Great Managers

Great Managers
No-Shortcut Oil Analysis Drives O&G Reliability
Ninety-eight percent of repairs before failure and saving $180,000 per year render the cost of 7,000 samples insignificant
12/1/2007
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Past Equipment Experience, Future Equipment Decisions
Consistency in equipment use key to Luck Stone's historical data
11/1/2007
By Mike Anderson, Senior Editor

Great Managers
Absence Makes Fowler Fonder of Warranties
Living without extended warranties confirmed the contractor prefers living with them
10/1/2007
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Decentralizing Equipment Operations
For more than 100 years, The Boldt Company has been a leading construction company based in Wisconsin. Thomas J. Boldt, chief executive officer, explains why the industry Giant needed to change its traditional centralized construction equipment operations.
8/1/2007
By Mike Anderson, Senior Editor

Great Managers
Fleet Manager Shares His Plan For Utilizing Budgets
Florida public fleet manager puts real numbers to maintenance staffing requirements
6/1/2007
By Mike Anderson, Senior Editor

Great Managers
Preventive-Maintenance Program Shines
ASRC Energy Services evaluates failure trends, improving planned maintenance from 58 to 80 percent
5/1/2007
By Preston Ingalls, Contributing Editor

Great Managers
State Fleet Saves Money With Natural Gas Fuel
New York State Department of Transportation fuels fleet with natural gas
2/1/2007
By Mike Anderson, Senior Editor

Great Managers
Barriere Battles Back
Rapid growth, Katrina cause maintenance efficiencies to slide, but Fleet Master returns to excellence
1/1/2007
By Preston Ingalls, Contributing Editor

Great Managers
Numbers Tell the Tale
Numerical values sum up a machine's replacement status, allowing Lynchburg, Va., to stretch budget dollars and workload efficiency
12/1/2006
By G.C. Skipper, Contributing Editor

Great Managers
Technology "Muzzles" Fuel Costs
S.W. Rodgers cuts fueling time and increases accuracy of fueling data
10/1/2006
By G. C. Skipper, Contributing Editor

Great Managers
In-House Training Boosts Uptime
Two in-house trainers keep shop staff up to speed, and first-year results show 99-percent uptime and reduced employee turnover
6/1/2006
By G.C. Skipper, Contributing Editor

Great Managers
Ryan Pioneers Fleet-Management Software
Custom software gathers real-time data automatically so management decisions maximize return on investment in equipment assets
3/1/2006
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Rewarding Teamwork Turns a Shop Around
Incentives and recognition programs motivate shop employees to balance a budget that had been running at $1.5-million deficits
1/1/2006
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Startup Quadruples Revenue with GPS Grade Control
With nearly stakeless grading, Russ Chrisman is having trouble keeping work in front of six earthmoving machines
12/1/2005
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Kimmins Saves $300,000 with Oil Analysis
Preventing failures and extending oil-change intervals save tremendously more than the cost of regular samples
11/1/2005
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
More Work Makes Jacksonville More Efficient
City fleet-management division cuts cost and payroll by bringing outsourced work back in-house
10/1/2005
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Software Helps Increase National Fleet Utilization
Customized database enables Hayward Baker to better manage its 3,000-plus machines
9/1/2005
By Rod Sutton, Editor in Chief

