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Bobcat Introduces TL623 Telehandler
Jessica Schwartz
Cost Saving Equipment Maintenance
How fleet software can make preventative maintenance truly proactive. Proper equipment maintenance is just as important for landscaping fleets as proper vehicle maintenance. Without a comprehensive maintenance strategy in place for equipment, landscaping companies can experience increased expenses in downtime, repair, and replacement costs. Equipment Maintenance Strategies In order to do their job, your crew needs safe, operational, and reliable equipment. Being proactive with maintenance is the best way to ensure these criteria are met, and you can do that by creating a thorough maintenance strategy. Leveraging fleet management software (FMS) to implement and monitor your equipment maintenance strategy helps improve uptime through real-time asset monitoring and service workflow automation. FMS allows you to create either individual preventive maintenance (PM) schedules and/or bulk service programs for your equipment—with each asset maintained according to utilization, OEM specification, equipment type, or other criteria you dictate. Additionally, FMS automates maintenance workflows to maximize equipment lifespan, monitor expenses, and improve uptime. Take the case of ProQual Landscaping in Tempe, AZ: an operation that began with 10 trucks rapidly grew to over 85 various assets. With over $1 million in asset value, ProQual Landscaping’s fleet is its largest asset. From trucks, vans, tractors, and every piece of equipment in between, the company had outgrown the use of complex spreadsheets and needed to create a more proactive process. The company also decided it was best to bring its maintenance in-house. By utilizing FMS, “ allowed us to create proactive maintenance plans that saved us 33% in ...
Turf December 2022 Issue
Turf December 2022 Issue Editor’s Letter In With The New The ending of a year and dawning of a new one is always bittersweet — especially for lawn or landscape business owners. It’s a time of reflection, evaluation, and if needed, the chance to buckle down and approach Spring as a fresh start with new employees, new equipment, new accounts, and maybe new services. Yet in an Industry so accustomed to seasonal reinvention, with endless opportunities for expansion, we can be surprisingly averse to change. Before writing “What’s in the Market for 2023?” I gathered quotes from a range of manufacturers and attended events where I talked to a variety of Industry professionals. What I came away with is the importance of this moment in time to the Green Industry. We are on the brink of a major shift as battery power and autonomy go from novelty ideas to mainstream practices. Through legislative action, we are being forced to defend or rethink the chemistry used on lawns and gardens. We are tasked with rebranding the Industry to attract qualified, lifelong employees. We are in need of ever more storm hardy and drought-resistant landscape solutions. I can’t help but envision that the next decade will bring a level of change unlike any seen in previous decades for the Industry. How do you survive? With a team approach. In this month’s Yardstick, John Guth, VP of Operations for Green Lawn Fertilizing, says, “I have come to realize that professionals within our Industry ...
Keep Your Outdoor Power Equipment Ready For Unpredictable Weather
Weather today can be challenging. With that in mind, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) is reminding business owners that it’s important to make sure you have the right outdoor power equipment on hand and to keep that equipment in good working order year-round. A chainsaw or pole pruner can trim limbs ahead of a storm or handle fallen limbs helping to clear debris. A generator will power appliances and keep lights on and cell phones charged when the electricity goes out. A water pump can help with flooding in your basement. A utility vehicle can be maneuverable and is smaller than a car, helping transport people and supplies quickly in an emergency. Today’s outdoor power equipment is increasingly easier to use, more efficient and cleaner, and powered in a variety of ways — including battery/electric, hybrids, propane, and solar as well as gasoline and diesel. Even robotic, interconnected and remote-controlled technology has entered the power equipment market. “We’ve experienced a lot of problematic weather lately but, thankfully, there is a product and power source for every need and to address every scenario. Being prepared for the unpredictable is easier than ever before,” said Kris Kiser, President & CEO of OPEI, the international trade association representing manufacturers and suppliers of outdoor power equipment, small engines, battery power systems, portable generators, utility and personal transport vehicles, and golf cars. OPEI offers the following tips: Get ready in advance. Before a disaster or storm strikes is the best time to buy ...
