Capital Equipment News August 2018

AFTERMARKET SUPPORT

will probably be less sensitive to speed. As Bell Equipment, we internally plan to service as fast as possible as we believe it is something that differentiates us,” says Van der Walt. Stephanie Latini, Caterpillar aftermarket solutions area manager, Mining Industries, says in today’s fast-paced environment, it is all about productivity and efficiency. He reasons that something as simple as a failing hose could have dramatic consequences for the productivity of a project. “We work closely with Barloworld Equipment, our dealer in southern Africa, to ensure that we have the right solutions in place to minimise machine downtime. To this end, we offer component repair planning schedules, maintenance contracts and monitoring fault codes in order to alert customers to potential issues,” says Latini. “Additionally, we work closely with customers to tailor solutions to meet their specific needs, for example, stocking hoses on location to support large job sites.” TCO in focus Reliable aftermarket support is a key factor in helping end users lower their total cost of ownership. Samantha Swanepoel, executive head: Marketing impacts the total O&O costs. She reasons that construction and mining equipment operates in tough environments and it is the role of the supplier to help customers optimise their O&O costs over the lifetime of the machine. “For example, our S.O.SSM fluid analysis lab in Johannesburg carries out routine checks of oil, coolant and fuel to prevent unexpected failures and unplanned downtime,” says Swanepoel. “Equipment management and telematics also play a vital part. For instance, Barloworld Equipment offers a range of repair options to prevent failure – from fixed price component repairs to Cat certified rebuilds. Cat machines are designed to be rebuilt and this of course, drives down the total cost of ownership.” Van der Walt says at a high level you can split total cost of ownership into owning and operating costs – owning cost being the cost to acquire the equipment and operating costs being all costs related to operating the equipment. Operating costs can then again be divided into service costs and repair costs – service costs being the cost to service equipment according to OEM specification and repair costs the costs associated with replacing failed components. and Communications at Barloworld Equipment, agrees that aftermarket

TALKING POINTS

“Technology has the potential to dramatically improve efficiencies for both the OEM and the customer through digital interfaces, remote fault finding and diagnostics. This will also impact the visibility we have on the performance of equipment and operators and how fast this information is available.”

Hennie van der Walt, director, Aftermarket & Customer Support at Bell Equipment

“Helping customers to keep their machines working more efficiently and for longer is crucial. Together with our dealer network we provide a wide range of solutions to support our customers throughout the working life of their Cat equipment – whether preventative maintenance, fast parts delivery, training or even machine rebuilds.” Shubra Narasimhan, Caterpillar aftermarket solutions representative, Construction Industries

“The support for capital equipment has never been more important as margins continue to shrink. Efficiency is of paramount importance, and this requires the right support at the right time and at a realistic value.”

Ben Buys, technical director – Equipment at Babcock

“When talking about the aftermarket support regime, it is often reduced to the availability of technical support and parts availability. These are the support services required most often by customers, but at Bell our regime covers a much wider range of services,” says Van der Walt. “We also offer technical and operator training, service and maintenance contracts, extended warranties, Bell lubricants, remanufactured components, lubricant check (Lubecheck) and our telematics system (Fleetmatic). We believe that if a customer uses these services or a combination of them, they will reduce their operating costs.” Buys reasons that total cost of ownership covers many aspects of ownership. “At Babcock we endeavour to provide an affordable but high quality

aftermarket solution in the areas of ownership costs, which fall under the supplier’s control,” he says. “This is achieved by providing a selection of services, including service and maintenance contracts, consignment parts, man-on-site service, regular machine condition reports and operator training, among others.” Support infrastructure To be able to execute a proper aftermarket strategy, a fundamental pre-requisite is to have the infrastructure that allows the supplier to respond to any service needs timeously. Narasimhan says capacity and capability are absolutely key in order to support end users’ fleets. “Last year, Caterpillar opened a new parts distribution centre near Johannesburg. The 60 000 m²

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS AUGUST 2018 16