Great Managers
Radials Cut Tire Budget by 30 Percent
Radial off-road tires last twice as long as bias-ply tires, and Austin Bridge & Road retreads 100 of them each year
7/1/2005
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Fleet Software Drops Labor Cost 15 Percent
Consistent PM scheduling gives Wagman the confidence to extend oil-change intervals
5/1/2005
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Dealers Support Doubling of Hunter Fleet
Eight years of experience prove that dealer partners can maintain and repair 66 production machines at a guaranteed, reduced cost per hour
4/1/2005
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Sunland Staffs Divisions to Cut Rates
Seven division equipment coordinators take a huge bite out of costs by improving preventive maintenance and utilization
3/1/2005
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Mechanics Fix Machines Faster With Computers in Their Toolboxes
A key measure of machine productivity - repair hours per working hour - falls steadily in four years since field mechanics have been equipped with laptops
1/1/2005
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Reliability Enlists Project Support for Maintenance
Small equipment staff stands behind uptime to convince projects to maintain 5,000 units
10/1/2004
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Waste Management Cleans Hydraulics To Cut Costs
Rewriting system specs and maintenance around a particle-count target should slash millions from the budget
8/1/2004
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Safety Training Extends Component Life
Daily walk-around reports provide maintenance information crucial to cutting equipment costs
7/1/2004
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Virginia DOT Trims Fleet Based on Utilization
By establishing acceptable ranges of utilization, then discussing the outliers with district operations people, VDOT begins to "right-size" its fleet
5/1/2004
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Barriere Builds Profit on Machine Maintenance
Contractor prevents equipment failures by reducing rework, reshaping its fleet, and recruiting operators
4/1/2004
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Software Convinces Rinker Materials To Make Cost-Cutting Investments
Carefully justified machine replacements, rebuilds, and spending on support technologies drop Georgia quarry's cost per ton by nearly 30 percent
3/1/2004
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
How Pre-PM Inspections Boost Profit
Phelps Dodge finds that spending some time on a quick inspection before a machine is due for preventive maintenance saves downtime and cuts costs
1/1/2004
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Work-Order System Reshapes Utility's Fleet
Detailed information on 8,000 units drives big lifecycle-cost savings by changing specifications, purchasing, maintenance and disposal
11/1/2003
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Maintenance Reduces Fleet Size
Total productive maintenance recruits operators to help with maintenance so well that Cold Spring Granite handles more work with less equipment
9/1/2003
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Barber Brothers Reforms Maintenance with Tools in Hand
An equipment module of the company's software stops filter failures and makes maintenance preventive
8/1/2003
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Blythe Cuts Costs by Renting What Isn't Used 70% of the Time
Fleet size is down 45 percent and ownership costs have dropped by 40 percent
7/1/2003
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Measuring Utilization Saves Modern $750,000
Weekly usage reports help managers replace rentals and rebuild right as machines stream off the Big Dig and other finished projects
6/1/2003
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Clean-Engine Replacements Hone Fleet's Competitive Edge
Air-quality program shares engine-upgrade costs, and new engines help outreach earthmover's competitors
5/1/2003
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
350-Hour Oil-Change Intervals Save More Than $12,000 Per Year
Average-sized excavator relieves reliability concerns with a real-world test and careful oil analysis
2/1/2003
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Tracking Fuel and Lube Use Makes Projects More Productive
Hand-held computers record each machine's consumption, and they pay for themselves in five months
1/1/2003
By Larry Stewart, Executive Editor

Great Managers
Leasing Liberates Cash to Power Growth
Contractor refreshes fleet with more than 100 leases, reserving capital for higher-return operations and acquisitions
12/1/2002
By Larry Stewart

Great Managers
Leasing Alliance Slashes Utility's Fleet Costs
Committing to a five-year partnership with one aerial-work-truck OEM delivers cheaper, more reliable, safer trucks
11/1/2002
By Larry Stewart

Great Managers
On-Time PM Checks Jump by 25 Percent
New Enterprise's investment in additional service trucks improves uptime 30 percent and increases component life, too
10/1/2002
By Rod Sutton

Great Managers
Project Accountability Curbs Operator Abuse
Six-step strategy gives Facchina Construction a powerful tool for cutting repair costs and changing attitudes in the field
9/1/2002
By Rod Sutton

Great Managers
Longer Oil-Change Intervals Solve Labor Shortage
Cutting oil changes by two-thirds will save about $320,000 per year on PMs and reserve labor for more profitable use
8/1/2002
By Larry Stewart

Great Managers
Fleet Within a Fleet Contains Scraper Costs
TARCO fields one of the largest, lowest-cost scraper fleets by managing longer lifecycles
7/1/2002
By Larry Stewart

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