the PeoPle - OPERC - Off-highway Plant and Equipment Research ...

SPECIAL REPORT
28
tackling the cost of
owning power tools
August 2010
Over the last eighteen months, there has been
a rapid decline in the UK construction industry
due to the global economic climate. During
these challenging times, a number of companies
within the construction industry have realigned
their businesses to the ever-changing market
place. The majority of construction companies
have had to tighten their belts and monitor
spend, in particular their power tools spend.
Cost of ownership
Most construction companies today
have large tool fleets, which are a
significant expense throughout the year.
It is important therefore, for customers
to ensure that their tool fleets are
procured in the most effective way to
keep additional costs to a minimum.
Purchasing a fleet of power tools is
generally straightforward, as a company
simply specs out the job and then the
purchaser gets the best deal. Although
that all depends on how the ‘best
deal’ is defined. It is useful to consider
whether a ‘best deal’ is defined in
terms of price or whether it is defined
in terms of the cost of ownership.
Cost of ownership is expensive;
research shows that the costs for tool
ownership are increased with multiple
factors, including the frequency of
re-purchase, the amount of downtime
and the direct costs of repair bills. An
independent questionnaire conducted
by LW Associates, revealed that power
tool owners have to put up with long
delays when having their tools repaired,
with many waiting over 5 days for a
tool to be fixed and returned. Overall,
75% of those surveyed said that it was
common for a tool to take over 1 week
for repairs, with 60% citing downtime as
the biggest problem during the delay.
It is useful to remember that different
tools have different lifetimes. In
reality, construction companies often
believe that tools have short lifetimes
so therefore decide to replace not
repair, which consequently adds to
increased costs for ownership. The
companies assume that the tools will
last an average of 1 year and that
they will have to replace them when in
actual fact tools can often be repaired.
Independent research shows that 64%
of battery tools and 61% of grinders
are replaced when they break versus
extending the life with a repair.
For further information on the Hilti Fleet Management
programme, please visit www.hilti.co.uk/hfm or
contact Hilti Customer Services on 0800 886 100