In these days of tight schedules and tight deadlines, users of construction and earthmoving equipment need to avoid premature failures and unscheduled downtime.
So to maintain a good reputation, users need a solid regime of pre-start inspections and regular inspections for all their machines, thus developing a maintenance planning structure for their mobile equipment assets.
When planning your maintenance this should involve not only the obvious things such as brakes, hydraulics, lights, reversing alarms etc but all aspects of a machine.
Accurate record keeping should also be an important part of your maintenance planning.
Furthermore, a well maintained machine is less likely to breakdown, or have a major component failure at a critical time -- and will reduce the risk of an equipment-related safety incident.
State governments are generally looking to toughen up OH&S legislations. Several states have recently pursued the introduction of industrial manslaughter laws.
Proposed penalties under these laws include prison terms and heavy fines for employers found `grossly negligent` over workplace deaths.
This would see directors and those directly responsible in companies criminally liable for safety breaches that resulted in the death of an individual.
But even under existing legislation, the onus is on the employer to provide a safe workplace for employees, other workers and members of the public.
In the case of earthmoving and construction equipment that means ensuring equipment is always maintained so that it is safe to operate.
All these factors are ample evidence that good maintenance procedures are essential for any organisation operating equipment.
Many manufacturers will provide checklists with the machine at the time of purchase that you can use as a preventative maintenance tool.
In addition, a number of industry organisations including the Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) and the Construction Materials Processors Association (CMPA) have developed daily checklist documents designed to ensure that equipment is checked properly, and that reporting systems are in place to record any problems or repairs that are required.
As part of their daily duties, operators are required to fill out such forms and lodge them with their supervisor or maintenance crew.
This ensures that a continuous record of a machine`s performance is kept, along with details of any breakdowns or repairs required, and the corrective action that was taken.
Such a record could form an important part of a contractor`s evidence in the event of an accident where a component failure may have been a contributing factor.
Aside from the fact that your equipment will be more productive, more reliable and have higher resale values, failure to encourage an organisation-wide culture of properly looking after your equipment can impact heavily on all employees.