ASPHALT ANSWERS
shop or your dealer’ s facility. Too many times, we learn these things the hard way on a job site where messing up has consequences. Schedule this time with your dealer, and you will have your first truck show up without the anxiety that comes with the unknown. If possible, running some sand through the machine allows the crew to make adjustments to your feeds, speeds and screed. Maintenance: Review the maintenance schedule with your crew and anyone that will be performing your preventative maintenance items. Guess what? Those grease fittings, fill plugs, locknuts, jack bolts and set screws are all a lot easier to find before that first load of asphalt. With your dealer’ s help and the manual, walk around the paver, grease and lubricate all points called out. Inspect all chain and belt tensions and adjust if necessary, with your dealer present, and get their guidance on best practices to make the adjustments efficiently. Decide who is responsible moving forward for all these items while the group is together, and on what schedule will they be expected to address them. Go as far as printing that schedule and write names beside the items. Assigning maintenance items builds a sense of responsibility and ownership in your crew member, and greatly increases the likelihood that they address them on schedule. No member of your crew would want a breakdown or failure from lack of maintenance on items they are responsible for— many times you will find they actually perform them more frequently. Any scheduled maintenance items requiring parts deserve early consideration and a proactive approach. If you perform your own engine oil, hydraulic oil, fuel and air filter changes, go ahead and order a set to have on hand. You must take away the excuses and delays that cause your crew members or mechanics not to maintain these items when they are required. If your dealer is performing your first service, put it on the calendar now and adjust as you get closer to that day. Visual inspection: Allow your mechanics and crew ample time to inspect the machine thoroughly, not only to find potential issues now, but to have an idea of how things were assembled and routed before it is sent out to work. Hoses and wiring should be looked at in areas that could rub through or melt. Look for any signs of coolant or oil left behind by production or pre-delivery inspection processes and wipe them off so there is no question where it came from. Visual inspections are a powerful tool and go a long way toward preventing issues and getting familiar with how the machine looks before it tastes asphalt. A potential issue noticed early can buy you time to put the repair in place, particularly those found after the machine has been put into service. Make this inspection part of your crew’ s daily process and you will greatly increase their productivity on the job and
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