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New Mechanic on Board

10 posts
  1. Dru Clark
    Dru Clark avatar
    0 posts
    11/23/2013 5:11 AM
    I recently hired a mechanic so I am wondering what I need to provide him with in order for him to preform in the most organized and efficient manner. i.e. laptop, record keeping software, etc. I am basically asking what some of you use to keep things recorded and organized?



  2. Andy Jorgensen
    Andy Jorgensen avatar
    1 posts
    11/23/2013 8:11 AM
    Dru,

    I have a fleet maintenance software. Problem is it takes way too much time to input the data. Almost a full time job with three courses worth of equipment. So, my guys have actually gone back to the old index cards. It takes them less than 5 minutes each day to put down the things they worked on.

    One thing that has helped tremendously though, is when they get a part in that goes on the shelf, they immediately write the price on the package. That way when they use it down the road, they have the cost associated with the repair they can put on their note cards.



  3. Dru Clark
    Dru Clark avatar
    0 posts
    11/23/2013 8:11 AM
    Andy Jorgensen said: Dru,

    I have a fleet maintenance software. Problem is it takes way too much time to input the data. Almost a full time job with three courses worth of equipment. So, my guys have actually gone back to the old index cards. It takes them less than 5 minutes each day to put down the things they worked on.

    One thing that has helped tremendously though, is when they get a part in that goes on the shelf, they immediately write the price on the package. That way when they use it down the road, they have the cost associated with the repair they can put on their note cards.


    Good advice!!



  4. Melvin Waldron
    Melvin Waldron avatar
    43 posts
    11/24/2013 8:11 PM
    We do similar to Andy, we have prices written on our filters and parts.

    Mel

    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO

  5. Henry Heinz
    Henry Heinz avatar
    0 posts
    11/25/2013 6:11 AM
    I use Trims. I have two golf courses, plus a landscape and homes department to maintain as well. Up north I three courses and two location and used Trims there as well. It does take time to do the initial setup, but once in it takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes a day, and some days its far less times. I also use a daily work log that each technician writes down things they do, such as a call for a tine, flat tire, changing a head on a line trimmer, ect. This gives me full accountability for all we do. For a 54 hole operation I could scan all the equipment in about 30 minutes and upload the data and print out work orders. It tracks all my services, parts and inventory. Best part is I can generate reports at anytime by groups, all equipment, individual piece. The inventory well convert of to excel as well. Other like the my turf, but for me, scanning is what I want because it forces me to go to every piece of equipment weekly and that gives me the opportunity to look it over for and damage or leaks, as it may or may not require a service that week. We try to scan weekly during the season, one day its golf, and the following day its landscape / homes. During the winter we do golf one week, and the other departments the following week.

    Regards,



  6. Stephen Tucker
    Stephen Tucker avatar
    0 posts
    11/25/2013 7:11 AM
    Dru,
    I would say he would need a computer really doesn't matter whether it's a laptop or desktop. I would say a job board that contains height of cut, equipment with issues and where he can list his gameplan for the week. I believe some sort of PM system needs to be used. I prefer something the data can easily be retrieved from. Trims, MyTurf, etc work great. They do take time to put together but you can run a report to get your data in seconds. Hope that helps.



  7. Melvin Waldron
    Melvin Waldron avatar
    43 posts
    11/25/2013 8:11 AM
    I will say,

    I would love to have a PM program like Trims, just haven't been able to find the time and budget yet, but we do have 3 courses and it would allow us to be consistant with maintenance at all three as I don't think that is occuring, plus it provides better tracking and allows better documentation to request new pieces in my opinion.

    Mel

    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO

  8. Dru Clark
    Dru Clark avatar
    0 posts
    11/26/2013 5:11 AM
    Thanks all! I'm gonna look into Trims. We do already have a height board with other info on it.



  9. Paul Double
    Paul Double avatar
    37 posts
    11/26/2013 6:11 AM
    Trims is a great program, unfortunately it is not in our budget for the program here. I keep track a very simple way with forms in a binder. It is a basic Excel program that you can either fill out on the computer and keep it there, or print it out and fill it out manually. I know, doing something manually in this high tech world? I like having our mechanic do it this way because we can just grab the binder and pop it open and see what has been done. When I was a mechanic, I did use Trims and it is an excellent program. My only issue is I had a computer crash once from a storm and lost all info, luckily I was also writing stuff down.
    I have my worksheets in an Excel program that if you or anybody else would like, I can email them to you and you can modify them to your liking. I tried to attach them to this post, but it will not work. My email is paul.svcc@woh.rr.com

    Paul L Double
    Director of Turfgrass Management
    Sugar Valley Golf Club
    Bellbrook, Ohio



  10. Henry Heinz
    Henry Heinz avatar
    0 posts
    11/26/2013 7:11 PM
    You can back all data up to the Trims mater server. I do it by-weekly and if not at least once a month so if we crash they have all our data to restore. We also back up to the clubs server as well and it only takes a minute to back up to both servers. Hope this helps ease the crash issues.....

    Regards,



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