TECHNOLOGY
CONTRACTORS TYPICALLY BUY equipment in order to make money off the work produced by that equipment — similar to an investment , with an expectation of a return . If contractors deeply understand all of their costs , they can make decisions that yield the best possible returns .
This is a somewhat obvious concept , but it ’ s not often applied to contractors ’ purchasing decisions . Contractors see the equipment price tag — the tip of the iceberg — and though they ’ re aware of the hidden costs of ownership , most have no way of measuring them – until now .
The costs that lie below The two main costs beneath the surface are maintenance and underutilization .
Maintenance should cost contractors approximately 1-2 percent of a machine ’ s value every year , but that number can balloon to 5-25 percent after the first few years of ownership . Typically , this is due to the absence of an effective maintenance system . For instance , a piece of equipment under normal use that ’ s not maintained will ( conservatively ) break down more than twice as often
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