Theft and vandalism continue to be a major problem facing owners of construction equipment, and nearly half of the respondents said that it had become a bigger problem in the past year. To make the most of a fleet, nearly one out of five respondents said they offer equipment services to other companies. Just like nearly every other market, labor shortages continue to be a problem, say equipment managers. Experienced operators have already made their money and don't want to work long hours anymore. There's nobody coming up the ranks to take their place.
Respondents report formal training is most popular for supervisors, followed by technicians.
The youngest has been with the firm 12 years, the oldest 30 years. Hilty says all learned through hands-on training, and that he just hired a helper who will learn the same way. Some larger firms report attempting to ease the technician problem by limiting the diversity of the fleet. There are too many models. We standardize as much as possible.