Maintain And Store Tools, Implements, Equipment And Machinery

A modern farm must function as a business unit with an integrated plan for maintenance and servicing of all equipment necessary for operation. This plan needs to be established as part of a total management plan and integrated from top-level management down to the operator’s level.

The Importance of an Effective Maintenance Plan

Planning and control are vital if an effective maintenance plan is to be implemented. The management must, in conjunction with the person who will be responsible for the maintenance procedure, establish from the outset a plan that is practical and functional (It is important that this person is in a senior position). This plan must allow for unforeseen deviations, but only under extreme conditions.

At this point it is important to establish a plan for the storage of equipment; this storage will determine the value that management places on the maintenance level of the equipment. It must include a demarcated area that is specific to the cleaning of equipment. This area must conform to the farm's conservation and environmental policy and plan that would take into account the use of strong cleaning materials that will be most detrimental to the environment.

Once the five-year production plan for the farm is established, then planning for maintenance of equipment and machinery within the production plan can begin.

The routine maintenance and scheduling plan need to be broken into two major sections and that is detailing the scheduled times that coincide with non-production peaks for major maintenance and the frequent inspections, either daily / weekly / monthly checks that are carried out on the equipment.

A farm maintenance budget needs to be practical and consists of two sections:

Frequent routine maintenance costs- these costs are budgeted for in general but not planned for. For example, a tractor might get a puncture and this would come out of this cost centre.

Major maintenance work- in the plan it would be budgeted that after one year the tractor would require a major service and after five years the engine would require a total overhaul.

Frequent inspections would identify the need to replace or repair faulty items. Major maintenance work involves complete rework of equipment or an engine that has had considerable service time. This sort of maintenance is planned and budgeted for and would be scheduled to occur during a non-productive period on the farm.

In the planning stage, the managers would have to decide if they are going to have the infrastructure available to do major maintenance work on engines and equipment or are going to outsource this work. If they decide to keep the work in-house they must plan to have all the tools and equipment available to carry out major repair work. The costs involved in the maintenance of a tractor are substantial. For example, over the lifetime of a normal tractor, a farmer will spend the value again on keeping the tractor running in a condition that is compliant with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Often all major maintenance is carried out by specialists as it works out to be more economical in the long run.

The farm store would normally have a list of the suppliers of all equipment operating on the farm and if a new part is required to carry out work identified during a frequent inspection then the stores can order the part if they do not carry it as a stock item.

Part of the planning process would be to identify how much capital would be invested in-stock items for maintenance and what would be acceptable downtime if the maintenance team has to wait for the supplier to deliver. A balance needs to be planned for, as it is very costly to keep stock in the store and it can be costly to production not to have it immediately available.

For every type of equipment operating on the farm, there must be the necessary specific or generic equipment available to carry out maintenance on the machines or equipment. Most engine sprayers or brush cutters come with a set of spanners that is specific to that machine. It is best for the workshop to have a set and for the operator to have a set to take into the field.

No machine must be operated on unless the correct equipment is available. Using improvised tools on specific equipment can be costly and dangerous in the long run. A chain saw, brush cutter and sprayer usually have a specific sparkplug spanner and it is important to use the correct one.

On a farm, the equipment is designed for hard and rugged use but it is important that on a daily basis that the machines be cleaned and stored appropriately.

During this cleaning process, it is important for the operator to check for stress fractures. Dirt often conceals these fractures and damage occurs before the fracture is identified if daily maintenance is not carried out on the machine.

On a monthly basis, the equipment needs to go into the workshop to be serviced and minor repairs made.

Infrastructure Preventative Maintenance

The table below provides an example of a preventative maintenance plan for internal infrastructure.

Maintenance Plan

Agricultural equipment such as tractors and implements are incredibly expensive. It is cost-effective to plan and build sheds to house tractors and equipment for the following reasons:

Agricultural equipment such as tractors and implements are incredibly expensive. It is cost-effective to plan and build sheds to house tractors and equipment for the following reasons:

• The equipment is kept together and can be accounted for.
• The condition of the equipment can be checked and compared
• Equipment is accessible for inspection.
• Protected from the environment and theft.
• A policy of total quality management requires that all equipment is maintained and stored in a manner that complements this management strategy.