Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/712836
August 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 90 final word | by Tom Jackson T he shop I take my cars to has been using aftermarket parts for a decade or more. I was fine with this until a few years back when, after an expensive brake job, my Ford Explorer's anti-lock brake system started acting up. Many rounds of phone calls and return visits failed to solve the problem, but eventually, in an online forum, I found an answer. The aftermarket brake rotors the shop had installed didn't have the right wheel speed sensors. This caused the brakes to suddenly cut out at speeds between one and five mph – just as you're pulling into a parking spot, for instance. The shop bit the bullet and installed new OEM-factory rotors at no extra charge and, lo and behold – problem solved. Then last week I read that the failure of an ABS wheel sensor caused a frightening, high- speed crash at Germany's premier race track, the Nürburgring. The sensor locked up one of the four brake systems, hurling the car off the track and into the guardrails. The reason this is relevant to today's heavy equipment maintenance and management is a little-known, but growing movement called "Right-to-Repair." We first wrote about this is- sue last summer. (The article is on our website at: equipmentworld.com/ownership-and-ma- chine-software.) The Association of Equipment Maintenance Professionals had a vigorous debate on Right- to-Repair, pro and con, at their most recent board of directors meeting in June. Some AEMP members say the OEMs are controlling software and sensor technology through copyright laws so they can sell more high-margin service, parts and repair work. These fleet managers want the ability to repair anything on the equipment they own, including, if needed, the right to reprogram the software and purchase non-OEM aftermarket parts. Others say it's not a problem and are fine with the OEMs handling the more sophisticated, computer-driven areas of ma- chine performance and maintenance. Anybody who works on cars knows that aftermarket parts are often hit and miss. That defective aftermarket brake parts are already in the automotive supply chain is troubling – as is the fact that the best German automotive engi- neers have experienced similar problems. Construction is dangerous enough as it is without this kind of uncertainty. End users may clamor for cheaper solutions, but one wheel loader careening into a family mini-van be- cause of a software mod or a parts failure will bring down the heavy hand of government for years to come. Contractors should have the ability to re- pair the equipment they own with aftermarket parts that meet OEM specs. And they should be allowed to do their own digital diagnos- tics. But when it comes to rewriting software codes, that's a different matter. Let's have a good debate on this issue, but always keep in mind: The Right-to-Repair discussion must start and end with safety taking precedence over all other considerations. Right to repair Fair shake or fatal mistake? TJackson@randallreilly.com