Hardwood Floors April/May 2019

TECH TALK

with

Jason Elquest

Michael Dittmer

Lenny Hall

“How do you handle equipment breaks while on a job?”

JASON ELQUEST Equipment breakdowns never happen at a good time. It is always in the middle of a project. Over the years, we have become pre y resourceful and successful in squeezing every ounce of life out of a tool. I don’t recommend nor am I proud of some of the things we have done. Do as I say, not as I do, right? Now, we have extra tools in reserve. As a tool goes down, we replace it with a tool that has been repaired and is waiting for its turn to come back into the lineup. We then immediately repair the broken tool or have it repaired. We have found that the downtime spent on waiting for a part or for a tool to be xed, costs us more than the spare piece of equipment.

MICHAEL DITTMER A er working on the job for more than 30 years, we have learned just to gure it out. We have had to rewire vacuum cleaners, plugs, edger cords, and big machine fuses. First, we see what other equipment on the job we have that is compatible with the broken one. So we can replace a cable from the broken machine with a cable from a machine that works. We always have a roll of black tape on hand to x any electrical connection. I usually have an extra pair of edger motor brushes in my tool bag in case that’s the issue. Above all else, I have a ended numerous repair training sessions so that I know how to x my equipment quickly. I try and read the owner’s manuals to see how tomaintain equipment. Researching on YouTube has also been helpful in some cases to see how to repair the equipment. Many times in the shop, I take apart broken equipment andmake repairs there, and that helps me to repair things when they break on the job.

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