Just curious what others use for computerized tracking systems for their equipment repairs? One thing I found out since retiring is, now that I have ample time to work on things, not only is the cost of repairing higher, I found more things break down. Part of that is using tractors and implements all the time and not just on weekdays so they are being worked more, and the other aspect was, I have time to fix them right. So what I did was start an Excel Spreadsheet program where every piece of equipment gets a spreadsheet page, and I do three things. (1) I prioritize each piece of equipment regarding how badly it is needed on my farm. (2) I list every thing wrong with the equipment in what I call "work orders". (3) I prioritize each repair As you can imagine, on a farm this is quite a list, but it tells me every repair I need to do to get all my equipment 100%. Naturally I cannot afford to do that; in both time and money, and some problems do not render the equipment as unusable. In the end I have a page that takes all these repairs (work orders) and sorts them out into 4 categories: 1) How much each repair will cost listed from least costly to most costly 2) The priority of each repair 3) The dates I would like the repair to be made 4) The time I think each repair will take. While some people may play video games in the basement of their mother's house, and in contrast others diligently split wood, the truth is EVERYONE has 24 hours in a day, it is what we do with those hours that count. For me, God has blessed me with some equipment, and while I would love for it to be new equipment that needs little work, God has not chosen that path for me. Therefore it is up to me to be content with what I do have, and take care of it. Part of that is using this derived computer program to stay on task, and get the most use of what little time I do have in life. I am sure others on here have similar programs, so what do you use and how does it work for you?
At work we have a pretty sophisticated program that tracks all work orders, parts, PMs, etc, but it basically accomplishes the same thing. This is for forklift equipment and 1M+ sq ft buildings. Things basically fall into 2 buckets - planned and unplanned. Planned is preventative maintenance, inspections, etc. You can set up a cost associated with these (1 filter, x amount of fluid, tires, etc). You set all these up ahead of time, some guys do the whole year, some guys only do a month or two out. Unplanned is all repair activity. Something breaks, you log it, then schedule it, then complete the repair. You can assign it as a priority critical - low. Critical is usually safety related, low is whatever (paint railings or something). Most will assign a tech to the routine stuff for the whole week, print it, and hang it on the wall. If a tech isn't working on an unplanned activity they look and see what they have assigned go do it. Either way, this program does the same thing your spreadsheet does in the end.
Yes, and I do have a section for scheduled maintenance for the year, but I did not bother to explain it as it is pretty simple to understand. The biggest thing is to write down what needs to be done so it gets done.
I have fewer pieces of equipment.. have manuals so maintenance schedules are on clip board in garage pretty simple when needed due most of my maintenance is housing (landlord) same thing critical desired and when I get time or money basically never
At my wife’s work (multiple crew cut to length operation) they keep labor hours in a custom database, tracking by each machine. The machines are a “job” in the database. Mileage to get to the machine is charged to it. Crews that take good care of their machine can earn profit sharing $ back from doing that. There is a notebook in each machine to help track hours. The machine hours are entered by an office employee and are charged to the job. The mechanic can access that information, but they rely on the operator to schedule him to do routine maintenance. The parts go into Quicken and are tracked by machine that way. There is an annual mud season tear-down. Newly purchased used equipment is gone over in depth at the shop before going out to a job.
20' chalkboard on shop wall. It's right in my face all the time. Hard to forget stuff that way. 3 ring binder for part #s on every piece of equipment . Note app on phone for when I'm at the parts distributor I don't forget what i need. Or when I'm running a piece of equipment or truck and I realize it needs this welded or this tightened or it's making this noise. Good system so I don't need to be tied to a computer all the time.
Dang, I pretty much just write it under the hood with a sharpie and if the tire's low, put air in, iffin it won't start, charge the battery. It does get daunting, I have 50 tires, not counting trailers and 18 batteries, some take 2.
My problem was I would use different equipment, have something break, but not to the point where it was useless, and so would put it off to the side and wait, or cobble it together. Then the next time I went to use it I found out it was broken, or not fully fixed, so I knew there had to be a better way. Now I have the time to fix stuff right, and fix more stuff, so it is listed down. An example of this might be worn down plow shares on a plow, or new teeth for a harrow. My bulldozer right now runs perfectly fine, but I have bypassed the hydraulic track adjusters, and there is some slop in my bulldozer blade that line boring and welding will take care of. It is that kind of stuff that I like staying on top of. Like my bulldozer; it sounds like junk, but the reality is, since buying it, it has steadily improved and is a really nice machine.
I could do much better than I do for sure. The everyday used stuff gets regular attention & maintenance, and the farther down the priority or use list it gets..... I'm at about my comfort level with a computer just doing the "forum thing", computer spreadsheets are not an option for me.
Agreed I can write it faster than I can type it. And I remember where it's at. I get so pizzt looking for files on the puter ! eF that S ! Only thing I wanna spread on sheets is ,,,,
