Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/917937
December 2017 | EquipmentWorld.com 36 mentShift conference recently, says paper records have advantages and disadvantages, but their biggest weakness is you can't share them. "When information can flow through your organization, you and your partners and vendors can do something with it," Giometti says. And if you can automate some of the work you do, you can focus on what matters and not the tedious chore of processing paper, he added. Ben Tucker, director of equipment and facilities at Barriere Construction headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana, manages a fleet of about 250 on- and off-road assets with a staff of equipment coordinators. Despite the company's fleet size, it outsources all its maintenance and repair work. Tucker views his Bid2Win digital inspection reports as essential to communicating with these outside vendors. The efficiency and timeli- ness of the reports enable these service providers to maximize their time in the field, he says. Destroying downtime Tucker started using paperless inspections and equipment man- agement about a year and a half ago. Since then he has been able to cut the company's percentage of machines undergoing emergency repairs almost in half. "For years, we couldn't get our emergency repair rates below 5 percent," he says. "Now we're tracking at below 3 percent, and this year, we'll prob- ably finish up around 2 percent." One of the most significant con- tributors to this improvement in uptime is the speed with which a paperless system records informa- tion. In the past, if an operator or technician reported a problem on the old paper-based system, it could take up to a week before the form reached a vendor or somebody who could get something done. "The paperless system streamlines the process of getting the informa- tion from the field to the vendors to get the work done," Tucker says. "It gets you on a more proactive timeline on certain things that are critical to the operation. It's coming in real time." Accurate data The accuracy of maintenance data is also a key issue for fleet manag- ers, says Derek Piwonka, division fleet manager for rail at Balfour Beatty in Colorado. As an example, if an hour meter is broken on a ma- chine or a technician writes down the wrong hours or the wrong machine identification number on a paper form, those errors would get filed away in a paper system, possibly resulting in a missed oil change or service interval, Piwonka says. With a digital system tied to the machine's telematics and GPS, such mistakes are easy to spot or immediately obvious. Alerts, notices of pending PMs or warnings can be sent automatically via email to everyone who needs to know. Piwonka started employing digital maintenance | continued Brunner Lay & "Quality First" since 1882 PAVING BREAKERS DEMOLITION TOOLS ROCK DRILLING Whether you need to break a sidewalk or the side of a mountain, we've got a durable, dependable solution for you. If you need tools for construction, mining, or demolition—we're the only name you need to know. Call (800) 872-6899 or visit BrunnerLay.com Your for Your complete source complete source complete source BREAKING rock i