Keep Your Outdoor Power Equipment Ready For Unpredictable Weather
Weather today can be challenging. With that in mind, the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) is reminding business owners that it’s important to make sure you have the right outdoor power equipment on hand and to keep that equipment in good working order year-round. A chainsaw or pole pruner can trim limbs ahead of a storm or handle fallen limbs helping to clear debris. A generator will power appliances and keep lights on and cell phones charged when the electricity goes out. A water pump can help with flooding in your basement. A utility vehicle can be maneuverable and is smaller than a car, helping transport people and supplies quickly in an emergency. Today’s outdoor power equipment is increasingly easier to use, more efficient and cleaner, and powered in a variety of ways — including battery/electric, hybrids, propane, and solar as well as gasoline and diesel. Even robotic, interconnected and remote-controlled technology has entered the power equipment market. “We’ve experienced a lot of problematic weather lately but, thankfully, there is a product and power source for every need and to address every scenario. Being prepared for the unpredictable is easier than ever before,” said Kris Kiser, President & CEO of OPEI, the international trade association representing manufacturers and suppliers of outdoor power equipment, small engines, battery power systems, portable generators, utility and personal transport vehicles, and golf cars. OPEI offers the following tips: Get ready in advance. Before a disaster or storm strikes is the best time to buy ...
10 Quick Plowing Tips To Protect Your Transmission
According to BOSS Snowplow, transmission damage is one of the most common problems that can occur while plowing. BOSS recommends the following steps to help protect your truck transmission: • Do not plow in overdrive unless your vehicle’s Owner’s Manual recommends it. • Plan your plow pattern so that you drive forward as much as possible. • Come to a complete stop before shifting from forward to reverse. • Wait until the transmission engages before accelerating. • Accelerate slowly, allowing the tires to grip the road surface for better traction. Avoid spinning the tires. • Start driving forward before lowering the plow for a pass. • Whenever possible, back into a cleared area. • If you have a manual transmission, avoid riding the clutch while plowing. • Change the transmission fluid before and during the plowing season. If the fluid has a burnt smell, change the fluid as soon as possible. • You can install an inline transmission heat gauge to monitor the temperature in your transmission. If it reaches 121°C (250°F), let the vehicle idle until the fluid cools. Want to talk with fellow lawn care and landscape professionals about Truck & Equipment Repair? Join the discussion in the forum at www.expired-link.com.
Ready, Set, Mow: Springtime Mowing Equipment Maintenance Tips
The spring mowing season is here — and in many areas that means it’s time for your zero turn radius (ZTR) mower and your compact tractor to get back to work. Before you jump on the machine though, start with a service check and simple walkaround, so that you don’t have to worry about having your equipment fail when you need it most. As you do that, here are some spring mower maintenance tips that will help get this equipment ready for action. Check Fluids: Check the engine oil, transmission fluids and coolant to make sure they’re at the levels specified in your tractor’s or ZTR’s manual. You may also want to put some manufacturer recommended fuel additives into the tank to give your carburetor a cleaning after sitting through the winter. If you properly treated your fuel with additives before storing it for the winter, some of your potential fuel worries may be avoided. Remove the fuel cap and look for signs of moisture under the cap and on the insides of the tank (above the fuel line). If no signs of moisture appear, proceed with start-up procedures. Should you find signs of moisture, it’s a good idea to drain the old fuel and start new. Check Belts, Hoses, and Hydraulic Fittings: Just like anything, your belts and hoses in your tractor or ZTR can crack or become worn over time. Catching issues like this early can help save you time and money later on. Checking hydraulic fittings and ...
Keeping Your Compact Track Loader Up And Running
Content Sponsored By Cat: As a landscaper, your projects are becoming larger and more complex, regulatory restrictions are increasing, and yet your schedules are only being shortened. For these reasons, compact track loaders have proven to be invaluable on job sites because of their diverse capabilities. When a machine isn’t running, it becomes a hindrance to your operation. We caught up with our compact track loader product team to outline several tips to decrease downtime, as well as considerations to make when spec’ing your next compact track loader. Pre-Purchase Serviceability And Maintenance Considerations Monitoring your machine’s condition regularly can help detect potential issues that could turn into bigger problems. It is important to consider features that will make machine maintenance easier for you. Some of these include: Machine diagnostics and monitoring capabilities – Advanced compact track loaders have color LCD display systems with video capability, allowing the operator to quickly monitor machine systems and read machine diagnostics. Optimized positioning of daily maintenance check components – Components such as the engine air filter, battery, engine oil dipstick, engine oil filter, electric priming fuel filter and water separator, hydraulic oil level sight gauge and hydraulic oil filter should be easily accessed, without using tools. Organized component layout underneath the cab – A complicated layout will take longer to inspect or troubleshoot the machine. A machine with a well-organized component layout will be easy to clean out, inspect and identify any issues. Optimize Maintenance Intervals Today’s machine designs include technology that helps extend ...
