Operator inefficiency, lack of proactive maintenance and unavailability of site supervisors are major factors impacting equipment efficiency.

Construction industry has different type of heavy duty equipment that makes construction process easier. The process, depends on many factors. Similar to any other machine, the equipment performance requires regular maintenance. It not only keeps the cost under control but makes the equipment most efficient. It minimises repair cost and gives increased life to the equipment. There are other advantages in doing such things including good resale value of the equipment, minimised downtime and reduced operating cost.

Better ways to take care of machines
“The machine efficiency is hampered due to equipment abuse in the form of operator inefficiency, lack of training and negligence of pre-emptive maintenance. Columbia has full-fledged service engineer team who takes care of all the queries of our customers,” according to Ramesh Babbar, President and Director, Columbia Machine Engineering (I) Pvt Ltd. The company provides free installation and commissioning of its machines, give on-site training to the operators and take trial run of the production that make machines run efficiently. the machines are taken care of in a better way and run most efficiently.

Factors impacting efficiency
Schwing Stetter India has around 300 service engineers available in remote locations to provide proactive maintenance with 29 spare parts locations
and four training centres to help the customers and operators. V.G. Sakthikumar, Managing Director, Schwing Stetter Sales and Services Pvt Ltd, says, “Application complexity, untrained operators, availability of spare parts in remote locations, lack of proactive maintenance, loss of collective orientation are the major factors which impacts equipment efficiency.”

Investing in R&D
Putzmeister is constantly investing resources in R&D on a global level to make the equipment efficient not only from the productivity perspective, but also keeping the environment in mind. On the customer side, availability of trained operators and the overall approach to preventive maintenance have a great impact on how the equipment performs in the long run. Wilfried Theissen, Managing Director, Putzmeister India says, “Putzmeister customers get the most out of their equipment, we offer advanced training to operators and site supervisors on efficient and safe handling of the equipment. We also offer robust preventive maintenance that keeps equipment in good operating conditions at all times.”

When it comes to challenging jobsites, Putzmeister offers operations and maintenance services. Putzmeister team is embedded on the jobsite to run and maintain the equipment, allowing the customer to focus on the overall deliverables for the project.

Equipment adding more value
IoT-enabled features
Schwing Stetter has enhanced its products with the introduction of IoT In, IoT Ready, IoT Abled and Schwing Smartrack, says Shakthikumar.

The features of IoT Ready consist of CAN-based controller and multi-colour display, elimination of conventional gauges, battery voltage, drum loading or unloading status with graphical representation, drum RPM monitoring for increased drum life, number of drum rotations in clockwise (CW) and counter clockwise (CCW) direction, critical alarm messages on display, maintenance scheduling, IoT integration for data analytics (optional).
The features of IoT In includes reduction of downtime, proactive maintenance, integrated GPS for live tracking, data analytics for machine efficiency monitoring, data storage with traceability or statistical reports, productivity status on cloud.

Managing design
Good project management in construction must follow efficient utilisation of labour, material and equipment. Columbia has its in-house mould making machines and supply moulds as per customers’ requirements. Hence, the products made from these moulds add value both in looks and design. The company keeps on improvising the design features of the equipment. SPM 20 is the most preferred machine with features like improved hydraulic pump, vibrator frame redesigning and many more making it as more robust machine.

Babbar says, “We provide unique and innovative services that customer value. Some
customers do want value-added services to reduce their time and involvement to handle their project management and time, which can be said as unusual business that helps us stay competitive and one step ahead.”
He adds, “We provide solution so that customers get more out of a limited budget. This enhances their profitability in a growing market. The easier we make our customers run our machine, the more work we get in terms of more business from same set of customers.”

Understanding customer’s requirements
Putzmeister believes value addition comes from being close to the customer’s business. One of the key factors is understanding the customer’s requirements and recommending the right solution – the right combination of products, training, service and consultation. This is possible only when one has deep application knowledge.

Theissen says, “Putzmeister has 60 years of experience working around the world on a range of construction, mining, tunnelling and industrial applications. This helps us offer the most effective solutions for the market. Finishing housing projects on time, for instance, is an ongoing challenge in India. We believe it is getting increasingly critical for builders and developers to meet timelines. Our offerings like machine plastering and screening solutions help them save time, get the job done faster and improve the quality of their finish.”

Continuous development on the offering is another important aspect. Putzmeister is constantly working on adding to its product line, improving products, enhancing service delivery. This year, the company will be rolling out advanced telematics solutions across batching plants, transit mixers, stationary and boom pumps. This will help equipment owners keep track of not just what their machines are doing, but also improve productivity through data analysis, detect potential problems, get remote support and preserve the machine value through regular maintenance alerts. Finally, a robust spares and service network is critical. The company offers a higher ratio of service engineers to customers in India.

Machine efficiency is hampered due to equipment abuse in the form of operator inefficiency, lack of training and negligence of pre-emptive maintenance.
Ramesh Babbar, President and Director, Columbia Machine Engineering (I) Pvt Ltd

Application complexity, untrained operators, availability of spare parts in remote locations, lack of proactive maintenance, loss of collective orientation are major factors impacting equipment efficiency.
V.G. Sakthikumar, Managing Director, Schwing Stetter Sales and Services Pvt Ltd

We offer advanced training to operators and site supervisors on efficient and safe handling of the equipment.
Wilfried Theissen, Managing Director, Putzmeister India