Sound Strategies for CTL Cost Control: Training, maintenance, and special attention to undercarriages should be part of every manager's mix

摘要

Managers looking to reduce operating costs for compact track loaders will find no shortage of solid advice from OEMs, and plenty of new technologies and innovations in the popular category. How to keep costs down Wacker Neuson's Nathan Ryan, product manager for skid steers and CTLs, keys in on training-for two different reasons. "Training operators is helpful when looking to lower CTL operating costs; this means both training for proper usage and daily maintenance," Ryan says. "If operators are trained to grease all required pivot points daily or notice under-tensioned tracks, they can avoid costly maintenance. When it comes to operation, training operators to use Y-turn patterns or gradual turning rather hard 90-degree turns will prolong track life. Other practices like training operators to operate at lower throttle when permissible, or reducing the machine to idle when work is paused, will help lower fuel usage." Idling's effect on costs is also top-of-mind for Kubota CE product operations manager Tim Boulds.