Proper and timely scheduled maintenance will extend the life of equipment and increase a truck’s resale value.
No one can fully predict when a machine will experience maintenance issues. However, when maintenance issues arise, understanding how to properly maintain your articulated dump truck (ADT) can save you significant downtime and reduce your overall cost of ownership.
Brian Bereika, Doosan ADT product specialist, explains how you can predict expenses, minimize downtime, easily service your ADT, and increase the resale value by planning ahead for maintenance.
Predicting expenses
Unplanned maintenance can result in a loss of production, create higher costs for parts, and increase service time. By assessing what equipment and tools you use on a daily basis, you can better predict your expenses and use that information when creating a planned maintenance (PM) contract.
“Like any piece of heavy equipment, proper and timely scheduled maintenance will extend the life of the equipment and save the owner money over time,” Bereika says. “A PM contract also means the owner can complete maintenance during off hours, rather than having to shut down the machine on the jobsite.”
Additionally, a planned maintenance contract can provide your company future hourly costs to better understand the current operating costs of the machine. By working with your equipment dealer on a PM contract, you can help better predict expenses, reduce downtime, and extend the life of your machine.
“Dealers know what parts should be stocked, not only by themselves, but by equipment owners,” Bereika says. “They ensure that scheduled maintenance is performed on time and at a convenient time to the equipment owner. All this helps control costs.”
Making a PM schedule easy to follow and documenting service intervals allows you and your operators to easily make sure each item is completed weekly, monthly, quarterly, or as scheduled. You should also assess parts, labor, travel, supplies, lubricants, and GPS fleet tracking systems, such as telematics, to better budget for ongoing maintenance, Bereika adds.
“Wear items should be in stock and common supplies should be on hand to help reduce downtime,” he says. “As far as lubricants go, owners should know the manufacturer’s requirements. Using the wrong lubricants can lead to expensive and unnecessary repairs.”
Ease of access to filters and other preventive maintenance points helps contain the labor costs associated with regular upkeep.
If you are experiencing mechanical issues, Bereika recommends completing a visual and on-board diagnostic check and then following up with your in-house mechanic to better understand what repairs are needed prior to calling a service technician, if necessary. Collecting as much information about the problem as possible before talking to the service department will greatly simplify the repair process and reduce downtime. However, Bereika adds that working on major components on your ADT requires specialized training, so many times a dealer service technician is needed.
A standard maintenance schedule is affixed to the ADT cab for easy reference and can be found in your Operation and Maintenance Manual. Knowing the fixed costs of planned maintenance upfront can help you minimize unexpected business expenses. Fixed costs can give you confidence in knowing how much the operating costs will be, and by incorporating planned maintenance, you can make sure your machine gets serviced on time.
Minimizing downtime
ADTs are designed to haul the most amount of dirt, rock, stone, and gravel with the lowest cost per ton transported in mind. These machines also excel in soft and slippery loading and dumping applications, and particularly in overburden removal, transport to crusher, crusher to stockpile, and site reclamation applications compared to other heavy equipment. So if your machine is experiencing issues, the last thing you want to do is to waste valuable time servicing your machine.
With a PM contract, servicing time is typically based on the manufacturers’ and equipment owners’ schedules. According to Bereika, a PM contract also ensures that maintenance will be performed as required to help minimize any machine issues that can be caused because of lack of scheduled maintenance.
In addition to a PM contract, Bereika encourages ADT owners and operators to perform three other preventive maintenance procedures:
• Inspecting the auto-lubrication system, if installed, to ensure that there is no premature component failure due to lack of grease;
• Assessing tire air pressure, wear, and damage on a regular basis; and
• Using diagnostic tools to monitor engine temperature and rpm history, for example, to prevent future engine damage and major premature repairs.
The auto-lubrication system greases the major components approximately every 30 to 45 minutes when the machine is in operation, Bereika says. Although the system saves valuable labor, the system must be monitored to ensure that the grease reservoir is filled and there are no fault codes associated with the system.
Another preventive maintenance item is to visually and manually check tires for wear and damage.
