Large contractors face a common struggle: How to maintain their owned equipment when their footprint spans multiple locations around the country. Typically, they patch together a network of local repair shops, but this fragmented approach demands time and active, ongoing effort that could be better spent driving business growth.

Service and maintenance programs from United Rentals relieve the burden of performing ongoing preventive maintenance and repairs so that companies can focus on what they do best.

Maintenance Services From the World’s Largest Fleet Owner

S.A. Comunale is a leading provider of commercial fire sprinkler systems and mechanical services relies on myriad pieces of equipment, from excavators to aerial lifts, to perform its work. With multiple locations in six states, S.A. Comunale struggled to stay on top of regular preventive maintenance for its owned equipment.

For contractors of any kind, a lack of proper preventive maintenance often leads to unscheduled downtime, an increased risk of safety incidents and a higher total cost of fleet ownership.

When a local representative from the United Rentals Customer Equipment Solutions group explained the maintenance services offered by United Rentals to the company’s equipment manager she expressed immediate interest. A longtime rental customer, she knew firsthand how well United Rentals maintains its own equipment.

In addition, she was familiar with using Total Control®, the United Rentals cloudbased worksite management platform, to manage rental equipment and was curious how it could help her company manage its owned equipment as well.

An Effective, One-Stop Solution

United Rentals piloted the relationship by providing maintenance for equipment such as boom lifts, forklifts, skid steers, light towers and generators at the company’s largest location. Factory-trained technicians performed the services at project sites or the local United Rentals branch, depending on the customer’s preference.

Placing equipment maintenance in the hands of United Rentals ensured that equipment was serviced quickly, which minimized downtime. When equipment required service, a single call to United Rentals yielded a fast response and a quick turnaround. With its access to countless equipment vendors and with thousands of parts in stock and available for immediate use, United Rentals is able to perform work in a timely manner despite supply chain issues that frequently cause delays at local service shops.

The single-source approach to maintenance and repair saved time and man-hours on the back end as well. S.A. Comunale no longer had to deal with statements from multiple service providers. Payments were handled through a single statement from United Rentals.

Technicians Who Do the Job Right

By working with United Rentals’ Customer Equipment Solutions, S.A. Comunale benefited from best-in-class service from fully qualified technicians. Unlike some local repair shops, which employ technicians who have minimal training or training that’s limited to certain pieces of equipment, United Rentals offers a team of more than 5,500 factory trained technicians. The technicians brought to the customer extensive training and experience in repairing and maintaining the same brands of equipment they use.

In addition, with technicians certified to perform inspections that meet ANSI standards, United Rentals made it easy to remain compliant with inspection requirements for aerial lifts and other equipment without having to wait for a local repair shop to send equipment out to a qualified inspector.

Harnessing Total Control® for Improved Fleet Management

S.A. Comunale was familiar with the benefits of using Total Control® to locate rental equipment in real time but did not realize that United Rentals customers could also track their owned equipment using the same platform. By installing GPS-enabled telematics devices on owned equipment and adding the equipment to S.A. Comunale’s account in Total Control® , United Rentals allowed the contractor to make better use of its fleet.

Thanks to Total Control® , S.A. Comunale could pinpoint the location of GPS-enabled equipment on a map, which alleviates time-consuming searches.

It could also receive alerts when service was due. The same alerts notify United Rentals that it’s time to send a technician or schedule a pickup. This proactive approach to maintenance reduces the amount of time equipment is out in the field and helps ensure that equipment remains in good operating condition from project start to finish.

The Complete Package

Based on the positive impact of leveraging United Rentals’ owned equipment maintenance program at its largest location, S.A. Comunale has since made use of the program in 40 of its branches. S.A. Comunale noted that the efficiencies gained by outsourcing equipment maintenance to United Rentals have resulted in significant savings.

Already pleased with United Rentals as a leading supplier of rental equipment, the equipment manager deemed it “the complete package” after recognizing the value of its other offerings. She noted that because of the value add of Customer Equipment Solutions in particular, United Rentals is their preferred provider.