Staffing In The Off-Season
For a lot of lawn and landscaping companies, the off-season poses a unique set of challenges when it comes to staffing. Being a seasonal business, most landscape business owners are faced with deciding whom to lay off and whom to keep—as well as how to keep those year-round employees busy. Complicating matters is the difficulty of hiring and retaining reliable employees. If they’re laid off, will they return? Extending The Season A number of companies have faced this challenge head-on by extending their season with various winter services. For Chase Coates, owner of Outback Landscape in Rexburg, ID, adding a holiday lighting service has been the ideal way to keep his employees working—and has proven to be a successful profit driver, bringing in around $250,000 annually. “It gives us a full solid month of billable labor and it’s a repeat service every year,” Coates says. “Besides installing the lights, we’re also pulling them down, labeling, and storing them in January—so that gets us to February 1. Then, we do snow, too. We are able to keep all of our foremen and equipment operators on staff full-time year-round because of snow. For that reason, my best advice to other landscape companies who are looking to keep employees busy and find an off-season revenue driver is to add a high-margin winter service.” Like Coates and many other landscape business owners, Mark Borst, owner of Borst Landscape & Design in Allendale, NJ, says snow keeps his team busy as well and produces about ...
Secure Digging: 8 Safety Tips For Mini Excavators
This list of tips on operating and maintaining mini excavators is contributed by MiniFinalDrives.com, a company owned and operated by L&M HydraComm LLC. This family business is founded on over 50 years experience in the heavy equipment industry. Located in Salisbury, NC, the company has operated in the automotive and heavy equipment industries for over 70 years across three generations. Excavators are essential pieces of heavy construction equipment. They’re fundamental to a wide variety of industries that rely on them to move dirt and break ground. But excavators can’t operate themselves, and even trained professionals are at risk of getting hurt when operating this kind of heavy machinery. Here are a few tips for landscape professionals to remember in order to operate mini excavators safely and securely. 1. Know the components of your excavator. You need to have a comprehensive knowledge of your excavator’s components before you begin operating the machine. In fact, this is true for all types of construction equipment. You should know the engine, the machine’s hydraulic fluid levels, all safety devices, all controls for proper function, and more. When you know the components of the equipment, you’re better able to determine when something is wrong with the machine. 2. Make sure the excavator is serviced regularly. It’s not enough to be able to recognize when something is wrong with the components of your excavator. Your excavator, like any other large machine, needs to be serviced regularly to keep it in good working condition. Follow a regular ...
ECHO Introduces New Pressure Washers
This fall, ECHO has introduced a new line of pressure washers designed to satisfy a wide range of needs for contractors. These models are durable and cost-effective — designed for maximum productivity and convenience. The new line of pressure washers, introduced in October 2019, include: PW-3200 (3,200 max PSI), featuring 212 cc engine displacement and 2.5 GPM max flow PW-3600 (3,600 max PSI), featuring 212 cc engine displacement and 2.5 GPM max flow PW-4200 (4,200 max PSI), featuring 389 cc engine displacement and 4.0 GPM max flow (this model available Spring 2020) These other models, also introduced by ECHO this fall are, suited to homeowners: PWE 1800 (1,800 max PSI), featuring 1.3 GPM max flow PW-3100 (3,100 max PSI), featuring 2.5 GPM max flow Designed for professionals, the PW-3200 pressure washer is a mid-range model that can tackle a wide range of cleanups. Built with premium, commercial-grade components, the PW-3200 is great for cleaning dirty equipment, stripping finishes, flushing built-up debris from aggregate patios, and more. The PW-3600 is another mid-range model that is comparable to the PW-3200, but offers more PSI. And like the PW-3200, this model is equipped with an easy-start pump system, low oil shutdown, and 10” flat-free tires for easy transport. The durable PW-4200 is the most powerful pressure washer from ECHO, and pros can use this to tackle their toughest tasks. It is powered by a Honda® GX390 engine and provides a 13% greater value of power per dollar than the competition. In October, Turf ...
