Why Is Regular Equipment Servicing Key To Preventing Mining Downtime?

Mining is tough work. It pushes people — and machines — to the limit. In the center of a huge field, and I mean come on, let’s just say the bulldozer just dies on you. And, poof, production stops.

That’s time and money wasted. That is Why the Mining Equipment Preventive Maintenance Becomes Let’s call it, it may Save the Mine, without Ears Even Tapping. You don’t have to be an industry insider of the music-biz variety to realize how quickly it all can fall apart.

So here’s why your machines should never be the Afterthought that’s been at last correlation. So read on before you start looking for mining equipment repair services.

Heading Off Emergencies At The Pass

No one likes a machine that craps out halfway through a job. But guess what? Machines don’t cry out for help.” They sputter and spit some, can be a little janky at times and then voom.

It snatches at those early signs during regular maintenance. One could certainly bet that all those were something an automaker ought to be able to see or suspect in a hose that’s about to crack or a view, in real time, of when oil will have gone sketchy. Fixing it now costs a little. Waiting? That costs a lot.

And I mean a lot. Think about missed deadlines, unpaid overtime, abandoned projects. Like most things, the earlier you find a problem, the less you tend to have to pay. Stuff, then, can seem O.K. but actually not be. A bit of patience up front can save you weeks of irritations.

Less Downtime, More Dig Time

Time is money in mining. Every hour counts. And if one machine is out, the whole show stops. Maybe there’s a truck idling there, waiting for the loader to lift it into the next one up.

Or perhaps shift itself is itself just all out of whack. A blowup that big could vaporize profits in a heartbeat. But cut nearly that in half when you service the thing.

There is a certain feel to the time when a machine should be, and they plan their workdays around that. No surprises. Kind of like how you’d go to the dentist before your tooth grates itself into raw pain. It’s not quite a joyride, but it sure beats an impromptu root canal. But in the final analysis, a good serve-receive is one in which the whole team is serve-receiving.

Extending Equipment Lifespan

Mining gear isn’t cheap. And it’s an expensive one to upgrade. Why cough up half a million for a new drill if the old one could have purred with a $200 filter change, I guess.

The regular tune-ups also assist the engine from ageing too rapidly. It feels like feeding your dog real good food out of a bowl and not letting it paw through the trash on the street. It lives longer. Same with machines.

Yes, with proper maintenance they work better and last longer. I cleaned the oil and air filters and the bolts are tight. Boring stuff? Maybe. But boring is exactly what you want when you have $1,000,000 machines on the line. And in the end, drudgery like that works.

Safety First, Always

Let’s be honest. Mining is risky. You have machines here that are machinelike in the sense of, they’re rough, they’re big, they’re moving, they’re dusty, there’s noise, and there are high-pressure systems. “Well, if there’s a hydraulic failure … I mean, again.”

Not just terrifying, as with potential lawsuits, mining equipment servicing are lawsuit waiting to happen. The workers and equipment that should be insured get them maintained every once in a while. Brakes work better. Even the small lights still come on.

So they don’t crack after you plop down in chairs, or snap when you buckle up. And not just in order to fight off downtime. It is your erg at night, all 10 fingers.”

Conclusion

Mining is unpredictable. Equipment shouldn’t be. This is not some luxurious whim — it's a part of keeping everything running. Less down time, safer crews, longer equipment life, and fewer headaches with papers? 

Yeah, sounds like a win. It does, yes, certainly it takes time and money up front. But ignoring it will also cost you a lot more. That proof matters. It could save your business from catastrophic legal problems and financial risk.

So next time you’re going to be tempted to skip a check, ask yourself: are we able to afford that risk? My guess? Probably not.