There’s a basic formula in heavy/highway construction that goes something like this: Quality + Production + Safety = Success.

As long as cost-estimates are fairly accurate and no major factors affect the outcome, following this formula will usually produce good results.

But there’s another formula that is just as important for success, one that stands behind and supports the first: Proper Maintenance = Better Quality + Higher Production + Increased Safety.

It doesn’t take Einstein in a hard hat to calculate the many benefits of regular maintenance. Keeping equipment and facilities in tip-top shape contributes to overall company performance. It raises quality levels, maximizes productivity and provides employees with a safer working environment.

That’s why the companies of the Vecellio Group make proper maintenance a regular part of the routine.

A good example is White Rock Quarries, the group’s limestone quarry in Miami, Florida. White Rock averages an hour of maintenance for every two hours of production. Daily inspections occur on every phase of the operation, with needed repairs handled immediately to keep the quarry running at top capacity.

“It’s a lot of work, but you can’t have good production without good maintenance,” says Joe Hernandez, Maintenance Foreman. “It’s as simple as that.”

White Rock is one of the largest single-site crushed stone quarries in the country, and high-volume production is imperative to keep up with sales demand. Every maintenance or repair item that is taken care of during scheduled down time is one less potential problem during the busy production phase. It also ensures that aggregates are properly sized and routed during production, so customers receive the highest quality products.

Proper maintenance keeps equipment in safe operating condition, as well. Normal wear and tear on equipment — which can be quite extreme -- is carefully monitored. Any items needing attention are addressed during scheduled maintenance — maximizing equipment uptime and worker safety.

“We’re very proud of our excellent production and safety records, and we recognize how much of that goes back to regular maintenance,” says White Rock Quarries President Jim Hurley. “We appreciate the great work performed by our maintenance crews, day in and day out.”