Common Causes for Heavy Equipment Failure

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Heavy equipment failures can happen at any time, and when they do fail, it can be very dangerous for the people who operate them and for anyone else in the immediate vicinity. As such, it is important to look at the various aspects of why heavy equipment may fail. Prevention is key to avoiding these disasters from taking place in the first place. Here at Bailey Heavy Equipment Repair Inc., we want you to be able to answer two important questions: 

  • What are the common causes of heavy equipment failure?
  • Why did my heavy equipment fail? 

Improper Maintenance

Heavy machinery requires proper maintenance, just as you would do for something like your own personal vehicle. As such, it is important that routine maintenance is handled on these pieces of equipment on a regular basis.

Anyone who wants to cut corners to try to save money on maintenance is making a terrible mistake. While there may be some cost savings acquired by avoiding doing certain pieces of maintenance in the beginning, the overall result is that the piece of equipment could fail and cost much more money to replace or repair.

This is not to mention the fact that somebody could get hurt as a result of the maintenance not being done on this piece of equipment. That is an outcome that nobody hopes for and would prove to be very costly both on the human level and in a monetary sense.

A Lack of Proper Training

The rush to get new employees out to operate equipment can be so hasty that some employees are not properly trained on how to operate the heavy machinery that they are told to work with. If proper safety procedures are not followed, the risk of failure of the equipment is much higher than it otherwise would be. Indeed, any time an unskilled or untrained employee works with heavy equipment, it poses a major risk to that employee and anyone else in the area.

Training is essential to ensure that the proper steps are taken to operate the heavy machinery safely. The investment of time and resources into training employees on how to use the heavy equipment is well worth the cost.

Improper Storage

Storage of heavy equipment is an essential part of keeping that equipment operating smoothly. When the equipment has to be stored outdoors, it may be exposed to various weather elements that can cause damage to the equipment over the long term. As an example, constantly being hit by rain can cause corrosion of the parts of the equipment that are used every day.

Additionally, there could be issues with pests and rodents getting in and chewing on cables and wires that are essential to the operation of heavy equipment. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to the proper storage of any piece of heavy equipment that may be called upon to be used in the near future. 

Ignoring Warning Signs

Finally, one of the reasons why heavy equipment failure happens so commonly is because certain operators may ignore warning signs about the piece of equipment that they are dealing with. If there are unusual sounds coming from the heavy equipment at any period of time, operation of that equipment should be ceased immediately to allow for a mechanic to come and look at that equipment to see what may be going wrong with it.

Taking care of the maintenance of the equipment before it has a full system failure is the best way to prevent such events from occurring. Always stay on top of your heavy equipment maintenance needs in order to avoid the worst possible outcomes.