To see a successful maintenance program in action, we paid a visit to Meadow Equipment Sales & Service Inc. in Carol Stream, Ill. Meadow is a 35-to-40-person, family-owned water well drilling company that does a wide range of work, including residential and commercial wells, as well as service work on residential and commercial pumps. President Chip Kerry says, "We'll work on anything from a 1/2-Hp to a 350-Hp submersible pump, and we'll drill anywhere from a 5-inch, 180-foot deep well to a big city well that is 1,600 feet with a 17-inch bottom. We cover the whole range."
This extensive scope of work requires a fair amount of equipment: Kerry says the company owns seven rigs and approximately 48 rolling pieces of equipment, including trucks, support vehicles, etc. As you would expect, this much machinery requires a great deal of maintenance, which has prompted Meadow to keep three full-time mechanics on staff. They do about 90 percent to 98 percent of the company's maintenance work themselves, making it uncommon for the equipment to visit another shop.