“Low tire pressure can cause sidewall failure and machine instability,” Bereika says. “A visual inspection will show if the tire has tread punctures or sidewall damage because of road hazards. Also, look for rocks wedged in between dual tires, which can cause tire failure.”
Radial two-star E3 tires come standard on many ADTs and will work in most mining applications. However, if the tires are coming into contact with sharp objects such as shale, Bereika recommends using E4 tires. This type of tire has stronger sidewalls and deeper treads. A tire specialist should be consulted for more information.
Diagnostic tools can be used as preventive maintenance procedures by analyzing component historical data, especially in regard to the engine, transmission, electronics, and the auto-lubrication system. Owners and operators should ask their dealership about purchasing diagnostic tools.
Bereika also notes that you should immediately repair components that are failing rather than wait until later when components are more likely to fail.
“It is less costly to repair the component before failure because it can be done based off of the owner’s schedule rather than the equipment,” he says. “By doing this, it can also save owners a considerable amount of money and time in the long-run due to the fact that pre-failure repair costs are less than total failure costs.”
Easy serviceability
An auto-lubrication system greases the major components every 30 to 45 minutes of operation, but must be monitored to ensure the grease reservoir is filled and there are no fault codes.
ADTs work hard in all terrains, so scheduling proactive site maintenance intervals is crucial to extending your machine life. If properly serviced, ADTs — even those used in extreme environments — can have a life expectancy of approximately 10 years (between 10,000 and 20,000 hours).
“What is really necessary is easy access to filters and other parts involved in PM,” Bereika says. “Labor is a major component of PM cost, and easy access to all areas of the engine compartment helps keep costs low.”
For instance, ADTs used in extremely hot or cold temperatures require more frequent maintenance schedules, as well as alternative oils, Bereika says. Machines working in extremely dusty conditions may require multiple air filter replacements and daily cleaning. When used in muddy applications, ADTs may have to be greased more often because the driveshaft and other bearings come into constant contact with the mud. Failure to schedule maintenance can affect engine performance, lower productivity, and burn more fuel.
Using bio fuels can also lead to fuel thickening and fuel filters clogging, requiring shorter service intervals. Bereika says that, if you are using bio fuels, check with your engine manufacturer to learn about proper service intervals.
Visit your dealership to create a unique package that can address your maintenance needs and assess key machine features — parts, labor, travel, supplies, and lubricants — before servicing the machines.
“Your dealership should know you and how you utilize your machines,” Bereika says. “They can cater a maintenance schedule to fit your specific requirements.”
Additionally, by reviewing GPS fleet tracking systems, owners and dealers can see when an ADT needs to be serviced and can better budget for ongoing maintenance.
Increase resale value
The machine condition dramatically impacts the resale price of the equipment. For instance, if there are visible signs that the equipment hasn’t been properly maintained, has visible damage, or major component wear, the resale value can be dramatically reduced.
“A low resale value can severely affect the machine’s cost of ownership, possibly making it questionable to own,” Bereika says. “The most important thing (when reselling) is that the major components, such as the engine, transmission, and differentials, are in good working order. Proof of a PM contract is also valuable in maintaining resale value.”
In order to maximize your resale value, Bereika suggests following these tips:
1) Review the machine’s scheduled maintenance chart;
2) Identify how you are going to use the equipment;
3) Identify low utilization times for maintenance;
4) Identify the length of term you would like to establish preventive maintenance;
5) Discuss the plan with your dealership; and
6) Create a PM contract.
After the truck’s operating hours reach a certain predictable level, many ADTs can be rebuilt for a so-called “second life.” Other times, ADTs are used as back-up units or converted into water trucks.
“All major components, such as the engine, transmission and differentials, have an expected life and have to be rebuilt periodically,” he says. “If they are, the machine’s life can be extended at a cost lower than the replacement cost.” This time frame will vary greatly depending on whether the ADT has had light, medium, or heavy-duty use.
By planning ahead for maintenance, you can help predict expenses, minimize downtime, easily service the machine, and increase the resale value of your ADT.
Article courtesy of Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment America.