All Civil makes the switch to Komatsu
All Civil Australia recently employed Komatsu’s preventative maintenance program, a change that is already paying dividends and paying off for the company.
The company has a fleet of eight Komatsu machines, including excavators, a dozer and a loader, all of which are being put to work on several of their major rail projects, from trenching to conduit installations.
All Civil plant and operations manager Rebecca Lincoln comments on the program.
“When I arrived, I could see straight away that the maintenance program needed updating,” she said.
“It was manual and reactive, leaving us vulnerable to costly delays. I wanted to introduce an automated, scheduled approach with the help of Komatsu to make sure we were never caught out with machine issues.
“The improvements have been immediate, we’ve seen greater cost efficiency, reduced fuel usage and better reliability across our entire Komatsu fleet. It also allows us to plan around our project windows, so we’re not holding up jobs or delaying transitions between sites.
“It’s pretty much set and forget now. We’re staying ahead of issues rather than scrambling to respond to them.”
Ms Lincoln says that by now identifying issues early, All Civil has been able to make repairs before they escalate into costly failures.
“Little issues like hydraulic leaks, work undercarriage components or clogged filters can set you back quite a bit, and for us we can’t accommodate lengthy periods of unplanned downtime as a lot of our projects need to be completed in a short shutdown period,” she said.
“Everything is time sensitive so it makes sense for us to mitigate issues where we can.”
A key benefit of the Komatsu preventative maintenance program has been the transparency around servicing costs. With Komatsu’s fixed pricing structure, All Civil has been able to lock in service costs over a longer period, something Ms Lincoln says is crucial in today’s uncertain economic climate.
“Having set service pricing means we know exactly what we’re up for over the next 12 months, or even longer in some cases,” she said.
“Some machines have the capability to clock up to 2,000 hours in as little as 12-16 months, so it gives us long-term visibility, which is incredibly helpful for budgeting and planning.
“If something major were to happen in the market, we’re not suddenly hit with increased servicing fees as we’ve already got that agreement in place.
“It also helps manage our resale value of the machines, knowing their servicing has been well-managed and up to date.”
Another one of the benefits is the partnership with Komatsu itself.
“The team is honest, transparent, and experienced,” Ms Lincoln said.
“We have access to reliable, knowledgeable mechanics who understand our equipment and know exactly what to look for, and their expertise ensures issues are identified early.”