Preventive care … for equipment

Reaping the benefits of a preventive maintenance service program offered by a local Bobcat dealer

Preventive care keeps your Bobcat equipment running like new for years to come.

An innovative preventive maintenance (PM) service program available to customers of Metro Bobcat Sales, Gaithersburg, Md., is helping maximize machine productivity and extend equipment life. Joyce Sacks, branch manager, explains the motivation behind this innovative service offering.

“Most operators are pretty good about keeping up with routine maintenance — it’s the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ things that are most often overlooked and can lead to costly repairs,” Sacks says. “It’s these issues that the PM service program helps detect.”

Continuous monitoring

The core of the PM service program is a small Global Positioning System (GPS) that service technicians install on Bobcat^® machines. The device is installed free of charge at the time of the first service. Equipment model serial numbers are linked to a unique number assigned to each tracking device, which monitors machine activity and location.

The device monitors several important functions — hours of operation, oil pressure, battery voltage, etc. — and generates an email or text alert automatically when potential problems surface or hours specified for various routine maintenance tasks approach. The information is relayed to a central database and recorded for historical documentation at the dealership.

“We developed the PM service program to help our customers get the maximum productivity and value from their Bobcat equipment,” Sacks says. “The best way to do that is to keep machines properly maintained through scheduled maintenance. The program is designed to allow our customers to focus on their business and let us take care of the maintenance. Timely completion of various maintenance tasks helps minimize downtime and saves our customers money.”

A main component of the PM service program is a thorough 33-point, top-to-bottom, inside and outside inspection. Once completed, customers receive a BobCHECK^sm Inspection Report summarizing the results. Service technicians then complete scheduled maintenance and offer recommendations for any additional services and corresponding charges that may be beneficial in preventing the onset of bigger problems.

Customized plans match customer needs

According to Christina Marson, director of finance for Ed’s Plant World, a landscaping company in Brandywine, Md., the PM service program offered by Metro Bobcat Sales has been of great benefit for their company. The company’s equipment fleet includes six Bobcat machines.

“We run our machines really hard,” Marson says. “The PM service program has allowed us to keep up with maintenance and not have to worry about it. We’ve since gotten much better productivity from our equipment, and extended machine lifespan.”

The PM service program can be customized to fit the needs of individual customers. Customers are still responsible for completing daily maintenance tasks, including greasing, checking fluid levels, changing air filters and making sure that all the safety features are working properly.

“The great thing, in addition to the scheduled maintenance reminders is the ongoing monitoring,” Marson says. “Our dealer knows the hours of operation and what service each machine is due for. I don’t have to spend all my time worrying about maintaining them. I would never buy another machine without the PM service program.”

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