Plan your service call - Two simple options
What are your priorities today? We all have tasks to prioritize, but sometimes we misjudge the urgency of a situation. However, when a plant's production comes to a standstill due to a breakdown, for example an overhead crane’s, you have to act fast. Calling a service technician is often a matter of urgency. You need his immediate intervention! Similarly, if a hydraulic platform is rented for work, a delay by the technician can lead to unnecessary costs and stress.
So, how does it work? Premium Industrial Group, with over 15 years' experience, employs some twenty specialized technicians, some of whom have more than 30 years' experience in the lifting industry. When a customer calls us for an inspection, maintenance, repair or urgent intervention, one question often comes up: how long does it take for a technician to be on site ?
But you will also discover how to manage your equipment's downtime better, and the solutions available to ensure you're not at the mercy of uncontrollable situations. You'll be able to reduce the impact of your downtime on production, and also reduce the stress these situations can cause you.
A service call occurs because of a breakdown or unforeseen problem requiring the supplier's intervention to avoid an impact on productivity. The urgency varies according to the situation, from simple inconvenience to major dangers.
But to answer the question directly, the response time varies according to the priority of the call. The time before a technician leaves for your plant will be between 30 minutes and 24 hours for high emergencies, and from a few hours to a few days for lower priorities. The question is: how do you determine these priorities?
Service calls are prioritized according to a number of criteria: is the equipment critical? Does the problem affect productivity? Is a temporary solution possible? Is there a risk of wear, breakage or danger to worker safety? The service supervisor will analyze these factors with you to define the priority and provide a precise lead time (see "Realistic expectations" box).
REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
When you make a service call, you naturally want the technician to be on site as quickly as possible. But since the service supplier doesn't necessarily have a technician on standby at the time of the call, he'll often have to reorganize tasks to free up one. But what happens when all the technicians are already on urgent calls?
The service department can adopt different strategies, but it will inevitably happen that several urgent calls come in on the same day, mobilizing all the technicians at the time of your need. This underlines the crucial importance of a contingency plan, as mentioned above.
Managing a team of technicians is complex and demanding. However, if have the feeling that the team is taking care of your request as soon as you call, this is a positive indicator for the future.
Other factors, such as the distance between the technician and the work site, can also influence the lead time. Even if the technician is not always at his or her home base when the call is made, this can be used to estimate travel time.
What's more, if a spare part is needed to restart production, the time it takes to obtain it can have a major impact on downtime. Your supplier doesn't always have control over delivery times, which depend on the availability of parts from the manufacturer, their location and transport time. To reduce this impact, an effective but under-used solution is to set up a contingency plan.
For critical equipment essential to your production, prolonged downtime due to a lack of spare parts can be frustrating and detrimental. Do you have measures in place to anticipate a possible breakdown of a key piece of lifting equipment? More often than not, having spare parts in stock that are know to have long delivery times is a must for dealing with this kind of situation. For further advice on this subject, we recommend the article Reactive or proactive when it comes to the maintenance of your lifting equipment?
In most cases of planned interventions, such as inspections, maintenance or repairs, the timeframe is agreed according to the availability of the customer and the supplier. Good organization and communication make it possible to set a date, or even a precise time, for the technician's arrival (see box "Normal service hours and technician arrival").
Certain periods, such as the holiday season or the two construction weeks, are very busy for planned interventions. It is then important to reserve these dates early.
When it comes to repairs, we often have to consider the availability of spare parts. Your service supervisor will take this into account when planning with you.
Normally, in the case of a scheduled call, the level of urgency for the intervention of a specialized technician should be low. That said, if an inspection or maintenance work becomes urgent, it should be considered as an unscheduled intervention, much like a service call.
Normal service hours and technician arrival
In many lifting service companies, normal service hours are similar to office hours, although they may vary from one company to another. A request for a technician outside these normal hours will generally be at a higher rate. For example, evening work may be time-and-a-half, while night and weekend work may be double time.
For this reason, if you request a technician in the early hours of the morning, say 6:00am, you may incur additional charges. As a general rule, however, you can expect a technician to leave his home base around 7:00 - 8:00am to go to your site when for his first job of the day.
In conclusion, effective emergency management, combined with an appropriate contingency plan, considerably reduces the pressure on those managing production. So, when a service call comes in, you can pass on clear information to your supplier and receive the technician within the agreed timeframe. After all, if your neighbor has a call that takes precedence over yours, you'll certainly be happy to give him priority. But you'll be even happier when the opposite happens!
