A switch to the Komatsu preventative maintenance program is paying dividends for Victorian civil company All Civil Australia.
With major projects across Melbourne, Geelong and throughout regional Victoria, the rail infrastructure and civil construction business needs reliable machinery that can be ready for work with a moment’s notice.
All Civil has a fleet of eight Komatsu machines, including excavators, a dozer and loader, which are put to work on a lot of their major rail projects, everything from trenching to conduit installations.
The company’s Plant and Operations Manager Rebecca Lincoln joined the team at the beginning of 2025.
One of her first priorities was leaning on her 15 years’ experience in civil construction compliance and maintenance management to help All Civil maximise its machinery uptime.
“When I arrived, I could see straight away that the maintenance program needed updating,” she said.
“It was manual and reactive, leaving us vulnerable to costly delays.
“I wanted to introduce an automated, scheduled approach with the help of Komatsu to make sure we were never caught out with machine issues.
“The improvements have been immediate: we’ve seen greater cost efficiency, reduced fuel usage and better reliability across our entire Komatsu fleet.
“It also allows us to plan around our project windows, so we’re not holding up jobs or delaying transitions between sites.
“It’s pretty much set and forget now. We’re staying ahead of issues rather than scrambling to respond to them.”
Rebecca said that by now identifying issues early, they’ve been able to make repairs before they escalate into costly failures.
“Little issues like hydraulic leaks, worn undercarriage components or clogged filters can set you back quite a bit, and for us we can’t accommodate lengthy periods of unplanned downtime as a lot of our projects need to be completed in a short shutdown period,” she said.
“Everything is time sensitive so it makes sense for us to mitigate issues where we can.”
A key advantage of the Komatsu preventive maintenance program has been the transparency around servicing costs.
With Komatsu’s fixed pricing structure, All Civil has been able to lock in service costs over a longer period, something Rebecca says is crucial in today’s uncertain economic climate.
“Having set service pricing means we know exactly what we’re up for over the next 12 months, or even longer in some cases,” she said.
“Some machines have the capability to clock up to 2000 hours in as little as 12-16 months, so it gives us long-term visibility, which is incredibly helpful for budgeting and planning.
“If something major were to happen in the market, we’re not suddenly hit with increased servicing fees as we’ve already got that agreement in place.
“It also helps manage our resale value of the machines — knowing their servicing has been well-managed and up to date.”
Another one of the standout benefits is the partnership with Komatsu itself.
“The team is honest, transparent and experienced. We have access to reliable, knowledgeable mechanics who understand our equipment and know exactly what to look for, and their expertise ensures issues are identified early,” Rebecca said.
Learn more about Komatsu’s preventative maintenance here — www.komatsu.com.au/support/services