Maintaining your heavy drilling equipment is one of the most important, but often overlooked, aspects of foundation drilling projects. Due to the nature of the work, CZM drilling rigs require preventative maintenance as a critical element of a project’s success.
While each project presents its own unique demands, there are some universal truths when it comes to equipment maintenance. For instance, you may be drilling foundations for large civil or commercial projects or operating a 24-hour oil and gas job, where downtime simply isn’t an option.
Inspections and evaluations are the best way to identify potential issues before they become major problems that can cause costly delays or equipment failures, which can result in completely derailing a project’s budget and schedule.
The Importance of Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Inspections
Implement a system of inspections based on a structured schedule that will effectively ensure that your CZM drilling rig is operating at peak performance and not at a risk of critical failure. This also offers the opportunity to check the oil and other lubricants, alignment, among other mechanical components.
Depending on your daily schedule, you need to evaluate when you can perform these inspections.
Define your inspections and provide checklists that are created by licensed operators or service technicians that can be evaluated for compliance to ensure proper operation.
Why Preventative Maintenance is Better than Repairs
Some operators balk at the price of preventative maintenance. Still, these expenses pale in comparison to the costs associated with repairs and additional costs caused by downtime on the job site.
Foundation drilling rigs are heavy equipment, and their components naturally degrade during the course of any project. By maintaining your rig, you can actually save money and avoid delays in your project’s schedule.
Preventative Drilling Rig Maintenance Can Reduce the Risk of Accidents
Project management doesn’t just mean protecting your equipment and bottom line; it means protecting your crew, site visitors, and other contractors.
The safety of your operators is of the utmost importance, and drilling rigs that aren’t properly maintained can cause injury and even casualties when they suddenly malfunction.
The use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other safety measures have reduced the number of job site injuries in recent years. In addition, adequately maintaining heavy equipment is another reason for the reduction in accidents.
Part of this maintenance is documentation and compliance with local, state, and federal guidelines, which should be reported to your project managers and maintenance technicians.
Downtime Leads to Costly Delays and Schedule Breakdowns
Project delays can be caused by a number of issues, including equipment breakdown, malfunction, or onsite accidents.
However, they can easily be avoided with preventative maintenance by identifying project or equipment issues before they become significant problems.
Strategic preventative operations include preparing for foundation machinery service and repairs during the course of a project to remain on schedule and within budget. Managing your equipment assets, whether you own or rent your CZM drilling rig, is the easiest way to increase profitability and reduce risks for your crew.
Train Your Crew on Common Issues and Maintenance
While major repairs should always be conducted by a licensed professional, training your crew on preventative maintenance prior to a project, as well as how to identify potential breakdowns before they occur and when to contact a service technician.
When you develop and implement standard preventative maintenance procedures that are utilized regularly, your crew is knowledgeable to inspect equipment and strive to prevent breakdowns or other project delays.
Make sure your crew has training available and basic tutorials, so that they can target specific mechanical components and audit them to ensure every piece of equipment is operating correctly throughout the duration of the project.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for preventative maintenance on your CZM drilling rig, but when you analyze your specific job needs, site conditions, and schedule, you can create a comprehensive system to increase safety and decrease the risk of critical malfunction.
How often you invest in maintenance depends on various factors, and having daily, weekly, and monthly inspections allows you to reduce variables and stay on course for your projects.
