Hey everyone, I am wondering if anyone has "The Book" on labor hours for heavy equipment. I just serviced a Lull 844, Oil change, Coolant change, and greased the whole machine. I am not familiar with this customers machine so I don't want to charge him what it took me to complete the job. I think it's fair that, if there were guidelines the actual "Heavy Equipment" Technicians follow as far as labor hours (like automotive techs) I would charge him by the book. At my company's service department (Me) our most familiar pieces of equipment are Husqvarna / Stihl cut-off saws, scaffold and mortar mixers. On occasion I have to go service some larger equipment. Thank you Nate
doubt their is one out there except Lull having warranty rates. How long did it take you? Charge him be the hour.
The most common term is "Time and Materials". There are no generally accepted "book" times for maintenance or repair. Some dealers do set up their own bid times on specified models with a not to exceed cost. When I've seen these there have always been a lot of disclaimers about what is not covered. Good Luck!
every heavy eq dealership ive ever worked at ran some type of PM "program", mainly with a flat rate cost of labor only. ive seen them anywhere from 1 hr to 4 hours depending on the machine. the dealer i'm at currently runs a similar program for field calls only . flat fee, including travel time ($125-$150 depending on model) + parts. PM's done at the shop are at regular labor rates, usally a 2 hr minimum but does include the machine being steam cleaned. there are exceptions to our PM service flat rates, we can cover the travel up to 1 hour each way, after that, it gets charged at regular field labor rates. we had a local customer move some of his eq to his summer place 5 hours away, and wanted us to come and "check things over, PM if needed", at the flat rate PM price. that didnt happen after he ound out that he was going to be charged for service calls, and not PM's. i found out several months later, he was being lazy, not greasing his machines, or cleaning out the coolers/radiators, and wanted a "freebie" :drinkup