Oil and fuel prices have been on a roller coaster for the past few months, making construction equipment owners’ stomachs lurch with each new bump. If you’ve had a few uncomfortably high fuel bills this spring and summer, you certainly aren’t alone. And now that construction season is in full swing, you might see (or may have already seen) another increase in costs. What’s an owner to do?
At SANY New York, we understand the strain this can put on you and your business. To help, we have a few simple tips to maximize your machines’ energy efficiency and get the best bang for your buck.
Tip #1: Preventive Maintenance
It always pays to make sure that your equipment is ready to go when you need it. Schedule a full maintenance workup before your projects begin in earnest and get an idea of what each machine might need to be more efficient for you. With this done, you can make tweaks that will maximize each machine’s efficiency in the short-term. You also reduce the likelihood of being caught unaware by an unpleasant mechanical ‘surprise’ in the middle of your busy season. The most dramatic example of this is tire pressure. Just one weekly check to make sure your tires are at the right PSI can improve your fuel costs by as much as 3%. It certainly adds up.
Tip #2: Make Sure Your Machines Are Being Used Efficiently
Before you begin a project, look at the equipment that you’ve assigned for the job. Is each one suited to the nature of the project? If you’re using attachments, are they correctly sized for the machine? Attachments that are too heavy could strain your machine’s engine and burn more fuel. If you’re using more than one machine, are they all evenly matched in terms of engine and pace? One machine that struggles to keep up could cause others to idle for too long. This causes not just unnecessary fuel loss, but also more wear on the idling machine’s parts.
Tip #3: Train Your Team
The fact that you’re learning how to maximize your machines’ efficiency is great! Now pass what you’ve learned down to the people who work with your machines on a daily basis. Together, you can decide on procedures for your machines that will be easy to adhere to and keep costs down. For example, you could set expectations on how long to let a machine warm up or idle and when to turn it off. You could educate your workers on the mechanical ins and outs of maximizing efficiency and share how driving practices like aggressive driving or hard braking can drive costs up. Be sure to listen to any suggestions or concerns they may have.
Why Maximize Efficiency?
At first, it may seem like a hassle to take these tips into consideration, add additional steps to routines and share everything with your team. But the benefits far outweigh the costs. For one, you will save money on your fuel and operation costs when you take energy efficiency into consideration. For another, your machines will be used more efficiently, preventing avoidable wear and tear and extending their operational use by months or years. But perhaps most importantly, ensuring machine efficiency and minimizing unnecessary use benefit the environment by reducing the amount of exhaust and other chemicals dispersed into the atmosphere. And that’s good for everyone.
Here at SANY New York, your business matters. Because when your business thrives, so does ours. So, we hope that these tips will help you increase your machines’ efficiency. Of course, if you do experience mechanical issues with your SANY machines, our industry-leading warranties will ensure that your machines’ needs are covered. If you’re interested in seeing what SANY machines can offer your fleet, whether new or used, contact us today.