To reduce emergency calls and favor scheduled appointments, put a contingency plan in place as soon as possible. A lifting specialist can help you with this essential step. If required, our service team is also available to help you. Don't hesitate to fill in the form at the bottom of the page for our advice.
Another effective way of limiting emergency calls is prevention. Regular inspections are a valuable tool in this respect. You'll find useful information on the importance of inspections on our dedicated page.
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Groupe Picard- Jean-Denis Perron
“ Their ability to listen to our specific needs was a major strength. They have always responded quickly and efficiently, especially in emergency situations, which has greatly contributed to the continuity and success of our operations... I highly recommend Premium Industrial Group to any company looking for a reliable, structured and responsive partner. Their professionalism and commitment to quality and safety make them a model in the industry. „
Université Laval
Michel Lafrance
“ Since the beginning of our collaboration, Groupe Industriel Premium was able to help us target our needs while respecting our high safety criteria. At every step of the project, from the engineering to the completion of the project, we benefited from courteous, efficient and fast service. In addition, I would like to specify that this project was delivered within the deadline in collaboration with the various subcontractors present on the field. I have no doubt about the expertise of Groupe Industriel Premium. „
Modern Event Furniture – Jean-Francois Delisle
“ Nowadays, everyone claims to offer exceptional service, but very few know the real definition. Throughout the project of our new plant, the work done by Industrial Premium Group took place on time, at cost, and especially in a super-efficient way. This collaboration was a real pleasure from beginning to end, and they really can claim to offer exceptional service. Thank you all! „
Fabrinov – Rémi Poulin
“ I want to thank you all for the good work you’ve done at Fabrinov. I am extremely satisfied by both the quality of the product and the professionalism of your crew. Job was finalized quicker than expected and everything went smoothly. While no one was running on site, there was no waste of time! Your crew knew exactly what they were doing! „
Continental
Benjamin Cloutier
“ We are fully satisfied with the result. The whole project met our expectations in terms of budget, deadlines and quality. Even the tidiness of the old structure in the roof beams was done as requested. „
Les Entreprises Carco inc.
“ Groupe Industriel Premium is a team of professionals! We have done several overhead crane installation projects with them. A reliable, experienced and qualified team that listens to the needs of the client and respects deadlines and safety. „
Unisson Structures
Marc Sauriol-F
“ I wanted to personally thank you for all your hard work. Sometimes accolades are hard to come by, especially when there are a few surprises along the way, but I really mean it: Thank you! „
RMH Industries
Gaétan Dionne
“ Thank you to the Groupe Industriel Premium team for their great work on this project. They presented a personalized offer answering to the specific needs of our company. The project was delivered on time and respected the initial specifications. „
CR Nouvel-Air- Jonathan Milette
“ Very good specialized company. Extraordinary value for money. Company with very human service. „
TMS Solution
Marc-Antoine Coulombe
“ Thanks to the support of the Groupe Industriel Premium, we made the right decision according to our needs. We had the equipment delivered on time with a fast installation. Thank you for helping our company on its journey. „
Danaca Transport
“ Thank you to Groupe Industriel Premium team for their excellent service! „
Structures RBR
Alain Lebel
“ We have Premium who takes cares of our overhead cranes and we can rely on them. „
Stornoway
Yves Perron
“ To the Groupe Industriel Premium team, thank you for the excellent work. You have greatly participated in the success of the Renard project. „
AnodiQ inc.
Steve Fontaine
“ After 5 years of operation, we are proud to have kept their service, the quality of our Gorbel structure allows us to successfully complete our activities. „
Groupe Machinex
Jean-Michel Paré
“ We usually had a traditional crane come out to pick up the baler and set it on transport. Now, we are saving a lot of time because we just pick it up with those two overhead cranes, set it on transport, and it's off to our client's facility. „
Robover
Gordon McAllister
“ Professional and safe work, consistent habits of all staff. „
Comairco
-Marjorie Pleau
“ "Nous avons fait affaire avec l’équipe de Premium, car ils nous ont proposé une structure adaptée à nos besoins. Ils ont su respecter l’échéancier de production afin que notre équipe soit opérationnelle rapidement." „
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Service Call
Plan your service call - Two simple options
Option 1: Talk directly to our service team
Québec
Toll free :
1 888-650-0588
Montréal
Toll free :
1 888-968-0588
Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., dial 1
to speak to our team.
Outside business hours, dial 8
and a technician will call you back within 15 minutes.
Option 2: Complete our online form
Click on “Service call"
Describe what's wrong, and attach photos to help with diagnosis.
Submit your request
Click on “Send” and your request will be given priority by our team. A supervisor will contact you as soon as possible.