Let’s swap the word “preventive” for the lesser-used “predictive.” Preventive maintenance will save your money, time, and a great deal of trouble in the long run—but predictive maintenance entails that you know (roughly) what’s going to happen.
You’re predicting failures—and that means you can take measures to correct and/or prevent them on time. It gives you an upper hand in all matters of fuel dispensing and gas station management.
General Inspections
Make sure a branch manager is inspecting all your equipment daily, or at least weekly. This includes inspecting all the visible parts of the equipment: the hoses, retrievers, pumps, nozzles, computers, and so on. Checking these parts every day or every week will serve you well, especially in terms of alerting you to early signs of damage.
Leaks
Checking for leaks is critical. Hydraulic connections, meters, valves, pipes—all such equipment has to be checked for leaks in order to prevent major damage in the long run. If you do inspect any damages, due repairs should follow immediately. You can tell something is wrong if you happen to find fluid in places it shouldn’t be. Thanks to gravity, you can usually tell where this leaked fluid came from—and the repairs won’t be too tricky to place.
Monthly Walkthroughs
The one way of ensuring you detect any possible fuel dispenser problems before they become actual problems is by scheduling monthly walkthrough inspections. Whether you do it yourself, with an associate, or (preferably) with an expert depends entirely on you—but do not ignore the importance of these regular inspections. Your storage tanks and dispensing systems, in particular, need to be looked at every month.
Keeping a Checklist
Keeping a checklist makes things easier, yes, but there’s more to it. It’s your way of keeping a record and, in the event that something does go wrong, you will be able to determine in exactly which month of the year the equipment failed. This, coupled with your purchase date, can give you a good idea of how long exactly the equipment worked for you. Depending on what caused the breakdown, you can then decide whether or not to buy the equipment again or opt for something different this time—this, eventually, helps you spend your money more smartly in the long run.
Getting a Professional to do the Repairs
Talk to someone from the John W. Kennedy Company for gas station repairs before anything spirals out of control. As a professional and leading industry expert, we provide everything from fuel management systems to tanks, etc.