Just curious, is anyone out there using software to track equipment maintenance. Servicing, Cost/hr., repairs etc. Which software do you use, and is it any good (beneficial, user friendly etc.) The spreadsheets are getting a bit bulky. Thanks
JJ Keller has a good product, so does Caterpillar. There are several more on the market that are good. Keller is more for trucks however, but if you do run OTR, it's very good. Some folks want to tie their equipment maintenance into their accounting/estimating/engineering software. Good idea in theory, but in practice I've not seen a good match up. Accounting programs are big, bulky, and complicated to use. They often do not have all the files one needs for equipment maintenance. Others do not allow you to download oil sample results directly into equipment history records from the sample lab. Big software packages like this often have a lot of bugs, and take a mainframe type computer like an AS400 -- very expensive. Were it me, I would stay with a simple equipment maintenance only software package, and let the pencil pusher/engineer types do the accounting and other functions on their software. That way, you do not have to learn their program nor they yours. In fact, keeping the accounting/estimating/engineering types out of computer maintenance programs is probably a big plus in my view. Those folks can really muck up a good program to the point that no one is happy with it. Good Luck.
I'll have to agree completely with Surfer Joe. I've seen a couple of custom packages but finally got fed up with paying the developer to fix the bugs that should not have been in there to start with. Maintenance doesn't integrate much at all with accounting and engineering. I've had two problems. Most supervisors are really just elevated mechanics that know how to take care of and repair things but don't interface, to use a big word, well with a key board. That will probably change in the future as us older wrenches phase out of the system and young talent works their way up. The people who write software don't understand the many problems and needs of running and fixing equipment. Most just look at the manufacturers recomendations or some professor's lecture and then doctor up a spreadsheet or off the shelf data base program. Probably the biggest problem I've had with tracking programs is finding the budget and people to run and maintain it. How will you gather machine hour information? Time cards, oilers and fuelers, weekly checks by mechanics or down loads with new technology? Who will enter that information into the program. Managers, supervisors, oilers, mechanics office clerks? How will that information be compiled. Type of machine, job site, operator, company and so on. What cost factors do you want to track and how do you want to track it. Fuel, lubricants and filters have to be tracked. Maybe tire and or undercarriage wear running costs can be tracked. You need to track repair costs. Do you want to break down component repair and life cycle costs? You will need to track machine utilization, another big word, and down time costs. Finally the biggest problem I've had is justifying the amount of money saved with all this information you have gathered. There is at least one person necessary to operate the system, hardware purchase, probably a software purchase and yearly subscription fee, fees for training personel how to use the system and probably a consultant fee every once in awhile to keep the system working and updated. To me you have to have a lot of machines running all the time to justify all these costs.
Thats we are also experiencing down here to monitor the movement of equipment plus the service plan, but as people not a computer geek the problems go out. That will be nice if there is a simple maintenance plan that can just update and inform the supervisor.