A forager down at eleven on a Saturday
Eleven on a Saturday in May, the forager stops with a knife problem. The operator rings the boss, the boss rings the fitter, the fitter rings the dealer's parts desk. A part is ordered. The dealer's engineer will come out if the part arrives. Meanwhile the boss is ringing the next two customers to move their silage, and the trailer drivers are standing at the clamp.
By Monday, nobody is quite sure what was ordered, whether it has arrived, and whether the repair is finished. The baler has a warning light that the operator mentioned on Friday, which everyone has forgotten about. And the dealer's invoice, when it comes in a month's time, has three visits on it that nobody can match to breakdowns.
Why breakdown handling goes to pieces
Breakdowns happen at the worst time, and they are handled by phone because phone is fastest. The problem is that phone calls leave no record.
| Stage | What usually happens | What gets lost |
|---|---|---|
| Operator reports the fault | Phone call or text to the boss | Details and photos |
| Workshop assesses | Fitter goes out or talks on the phone | What was found |
| Parts ordered | Call to the dealer's parts desk | What was ordered and expected when |
| Repair done | Fitter or dealer engineer | What was done, and hours |
| Machine back in use | Word of mouth | When exactly, and whether it is fully fixed |
Small faults suffer most. A warning light, a leak or a noise is mentioned in passing, and without somewhere to put it, it waits until it becomes a breakdown.
The cost of breakdowns handled from memory
Downtime in peak season is lost work you cannot get back, and customers waiting for silage or combining. The faster you know what is wrong, what is needed and when the machine will be back, the better you can re-plan and the better you can tell customers.
There are longer-term costs. Parts ordered twice, dealer invoices paid without being checked against visits, repairs under warranty paid for, and no record of which machines break down most. The decision about when to replace kit is yours and your accountant's, but it is easier with a history.
A breakdown and repair log for the whole fleet
What we build is a log that follows each fault from report to repair, visible to the operator, the workshop and the person planning jobs.
- Operators report faults on their phone: machine (by QR code), what happened, photos and whether the machine can still work. Small faults are reported the same way.
- The workshop sees every open fault, with its priority. They add what they find, and what is needed.
- Parts orders are recorded against the fault: what, from where, expected when. When the dealer confirms by email, the confirmation can be attached.
- Machines that are off the road show as unavailable on your allocation board, with an expected return date, so jobs are re-planned from real information.
- Repairs are closed with what was done, parts used, own hours and dealer visits. Dealer invoices are matched to faults when they arrive.
- Each machine keeps a history of faults and repairs, with warranty dates shown so a repair under warranty stands out.
Customers affected by a breakdown can be sent a text with a new date, from the same place, when the machine's return is known.
Hired-in replacement kit fits the same log. If you hire a mower or borrow a forager from another contractor to keep going, the hire is recorded against the breakdown, so when you look back at the season you can see what each breakdown really cost in hire, parts, dealer time and your own fitter's hours, not just the repair invoice.
Saturday's breakdown, logged
At eleven the operator reports the forager fault with photos. The fitter sees it, calls the dealer, and adds the part and expected delivery. The allocation board shows the forager off until Monday afternoon. The boss moves the customers' silage and sends them a text. On Monday the part arrives, the dealer engineer fits it, and the fault is closed with the hours.
The baler's warning light, reported on Friday, is still open on the workshop list, and gets looked at on Monday morning before it becomes the next breakdown.
Is this how breakdowns are handled?
- Faults are reported by phone and details get lost.
- Nobody is sure what parts are on order or when they will arrive.
- Small faults are mentioned and forgotten.
- Dealer invoices are hard to match to breakdowns.
- Re-planning after a breakdown relies on guesses about when kit will be back.