Predictive and Preventive Maintenance
Building the business case for maintenance investment in construction.
While the European construction industry has gone through a period of recovery, there is no room for complacency. Many challenges still persist, such as squeezed margins, economic uncertainty and ever-increasing demands for better environmental performance and productivity. In the UK, margins amongst the top ten biggest contractors fell to 0.38 per cent on a combined turnover of £31 billion (€27.4 billion), as of July 2018.
Darker clouds are also looming over western European construction. Across the EU, together with Norway, Switzerland and Turkey, the industry reached a peak revenue of €1,615 billion and employed over 17 million people in 2017. German-based rating agency Scope has warned of slowing economic growth and persistent labour shortages. The agency has revised its annual growth forecast for 2019 and 2020 to two per cent, down from a 2.5 per cent forecast in December 2017. Scope also points out the credit outlook, particularly for smaller companies, is in danger of deteriorating as the business cycle slows. These figures give a clear indication of the rising pressure main contractors are under to cut costs and improve productivity - and their suppliers should be attuned to these pressures.
This is why getting the most out of their equipment ranks so highly on the to-do lists of construction and equipment hire firms across Europe. In a major survey commissioned by Shell Lubricants, nearly eight out of 10 (76 per cent) of 400 construction staff said extending the lifespan of existing equipment was a priority.
However, trying to make equipment last for longer is a false economy if it’s going to be breaking down repeatedly while you hold on to it, or worse still, if it proves unsafe for operators. Unexpected breakdowns cut into project profit margins, particularly if parts take days to arrive and machinery is lying idle. Similarly, the breakdown of one piece of equipment can have the knock-on effect of unplanned downtime of other units while the project is stalled. If work is stalled because of faulty equipment, firms can also face hefty penalties and reputational damage.
40% of companies surveyed often experienced breakdowns because of ineffective lubrication
A study by one global manufacturer found idle time can range from 400 to 800 non-productive hours per year, per machine. This was supported by Shell Lubricant’s data too - more than half of respondents (53 per cent) said equipment breakdowns are a challenge to their business, and 72 per cent said issues with equipment reliability have led to unexpected costs.
Minimising the total cost of ownership is the holy grail for machinery hirers and managers – but it simply won’t happen if companies neglect maintenance. Fortunately, three quarters (78 per cent) of European construction companies realise this and believe effective equipment maintenance can generate savings.
Less fortunately… this theoretical grasp does not seem to extend to what firms are practising - more than half (53 per cent) said that maintenance is often deprioritised until there is a breakdown. A dearth of knowledge and skills, too few staff and a lack of support from senior management are all cited as reasons maintenance regimes are suffering.
What’s holding back maintenance in European construction?*
Three key reasons from lubricant decision makers in the construction industry:
- Inadequate staff expertise – 69%
- Maintenance is not sufficiently valued by senior management – 44%
- Too few maintenance staff – 32%
Firms also appear to be scoring too many own goals when it comes to maintenance practices that can be quickly implemented and yet be highly effective, such as lubrication. The life expectancy and reliability of construction equipment is inextricably linked to the application of the right lubricant, at the right time (and in the right amount) needed to reduce friction, heat, and wear. Despite this, 40 per cent of companies surveyed often experienced breakdowns because of ineffective lubrication, while a similar number (43 per cent) admit that lubrication is rarely a priority.
On a positive note, construction firms are aware that they cannot, and indeed should not, have to go it alone. More than seven out of 10 (73 per cent) agree their maintenance staff would benefit from additional training on effective equipment lubrication - and 73 per cent value lubricant suppliers who can share expertise.
As market trading conditions are likely to get tougher, it makes sense for construction equipment owners and users to consider opportunities to target savings where they can. Putting in place effective maintenance regimes and working with lubricant suppliers who can offer the partnership they need can only help on this front. Shell Lubricants have found that customers worldwide who invest in lubricants and lube services can save anything from a few thousands to many millions per year.
True partnerships can provide good quality services and staff training but ideally, can also contribute to positive cultural change. By working hand in hand with maintenance managers, the right partners can help construction firms build a solid business case for their senior management to invest in scheduled preventative maintenance. Which delivers measurable, and much needed, dividends for everyone in the long term.
