Outside of a few select regions around the world, most drilling companies go through slow seasons. This typically coincides with winter months where the ground is frozen and drilling becomes difficult. However, it’s best to take advantage of this downtime to properly maintain your drilling rigs.
Proper maintenance is essential to ensure all your equipment is fully operational for the beginning of next season. At SIMCO, we have the expertise and hardware necessary for maintaining most drilling rigs. So whether you specialize in shallow drilling and mining or geothermal drilling, here are four steps to performing proper maintenance.
- After Season Inspection/Cleaning – During the busy season, you probably don’t have the time to really get clean everything up. If you’re out every few days or so, cleaning the drilling equipment doesn’t make much sense. However, the debris, moisture and mud can wreak havoc on your machinery and cover up potential problems. Thoroughly cleaning your drilling equipment and performing a full inspection after drilling season makes it possible to identify potential issues.
- Tune Up – Don’t let minor issues sit. Lingering problems develop into additional problems, which in turn cost you time and money in the end. Instead, perform any necessary repairs as soon as your equipment has a few days free, no matter if you’re calibrating your equipment or simply topping off fluids.
- Repair/Replace – You likely will need to replace some areas of the drills. Maybe the drill head is damaged or you need to swap out the treads on some drilling equipment. If you want to try and repair equipment, do so early as it gives you time to get everything up and running before the new season starts.
- New Equipment – Shop early for new equipment. SIMCO has the drill rig you need, no matter what the job, but it’s best to try to avoid the rush and pressure of the approaching busy season. Be sure to talk with our expert Service Department to ensure you will have a new rig in place when the busy season calls.
At SIMCO we provide an assortment of replacement parts, equipment, and the best service in the industry – all designed to ensure your equipment is as good as new come next season. Allowing SIMCO to help maintain your drilling rigs during the off season will help you catch minor issues before they turn into major (and expensive) ones.