Equipment · hours
Equipment operating hours: how to read and track the hour meter
A machine's hour meter measures its operating hours. It is read at regular intervals, for example weekly, noting the date, the machine number and the value read. The value is then compared with the service intervals in the manufacturer's manual. These readings let you plan servicing according to the machine's real use, not the calendar.
An excavator that works every day and one that goes out once a month do not have the same servicing needs. The hour meter makes the difference. Here is how to read it, track it and avoid mistakes.
What the hour meter is for
Many manufacturers' manuals express service intervals in operating hours: oil change, filters, greasing, various checks. For a construction machine, the number of hours says more about wear than the date or the mileage.
Intervals depend on the model: always follow the manufacturer's manual and do not reuse values found elsewhere. The French Labour Code also requires the employer to inform the people who use or maintain a piece of equipment of its maintenance conditions and of the manufacturer's instructions (article R4323-1).
Beyond servicing, a regular reading helps date a breakdown, compare the use of one machine with another, spot a machine that is barely used and keep a clean history if the machine is resold.
How to read the hour meter
The action is simple, but it must always be done the same way:
- Choose a fixed moment: end of the week, return from site or end of shift.
- Read the value shown on the machine, without rounding it.
- Note the date, the machine's fleet number and the value read.
- If possible, take a photo of the meter: it serves as proof in case of doubt.
- Enter the value straight away in the file or the app, not at the end of the month.
- Compare it with the previous reading: the difference must be consistent with how the machine was used.
How often to read it
No text sets a frequency for this reading. Here are practical guidelines, to adapt to your fleet:
| Situation | Frequency guideline |
|---|---|
| Machine used every day | Once a week |
| Machine used from time to time | At each outing or return from site |
| Machine hired out or lent | On departure and on return |
| Machine close to a service deadline | More often, so as not to overshoot the deadline |
| Change of site or assignment | At every change |
The most common mistakes
Most mistakes come from data entry more than from reading. Spotting them early avoids wrong deadlines:
- A misread or transposed value, for example 1,250 entered as 1,520
- A forgotten reading, then made up from memory
- A meter replaced or reset to zero without anyone recording it
- A mix-up between two machines of the same model: the fleet number must be on every machine
- A misunderstood unit: some meters show tenths of an hour, check on your machine
- A broken meter: note the date of the failure and the last value read, then mark the following hours as estimated
From the reading to the service and inspection deadline
The calculation is the same whatever the tool: the next deadline equals the meter reading at the last service plus the interval from the manual. The hours left are the difference from the current reading.
Example with fictitious values, to replace with those from your manual: last service at 1,000 h, interval of 500 h, current reading of 1,420 h. The next deadline is at 1,500 h, with 80 h left. If the machine runs about 20 h a week, servicing will be due in about four weeks.
To turn these calculations into a schedule, see preventive maintenance for heavy equipment and the preventive maintenance plan.
Hours can also play a part in periodic inspections. For machines under the order of 5 March 1993, INRS quotes technical note no. 9 of 2 August 1995: where certain equipment is very little used and has a meter that makes it possible to assess the real number of hours of use, inspections every 300 hours are considered equivalent to quarterly inspections, and this frequency can never be less than once a year. This case does not apply to every machine: ask your inspection body. The intervals for lifting appliances are set in months: see VGP inspection intervals.
Excel or app: which to choose?
For a few machines followed by one person, an Excel spreadsheet is enough: see construction equipment tracking, which offers a free spreadsheet with hour-based servicing. Beyond that, readings are better made from the field, for example with a heavy equipment mechanic app.
| Criterion | Excel | Mobile app |
|---|---|---|
| Entry in the field | Impractical, to be re-entered at the office | Directly at the machine |
| Site with no network | Not suitable | Possible if the app keeps entries and sends them when the network returns |
| Alert before the deadline | None without programming | Depends on the tool; in Trackary, entered on the machine record (no device reading) |
| Several people | Risk of different versions | One shared database |
| History per machine | To build yourself | Kept machine by machine |
What Trackary does, and what it does not do
Trackary keeps an hour meter for each machine, with configurable service deadlines and alerts before the date. Teams enter readings from the mobile app (as long as the app stays open, entries are kept and sent when the network returns), and the history is kept machine by machine. Trackary costs €14 excl. VAT per active machine per month (€11 above 50 machines), unlimited users, with a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.
In Trackary, readings are entered by your teams on the machine record or when closing a job; Trackary does not read telematics devices. Trackary does not carry out VGP inspections, certifies nothing and does no invoicing.
Trackary keeps each machine's hour meter and warns you before the deadline; try Trackary free for 30 days, no credit card required. Free trial ↗