Which site has the 8-tonner?
You own a fleet: a few 360 excavators of different sizes, some micro diggers, forward-tipping dumpers, rollers and a couple of telehandlers. They move between sites on your low-loader or a haulier's. The plant manager keeps a whiteboard and a notebook. On Monday a contracts manager asks where the 8-tonner went. It turns out to have gone to another site on Friday without anyone updating the board, and its service was due last month.
Every groundworks firm with owned plant has some version of this. The machines are among your biggest assets, and the least tracked.
Why owned plant drifts
Plant moves are arranged by phone between contracts managers and gangers. Hour meters are read by whoever services the machine. Service schedules and inspection and certificate dates are kept by one person. Nothing ties the machine to the job it is working on, so its cost is either not charged or charged by guesswork.
- Machine moves are arranged by phone and not recorded.
- Hour meter readings are taken irregularly.
- Service intervals are tracked in one person's diary.
- Inspection and certificate dates are on paper.
- Plant time is not charged to the job that used it.
What drifting plant costs
Services missed or late, which leads to breakdowns on the job at the worst time. Machines standing idle on one site while another hires in. Plant that is not charged to jobs, so job costs look better than they are and prices for the next job are wrong. And a plant manager who spends the day on the phone finding machines rather than maintaining them.
The fleet register we build
- Every machine is listed with its make, model, serial and fleet number, and the service interval and inspection dates your plant manager uses.
- Where machines have manufacturer telematics, such as JCB LiveLink or similar systems, hours and location are read automatically.
- For machines without telematics, the ganger does a weekly check-in on a phone: photo of the hour meter, site, and any faults.
- Moves between sites are logged when the low-loader is booked, and confirmed on arrival.
- Services and inspection dates are shown as due, and the plant manager is prompted ahead of time with the machine's current site.
- Faults reported by operators go to the plant manager with photos.
- Each machine's days on each job are charged at your internal rate to job costs.
| Machine | Site | Hours since service | Next due |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8t excavator | Plot road, east site | Near interval | Service this week |
| 3t dumper | Drainage, north site | Well within | Inspection next month |
| Roller | Yard | Well within | Nothing due |
| Micro digger | Unknown, not checked in | Unknown | Chase ganger |
Service intervals and inspection requirements are set by your plant manager, the manufacturers and your advisers. We track the dates and prompt; we do not set them.
A fleet you can see
Anyone who needs to can see where every machine is and what it is doing. Services happen on time because the plant manager is prompted with the machine's location. Idle machines are visible, so you use your own before hiring. Jobs are charged for the plant they use, so job costs and future prices are more honest. The plant manager's knowledge is in a system, not only in their head.
Is your owned plant tracked like this?
- The plant whiteboard is often wrong.
- Services have been missed or run late.
- Hour meters are read irregularly.
- You have hired in while your own machine stood idle.
- Owned plant time is not charged to jobs.