Where did the ditching bucket go?
An excavator goes out with a digging bucket, a ditching bucket and a breaker. The hire contract lists the machine and the breaker. The ditching bucket was thrown on the lorry because the customer asked for it on the phone. At collection, the driver loads the machine and the breaker. The ditching bucket is behind a spoil heap. Nobody notices until another customer asks for one and the rack is empty.
Weeks later someone finds it on another hire company's yard, or it is written off.
Why attachments slip through
Machines are serial-numbered assets with telematics. Attachments are lumps of steel, often similar to each other, added and swapped informally.
- Attachments requested on the phone are added to the lorry but not the contract.
- Many attachments carry no visible ID, so one bucket looks like another.
- Collection checks focus on the machine, not what went with it.
- Attachments swapped between machines on site aren't recorded.
- Nobody knows how many attachments of each type the depot owns right now.
What missing attachments cost
Replacement costs for attachments that are expensive for their size. Lost hire income on attachments you could have charged for. Customers turned away because the rack is empty. And arguments with customers weeks later about something neither side recorded.
Attachments also affect how machines are hired. A customer who wants an excavator with a grading bucket and a breaker will go elsewhere if you can't supply the set, so a missing attachment can lose a whole hire, not just the attachment's own rate. And quick hitches or attachments with the wrong fitting sent out by mistake cause delays on site that reflect badly on you.
Attachment tracking from delivery to return
- Each attachment gets a durable tag, such as a welded plate with a QR code, and a record with its type, size, fitting and the machines it suits.
- At delivery, the driver scans every attachment loaded, and it is added to the hire contract automatically, chargeable or not under your rates.
- At collection, the driver's app lists everything that went to that site, and each item is scanned back or marked missing with a note.
- Missing items are flagged to the hire desk immediately, so the customer can be asked while the site is still open.
- Attachments not returned stay on the hire, under your terms, until they are found or dealt with.
- The depot sees its attachments by type, where they are and which are in the rack.
| Moment | What is recorded |
|---|---|
| Loaded for delivery | Each attachment scanned onto the hire |
| Swapped on site | Driver or fitter scans the change |
| Collected | Each item scanned back or marked missing |
| In the rack | Available stock by type and size |
After the change
The hire contract lists what actually went to site. Collections check everything back, not just the machine. Missing attachments are chased the same day, when they are still likely to be found. And the hire desk knows what is in the rack before promising a ditching bucket.
Signs attachments are leaking
- Attachments go out without being on the hire contract.
- Collections check the machine but not what went with it.
- The rack is often short of attachments you believe you own.
- Missing attachments are discovered weeks later.
- Attachments carry no durable identification.