two, full-time mechanics who only work on the lawn-service equipment, which includes 24 mowers. He runs 18 mowers – which are split between six crews – full time and keeps the other ones at the shop as back up. "Downtime is a way of life," he says. "It's going to happen." Having a dealer that will guarantee downtime units is also important, says Weston, who uses Exmark equipment. Shipp does a complete maintenance work over every 100 hours but says the service time depends on the mower type and manufacturer. He suggests looking at the hourly meter on the machine and setting up a schedule based on that. "When you're having to run a mower every day, the maintenance schedule is the first thing you want to pay attention to," Shipp says. He keeps track of each time the mower is worked on – whether it's an oil change or greasing. Every morning, his crewmembers do a walk around of their mower, with each having a dedicated machine. "You have a better ear for the machine when you use the same one every day," Shipp says. "It also gives them pride and responsibility." Shipp, who focuses on municipal, commercial and residential properties, doesn't change out mowers very often, using each for 4,000 to 5,000 hours. He currently has seven Grasshopper ma- chines in his fleet, including front-mount, mid- mount and rear-discharge mid-mount mowers. Zepp has a crewmember who sharpens the blades, greases the machine and washes the mow- ers at the end of the day. "Then we just load up and go every morning," he says. Like the other landscapers, his team also follows a strict maintenance schedule, so "not only does it 3 8 To t a l L a n d s c a p e C a r e . c o m M A R C H 2 014 Washing mowers at the end of the day not only helps keep them maintained, but clean equipment can also impress clients on the jobsite.