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Low on daily operating costs
John Deere calls it PUL — a promise to our customers of Productivity, Uptime, and Low daily operating costs. To learn more about the "L" in PUL — how H-Series Skidders deliver low daily operating costs through fast, simple, and effective maintenance — read on.
"It's all about our value proposition — PUL — and delivering the maximum performance
and durability to our customers," says John Deere Forestry Training Instructor Keith Wilson. And Keith should know. Each year the Training Center provides education to thousands of dealer and customer personnel and technicians. The goal is making the most durable and tech-friendly machine possible, and the case in point is the H-Series Skidders.
No time for downtime?
"Downtime is the most expensive time a contractor can incur," Wilson continues, "and John Deere engineers have done a great job designing the H-Series to make maintenance
as simple as possible. Access is key, and these skidders have a cab that can be tilted hydraulically for unrestricted access to all critical components underneath."
And the ingenious tilting cab is just the beginning of the easy-to-access maintenance points. "With competing skidders, you need a wrench to remove hex bolts to take off the engine-access panels. Ours has a simple latch, and the entire panel comes off for full access. What’s more, you can service all daily maintenance points with both feet on the ground, and they are all located on the same side of the machine."
There is a long list of innovations that make maintenance easy. A few examples include the hydraulic system's oil cooler and A/C condenser that swing out for cleaning. Easy-access hydraulic and transmission oil filters are simple to replace. Everything is thought out from the customer and technician point of view. For example, the new Team Mate IV™ axles have a fill plug and dipstick on the axle housing.
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Maintenance is based on condition, not the hour meter
Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) is a revolution that is changing the cost and routine of machine care forever. For example, instead of simply changing engine oil according to how many hours are on the equipment, the oil is sampled, analyzed, and then changed or purified depending on the condition and lubricating quality of the oil. The oil can be cleaned using a sophisticated filtering tool called the Super Caddy.
With the advent of CBM, daily operating costs can be reduced due to the enhanced longevity of expensive fluids and through increased machine uptime. And John Deere has CBM down to a science. Here's how it works:
• A sample kit is provided so a customer or service technician can collect samples from
four easy-access ports.
• Fluids are evaluated with sophisticated equipment that can spot potential problems before they occur.
• A recommended course of action for machine maintenance is determined and carried out by customer or dealer techs.
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Extra-sensor perception
Each John Deere H-Series Skidder ships with a state-of-the-art diagnostic monitor that reports — in real time — machine functions via 14 sensors located at critical locations throughout the machine. "These sensors make troubleshooting much easier for the tech and customer," says Wilson. "Before, if your monitor gave you a trouble code, you had to look up the code to figure out what sensor was reporting it. The new monitor will now show you the code, and pressing 'select' will point out the sensor responsible for the trouble."
The monitors on these machines are quite impressive. A quick glance gives you engine
and transmission oil temperature and fuel-level readings. Press the select button for digital readouts of the hour meter, gear selection, battery voltage, engine rpm, and hydraulic-oil temperature. Warning indicators are accompanied by an audible alarm — a critical heads-up to take action before expensive downtime ensues.
It all adds up to longer machine life and less cost per ton
You rely on your iron to get you into the forest, get the job done, and deliver the product to the mill. And you deserve equipment that makes your job easier at the lowest possible expense without a lot of drama. The John Deere line of H-Series Skidders was designed from the ground up to deliver the easy maintenance that ensures PUL — productivity, uptime, and low daily operating costs.
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