*Source: Powering Peak Performance – Shell survey of lubricant decision makers in European construction industry (January 2019)
Maintenance Trends in the Construction Industry – Kuldeep Saxena
Title: Maintenance Trends in the Construction Industry with Kuldeep Saxena
Duration: 3:59 minutes
Description:
An industry expert viewpoint video covering equipment maintenance in construction with Product Application Specialist of Shell Lubricant Solutions, Kuldeep Saxena.
Maintenance Trends in the Construction Industry with Kuldeep Saxena Transcript
[Background music plays]
Bright, uplifting and futuristic music
[Animated sequence]
A rectangular focus on an excavator working and loading on a construction site video that expands to fill the screen with a white boarder around. The video is then overlaid with a birds eye video of a construction site.
[Text displays]
Maintenance Trends in the Construction Industry with Kuldeep Saxena
[Title of speaker]
Kuldeep Saxena
Product Application Specialist
Shell Lubricant Solutions
[Visuals]
Front facing camera on speaker, Kuldeep Saxena
Kuldeep Saxena
The construction industry is evolving very, very quickly. Uses of latest technologies like:
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Video is then replaced with a full screen image of multiple equipment building a new road.
Kuldeep Saxena
augmented reality, telematics. These used to be the preserve of large corporations,
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Kuldeep Saxena
which used to invest big money in technologies. But no more. Now technology is being democratised.
Some of the common trends which are visible for the construction industry
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Kuldeep Saxena
and the impact they are going to have on lubricants, its increased uses of predictive maintenance, which focuses on data to reduce failures and downtime.
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Kuldeep Saxena
Data is analysed by a predictive analytics tool to check for any fault lines,
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Kuldeep Saxena
or problem areas. So this actually tells you where and when these problems are going to occur so that corrective actions can be taken.
So as this would require lubricants to last longer, I see trends of
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Kuldeep Saxena
better quality lubricants.
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Kuldeep Saxena
Specialised equipment to particularly cater to a specialised kind of requirement of construction companies.
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Kuldeep Saxena
To cater to this requirement, they will require a multi-tasking kinds of lubricant which can meet the requirements of multiple machinery.
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Kuldeep Saxena
The next trend I see is the introduction of innovative equipment.
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Kuldeep Saxena
For example a bigger excavator is more than 20% more fuel efficient and more productive than previous rendition of equipment.
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Kuldeep Saxena
So introduction of these the kind of innovative products would also require innovative lubricant solutions, like gas-to-liquids technology based lubricants from Shell.
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Effective lubricant management can reduce downtime
[Visuals]
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Kuldeep Saxena
This is very, very important to establish the type of equipment, its condition, and any background
information like past history of uses, what were the product uses? How was the equipment performing?
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Kuldeep Saxena
It is very important to have discipline around carrying out those maintenance activities, and the focus must always be on the quality aspect of it.
A good oil condition monitoring programme gives you
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Kuldeep Saxena
very accurate and timely information in terms of,
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Kuldeep Saxena
how is your oil health, and how is your equipment performing?
This information gives you an idea if there is any advanced action needed to be taken to avoid expensive breakdown.
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How to keep machines operating at peak performance
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Kuldeep Saxena
My philosophy about maintenance and best practice is all about
[Visuals]
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sticking to basics. The selection of the right lubricants, it’s application and the management, which plays a very important role in ensuring that equipment keeps on functioning without any failures, and reliably and efficiently.
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Kuldeep Saxena
Let me further emphasise with the help of one TCO survey we did in 2018. Out of that survey we found that almost 87% of companies
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Kuldeep Saxena
have experienced breakdowns in the last three years, that means that breakdowns are still happening.
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Kuldeep Saxena
Now out of these, 60% of the respondents felt that those failures were happening
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Kuldeep Saxena
because of lubricants or greases.
We feel at Shell, by investing in
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effective maintenance programmes, better quality lubricants, good maintenance practices. These are some of the opportunities where construction companies can save a few thousand dollars, to even a few million dollars, depending on their size and project.
[Text displays]
Shell Lubricant Solutions
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