Heavy equipment maintenance software can help you stay on top of the necessary upkeep for your industrial assets. Whether you’re seriously considering using an offering from this product category or have just started to learn about what’s available, this guide can help.
What Are the Advantages of Heavy Equipment Maintenance Software?
Whether you have five pieces of heavy equipment or 500, knowing which maintenance tasks to do and when can be challenging. Specialized software can help you and other responsible parties stay more organized. You can also look forward to these other perks.
Increased Convenience
Physical recordkeeping has numerous disadvantages. It’s easier for paper records to get lost or damaged. Plus, as your company grows, you could soon find the cabinets needed to store all the paperwork take up too much office space and it’s too hard to find specific records.
Keeping the paper records secure could also become more cumbersome than you envisioned. It takes time to create spare keys for new employees and there’s always the chance of workers misplacing them or leaving them at home.
In contrast, heavy equipment maintenance software usually works in the cloud. Digital records don’t consume your office surroundings, and many systems have search bars that allow users to type in a few words or phrases to find individual records.
These offerings usually have tighter security, too. For example, you can often apply role-based access control so people can only see specific records if their duties make that necessary. Alternatively, your system may have a master access panel showing everyone with access. You can go there to grant or revoke privileges temporarily or permanently.
Better Scalability
Heavy equipment maintenance software is also helpful if you have a growing or changing fleet, or spread your machines across multiple worksites. Access to equipment is changing, but that can often make tracking where specific pieces of equipment are at any given time complex.
For example, Kiloutou is a traditional rental company, but it’s digitizing its operations to create an equipment-sharing platform. Users can rent equipment from contractors who own the equipment or Kiloutou itself.
Most maintenance software will let you keep track of details like the total number of operating hours or how long it has been since the equipment last had a fluid change. Then, even if multiple contracting companies use it across several worksites, you can ensure upkeep happens as necessary.
Plus, if you decide to retire, sell or otherwise stop using a piece of equipment, taking it out of your current inventory within the software is usually as easy as clicking a few buttons. That ease of use allows you to remain organized when seasonal fluctuations or other conditions lead to changing equipment numbers.
Longer Life Span
Because using a software-based method makes it easier to keep track of specific maintenance-related duties, it’ll help you be more proactive about making your equipment last at least as long as its expected life span. Many people don’t realize the oversight of seemingly small maintenance steps can have long-term ramifications. Consider waiting too long between oil changes — poor oil quality can shorten the time your equipment performs well.
However, many types of heavy equipment maintenance software allow you to receive push notifications regarding when to perform maintenance. Similarly, you can use digital work order tracking tools to assign tasks to specific professionals and track when they get completed.
How Can People Get the Most From Their Equipment Maintenance Software?
The market for heavy equipment maintenance software is increasingly crowded. Some people interested in buying it can find it challenging to narrow down options. Here are some things that can help before and after the purchase process.
Choose the Must-Have Features
Begin by determining which software features you can’t go without. Maybe you want software people can use on mobile devices or a platform that can connect to your equipment’s predictive maintenance sensors.
Regardless of the specifics, get feedback from everyone who will regularly use the software, and see what features would make their jobs and lives easier. Then, refer to that input when browsing commercial options.
Talk to Company Representatives
Once you have a few software options on a shortlist, begin engaging with sales team members from the respective companies. Give them in-depth details about your intended use cases and see if they have any clients with similar needs.
It’s also a good idea to get the specifics about payment options. For example, can you pay by the month? Could you save a significant amount by agreeing to a yearly contract instead? Does the company offer a free trial? Getting that information will help you become more informed before selecting your product.
Dig Into the Data
Once you become acquainted with using your maintenance software, learn how the data collection and reporting features work. You can use that information to justify replacing or upgrading machines as needed.
For example, you could calculate how much you’ve spent to repair a piece of equipment in a year and how many emergency call-outs you’ve had to schedule to get it running again. Then, deciding if it makes more sense to invest in something less problematic than to keep arranging for the repairs becomes easier.
Facilitate Finding the Necessary Information
You’ll also make good use of time by figuring out the best ways to categorize the maintenance information for faster information. That might mean training all users to enter data in a specific format the search feature can interpret. It could also entail using a tagging or keyword-based system so people can locate information with shared characteristics.
It’s helpful if people get into a routine when entering data, too. For example, if a technician replaces a part during a maintenance appointment, they should immediately scan the receipt for that purchase so it goes into the software.
Use Heavy Equipment Maintenance Software With Confidence
Company leaders make significant decisions when they invest in software to improve maintenance tracking for their heavy equipment. Even if you’re not quite ready to purchase, use this guide to spark your thoughts about improving upkeep processes, and clarify how you could or should use the software to get the best results.
