Too Much of a Good Thing?
Equipment manufacturers pack a whole lot of punch into new equipment these days. But after sitting through a think tank meeting I was running this week, I was left wondering if it comes at the expense of serviceability.
It's already happened with cars, hasn't it? I still change my own oil in my car, mostly because I like being able to get inside my machine and do SOMETHING, however small, myself. I think it's a Midwest thing. Anyway, who would dare touch much else on a car today? With all the computers and sensors and automated functions, it would be awfully easy to blow something out or mess something up.
In this meeting, the sole representative of equipment manufacturing got an earful from our participants who use or manage equipment, not about down time in general, but the nature of the down time. "Now, when things go wrong with the equipment, I have to let it sit and wait for your guys to come out," said one panelist. "We can't do much ourselves anymore."
So, I'm throwing it out to the group ... are you experiencing more difficult to manage down time with equipment? Or are you perfectly happy with your equipment experience these days? You can use this blog to make comments directly, or fill out the reader poll at the bottom of this edition of e-News. Hope your harvest is fruitful, and we hope to hear from you.
Comments
cjorgensen@centralscales.com said …I agree with your comments. The trouble is that the cat is out of the bag. There wouldn't be GPS and computers on tractors if someone wasn't asking for it. Lets face it, midwest farm boys are talented!! Their "hands-on" get it done approach to life has served our nation well for many generations. However, in today's world we are close to needing an engineering degrees to use a cell phone. Now that many products seem over-engineered I can see how that would be frustrating for them. I hope to see a reversal in thes trend. Some times you need to "keep it simple stupid". Now, I am an equipment salesman, so here comes the shameless plug. Dealing with honest companies and salespeople can lessen this problem a little. I will give one example. Scales - To the end user, a scale can be looked at as a commodity. However they are not. You truly do get what you pay for with scales. There are vast quality differences in hardware. Demand that your sales contact educate you on your application. That will greatly enhance your buying power and eliminate many headaches. Sometimes you need complicated solutions, but usually simple can do the job. Sincerely, Chris Jorgensen Central Scale & Material Handling 9840 South 140th Street, STE 5 Omaha, NE 68138 402-537-4457 cjorgensen@centralscales.com www.centralscales.com
Posted on 10/18/2007 2:50 PMLeave your comments
