To meet the ever-increasing demands of customers who expect little or no downtime once the units are on their job site, rental companies need to step up to the plate and implement more preventive maintenance. This includes job site mechanics and shop mechanics. Rental customers expect quality products and service. However, they must also realize that these expectations have a price tag.

Once rental companies have preventive maintenance in place, they need to look at the "complete package" and stop expecting someone else to pick up the pieces. This basically means refurbishing machines for extended use or retail sales, which eventually opens the door for additional revenue and more rental customers. The problem is that some companies don't want to repair. It seems as if they don't want to leave equipment in their fleets longer and they want to turn over equipment every three years. But who can absorb all these machines and keep them in tiptop shape?

Industry standards designate responsibilities to everyone in the safety chain, which includes the manufacturer, dealer, owner, users, operators, lessors, lessees and brokers. The rental company is no exception. It also needs to follow these standards closely - from training to safety requirements to record retention. Without full-service capabilities, it will become more difficult to fulfill customers' needs along with providing a safe workplace for the users/operators of the industry.