One Sure Fire Way to Reduce Equipment Problems

Equipment problems can ruin your day. Missed appointments, repair expenses, overtime, can all result from equipment problems. Here is the key technique that if absent, guarantees problems and downtime.

Assign responsibility for each piece of equipment to one technician and hold them accountable.

Anyone with kids will remember this. When something breaks, I ask my kids who did it. “Not me” was the most common answer. It is the same with pest control equipment. If no one is responsible for it, it won’t last.

Here are some of the common problems we see when no single person is responsible for equipment:

Problems are unreported

• Required maintenance is not performed
• Equipment is not cleaned out after use
• Equipment is not properly secured.

The causes of these problems could be intentional, e.g., the technician just doesn’t care, or unintentional, e.g., the technician forgets to report a problem. If a technician is not responsible, he is not likely to put in extra effort. Here’s a great analogy: no one ever washes a rental car.

Here are some types of equipment that should be assigned to one technician:

• Vehicle
• Compressed air sprayers
• Backpack sprayers
• Power spray equipment
• Foggers, foamers, dusters.
• Termite rods and other termite equipment.