When it comes to heavy machinery, you can feel confident knowing that you have a superior, durable and strong piece of equipment to execute your tasks. They are reliable and built with excellence in mind, however, like any machine or vehicle, it is prone to problems. Unlike a car or truck, when your heavy equipment experiences issues or malfunctions, your business’ operations are on the line, along with the safety of your employees. For this reason, it’s pertinent that you immediately send your heavy equipment for repair by an electrician as soon as you notice issues. In addition to speedily ensuring that your equipment is repaired, you may benefit from understanding what causes issues in your heavy equipment.
Understanding what causes malfunctioning in your heavy equipment may make you pick up on issues faster and know what to avoid to prevent premature wear and tear and operational difficulty. In this article, we’ll identify and explore a few of the most common causes of heavy equipment repairs. Use this as a guide for improving your business’ maintenance of the equipment.
Not adhering to the heavy equipment manual and improper training
Lack of adherence to the heavy equipment manual as well as improper (or non-existent) training of employees go hand-in-hand and are often, one of the most common reasons for heavy equipment needing a repair. When employees are not properly and regularly trained on how to use the equipment, they do not adhere to the manual’s instruction and often operate the equipment wrongly, push it past its capacity and do not maintain it properly. This leads to a number of problems, some of which we will elaborate on in this article.
Unsuitable storage
Inappropriate storage can damage your heavy equipment’s electrical components and cause it to wear and tear prematurely. Be mindful of areas where there is food as this can attract rodents; areas with a lot of dust and dirt can affect your heavy equipment’s hardware (e.g. clogging gears). Rodents can gnaw at cables and wires, harming its functionality and severely damaging your heavy equipment.
Improper maintenance
Proper maintenance involves servicing your machinery regularly (or according to its manufacturer’s recommendations). Professional servicing is the best way to avoid sporadic breakdowns and to extend the life of your heavy equipment. You can also carry out your own personal maintenance checks by checking the fluid levels of the equipment and assessing its tyre pressure, electrical connections and lubrication.
Without these professional and personal checks, you are risking breakdowns and malfunctions caused by improper fluid levels, faulty electricals and wear and tear. Checks minimise the chances of this happening and allow you to plan for your equipment’s absence rather than having to deal with it randomly without any knowledge of how long it may take at your heavy equipment electrician’s shop. To avoid this massive inconvenience and potentially high costs, carry out the proper maintenance checks,
Overworking your equipment
Believe it or not, your heavy equipment has a maximum capacity that cannot be overdone. While some employees may take the risk by going over, the reality is that every time you push the equipment past its capacity, you wear it down. This premature wear and tear will lead to a shorter lifespan and cost you more in repairs and replacement parts much more quickly.
You also shouldn’t run your parts until it cannot run any longer. If you realise that your parts are slowly deteriorating, then you should immediately go to your heavy equipment electrician. Waiting until they are completely non-operational can cause you to have to replace rather than repair the part – a much more costly alternative.
Untrained operators
As mentioned above, this is a huge cause of problems in heavy equipment. Untrained employees can easily cause issues in your heavy equipment, whether it be operating it wrongly or pushing the equipment past its capacity. New employees and operators should be taught how to use the machinery, troubleshoot sections of the machinery and guided through the manufacturer’s manual. This will prevent easily avoidable issues and malfunctions and avoid potentially permanent damage and extra costs.
Remember that, with heavy equipment, software constantly gets updated which changes how the heavy equipment should be operated. Regularly inform your team of operators on how to operate the heavy equipment according to software updates.
We hope that by pointing out these causes, you can take corrective actions in your business to prevent heavy equipment malfunctions. Many of these causes are very avoidable and can potentially save you a lot of time and money.
Did you know that there are truck electricians? That’s right! Electricians specialised in the inner workings of trucks are also available at auto electrician shops around Sydney. You may be wondering why it’s necessary to have a specialised truck electrician – after all, it’s a vehicle as well. Trucks are more complex pieces of machinery and can sometimes be more complicated than cars to fix. Light, medium and heavy-duty trucks have a range of electrical issues that differ from those commonly found in cars. Trucks also require very different parts from cars and thus, ensuring that you go to a truck electrician rather than just an auto electrician is key in ensuring that you are able to get competent service as well as your specific replacement parts if required.
Many truck drivers aren’t aware of the need for a specialised truck electrician nor do they understand what a truck electrician does. A truck electrician performs many of the same services as an auto electrician, except it is specific to trucks. Trucks can be light, medium, or heavy-duty and are available (just like cars) through a number of manufacturers all of who have different requirements and instructions. This is just one of the many reasons why you should specifically go to a truck electrician. In this article, we’ll briefly discuss some of the services that trucks electricians offer.
4 services offered by truck electricians in Sydney
Battery replacements
It is key that you go to a truck electrician because trucks require specific batteries some of which should be built for tough commercial conditions. When your battery needs a replacement, there’s literally nothing you can do until it is replaced. To ensure that you don’t reduce your business’ capacity or inconvenience yourself, head to a truck electrician. Truck electricians will stock a range of premium and heavy duty batteries that suit your light, medium and heavy-duty trucks.
Starter motor repairs
Similar to battery replacements, when your starter motor needs repairing or replacing, only a truck electrician is equipped to do the job and will be able to do it efficiently. Though cars also have starter motors as well, for trucks, it is more complex and like a battery, will require specialised parts. Trucks can experience issues that are different from cars. A truck electrician will first have to rule out these problems (some of which may be unknown to an auto electrician) in order to determine if it is, in fact, the starter motor that needs repairing.
Alternator repairs
If your alternator begins to fail in your trucks then the overall power of your truck will start to decline. It may experience erratic flickers from both your headlights and interior lights and a smell of burning rubber due to friction from the pulley and belt. A truck electrician will have to inspect and service your vehicle and test the alternator to figure out whether you need to replace or repair it. Again, if you need a repair, only a truck electrician will stock a heavy-duty alternator and know how to install it correctly in your truck.
Electrical wiring repairs
As mentioned before, the inner workings of a truck are much more complex than a car. For maintenance services, troubleshooting, and repairs, comprehensive knowledge of a truck’s electrical wiring is important for ensuring that trucks are properly maintained and competently diagnosed, repaired, and serviced. Extend your truck’s life and ensure your safety by visiting a truck electrician.