When operating track type tractors, around 50 per cent of the total cost associated with owning and operating for the life the tractor, is in its undercarriage.

With a fleet made up of over 350 machines, the Mackellar Group prides itself on maximising the uptime of its equipment by investing in genuine Cat parts and regular Custom Track Service (CTS) Inspections.

As part of the dealer support provided by Hastings Deering, CTS Inspections are scheduled with the Mackellar Group to gather quick and accurate analysis of undercarriage wear rates.

Jarrod Sharpe, third year apprentice for Mackellar Group, said that the CTS Inspections helped the maintenance team to understand how the undercarriage is wearing and allowed them to rectify issues before they come up.

“They use ultrasonic technology, they’ve got more analogue, idle and depth gauges and ultrasound equipment where they can give you a precise depth on your track links, on your rail height segment wear,” Sharpe said.

The CTS inspections utilises Cat Wear Management System (CWMS) which incorporates Ultrasonic Wear Indicator technology to assess and advise on the condition of a machine’s undercarriage directly measuring the most critical dimensions on Cat undercarriage.

Using this technology, the Hastings Deering Product Support representatives can analyse the bushing wall thickness, link rail wear, track shoe wear limits, idler centre flange wear and track roller wear.

These advanced diagnostics are then compiled into a detailed report on wear projections for the Mackellar Group which can access and use the data from CWMS, to plan its undercarriage change outs to maximise machine uptime.

Peter Pelling, group maintenance manager for Mackellar Group said that this analysis has helped the Mackellar Group to evaluate service options, plan maintenance and schedule planned downtime to ensure its fleet is at maximum productivity.

“Custom Track inspections are very important, so then we know if we can go in and change a set of tracks out and achieve maximum life out of bush wear. It’s the downtime that kills us,” Pelling said.

“We’ve always favoured the Caterpillar genuine parts in our undercarriage because reliability is just there.”

“We pride ourselves on keeping our machines moving, we don’t want to be down, and that’s why we use Hastings Deering support and genuine Caterpillar Parts.”

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