PM counters

[CMB]

whatever the PM cycle is on our equipment, we always do the PM then. not just throwing in the kit and leave either. we go through the entire copier and change any worn roller or feed tire and clean the copier. it looks like new when i am finished. a lot of folks will say, \"i don\'t have time to do that\", i have about 300 copiers in my territory and i find time. it makes a good immpression to the customer and your service manager.

what i\'m trying to get at is, recently we have been buying used equipment to sell to our customers - - because thats what they want. we get them and refurbish them in the shop to like new equipment and deliver them to the customer. every copier we get the PM counter is turned off or the counter is jacked up to 999999. the copiers are a wreck! we are having to spend a lot of time and parts to get them right.

where ever these copiers are comming from, what do you think the rest look like that they have in the field? i sure wouldn\'t want to work for those companies.

do yourself, your customer and your company a favor and PM the equipment as scheduled and we all will benefit. don\'t cheat.

[Hallmark]

Re:PM counters

I agree with doing a complete call when you are in front of a customer\'s machine, regardless of the PM count. In many cases, it is only the PM alert that prompts the customer to call for service to begin with.

I work mostly on Toshibas because I work for TBS/TX. It has been a recently initiated policy to turn off PM counters, or max them out so they do not prompt the customer to call for service just for a PM. These machines have a PM support mode which keeps track of each PM item, its replacement interval and current count. This is what the technicians are suppose to use to determine which items need replacement during any normal service or courtesy call.

Machines that are inspected by Toshiba for the ProMasters service award, are inspected to determine that PM parts are not past their life cycle. PM support mode places an astrick beside each item that is past its life cycle. If the inspector sees an astrick, and there was a recent call on the machine, then the machine does not pass.

A lazy technician will skip PM parts and clear counters without the work being done whether the counter is set or not. You are obviously a great technician who takes pride in his work. I wish all techs were that way. I can with all honesty say that the techs that I work with do complete calls, every call. So far it has not become an issue with the PM counters turned off; but it has reduced the volume of over all calls per month. I am sure that there are some machines in my territory that need PM attention, but I will most likely not know about them until there is a failure of some kind. We are pretty divided on whether it is better to set a counter or not; as far as I am concerned ... the jury is still out.

[CMB]

Re:PM counters

i will take all the supplies i need to do a PM but may not replace every item unless its needs it. a lot of times the drum and developer may not need replacing, so i\'ll let it go another cycle. the fuser will be rebuilt(PM kit).

i print out a list print that the copier has and look at the last 100 jams the copier had and fix problems the copier has shown. most of the time it is paper feed jams due to worn out feed tires. i\'ll then replace the tires.

one thing that was brought to my attention was a program that pays techs money for the number of clicks the copier does before a service call. the more clicks the more money. the techs go in and fix just what needs fixing and leaves. therefore all the counter are turned off in hoping no service call is placed for a while.

i have many copiers in the field that will go PM to PM without a service call. some i don\'t.

i think a copier will run better if you do PM\'s when you are supposed to and makes the customer feel better knowing that you are taking care of thier equipment. why cheat?

[Tonerbomb]

Re:PM counters

Not only are the bonuses based on the CBC number, but also on the $$ of parts put in the machine. The fewer $$ in machine = more bonus. We don\'t use this but we have hired tech\'s that have been on this plan. They don\'t put parts in and cut corners to save $$ and then the CBC drops way off. As for the PM\'s on all of our high volume equipment it is mandatory to do complete calls and PM\'s.:evil: :evil: :evil:

[ToshibaGuy]

Re:PM counters

I have seen good and bad from both approaches to PMs and PM lights. A good tech will keep a machine running and a bad tech will always suck!

[Jerry]

Re:PM counters

I think it also depends on how your company mandates the pm cycles. Our service manager told us to turn \"off\" pm calls on all copiers under a certain speed. We place VAM (value added maintenance) sheets on all copiers that list each part and interval to change. We must perform all time replacements on that call or we fail inspection from our field supervisor. If we have a customer complaining about never seeing us working on their copier, we will turn on that pm counter. This system has worked good for us as long as each tech does his job.

[CMB]

Re:PM counters

our service manager does not go and check on copiers, he trust us enough knowing that we take care of our equipment and customers. only time he might go is if we ask him to.

we pretty much go by the book when it comes to service. you may think all we do then is PM\'s? not really. i might do 2 a week, or i might do 5 or 6 a week. its not really that difficult.

the calls i don\'t like are the stupid customer calls like:

lines on the copies - clean the scan glass
i can\'t fax - you don\'t have a fax kit installed
or
i got got a jam and can\'t find it - have you tried to find it? no. its on the other side of the hall. ok, i\'ll be there as soon as i can. yea right, you lazy bassturd.

[JMB]

Re:PM counters

I\'m not sure which brand of copiers you\'re talking about or if you just mean generically.

I\'ve always felt that they put the counters and alarm function there for a reason.

I believe that if you do the PM\'s on schedule and properly most of your machines will run cycle to cycle

Frankly I like the PM alarms and if it\'s my decision they get set and when a tech is dispatched to the call he has everything he needs to complete it properly

As far as the other stuff, about 10% of your customers will normally account for 90% of your emergency calls, whenever possible it\'s best if you \"terminate\" them before they do so to you.

There is little or no profit in dealing with people who feel as though they don\'t need to make any sort of an effort on their part and normally these are the folks who will throw you under the bus as well.

Sometimes \"firm but professional\" is the only way to act.

[JMB]

Re:PM counters

whiskey tango foxtrot?? Newbee?? not likely

[10871087]

Re:PM counters

JMB wrote:

Sometimes \"firm but professional\" is the only way to act.

Well put. It is almost always the best aproach for dealing with a problem. even if your going to \"give something away\".

[jamesyboy]

AView!
P.M. counters on! anybody who switches them off and dont intend to do his p.m.s is history
if someone dont do his p.m. we order him the kit and hes going back to do His p.m
it works less breakdown calls just p.ms and weird ones giving more time to spend on the weird ones

If you took youre car in for a service you would expect all the stuff to be changed yes and not that impressed with the mechanic who could not be arsed to change the oil
its part of the customers contract guys parts to be changed at manufactures recommended intervals
maintain the machine retain the customer easy street really

[emujo]

CMB...you get what you pay for....we wholesale used equipment for almost nothing, you're paying $100 bucks for a MFP and complaining that you have to PM it? Come on..you can't tell me that you don't make any money when you have to spend 1 1/2 hours and a couple of PM kits then resell for 10-15 times what you paid for it. These MFPs are coming back at the end of a 5 year lease. Techs do what they have to do to keep the customers happy, but it aint like the old days when you could do "real" preventive maintenance. If you're parts usage is out of whack, you may get fired in todays economy. Throw in a territory that covers 1/2 of the state, a teaspoon of "network issues" and you're lucky to get 3-4 calls done per day. My customer with a brand new 30K MFP is going to get a lot more attention than the one that has that 10 year old POS that they refuse to upgrade because " we like it and it still works". Post a techical question, not a gripe about something you have no control over. Emujo

[Mr Spock]

Throw in a territory that covers 1/2 of the state, a teaspoon of "network issues" and you're lucky to get 3-4 calls done per day. Emujo

Would you stop talking about me when me back is turned!!!!!!!