Face-to-face meetings organised by ERA’s Technical Committee

ERA’s Technical Committee organised 12 rounds of face-to-face meetings between rental companies and manufacturers during the last Bauma, on 14 April.

In 2014, the Technical Committee of ERA had initiated some meetings where rental companies could share their needs with the equipment manufacturers. For confidentiality reasons, it was decided not to have all the OEMs in a same room but to have some separate sessions.

Another round of face-to-face meetings was organised at Intermat in 2015, with 10 manufacturers.

Following those meetings, ERA confirmed that technical development of equipment was taking more in consideration the request of the rental industry to reduce damages and accidents and to lower the costs for repair and maintenance. ERA’s Technical committee reviewed carefully the format and the methodology of these workshops in order to produce benefits to the rental industry and the OEM’s as well.

In Munich, 12 manufacturers (members of ERA or not) met with the rental companies and shared their improvements focusing on 4 topics predetermined by the Technical Committee:

- Tie down points,

- Simplified instructions / Quick Guide,

- Telematics solutions,

- Optimisation of maintenance intervals.

The ERA Rental Companies had created a joint documentation to give the OEM´s a recommendation in relation to tie down and lifting points and lifting pockets, as well as an overview with all necessary items to be explained in quick guides for the operators of rental machines.

As Martin Sebestyen, Chairman of the Technical Committee, stressed it during the Convention on 9 June, the feedbacks from rental companies and OEMs were very positive.

At their next meeting, in October 2016, the Committee will dedicate some time to the follow-up of the Bauma face-to-face meetings and the common questions will be addressed (any confidential topics will be discussed in the next face-to-face round). It has already been agreed within the Committee that the face-to-face meetings will take place twice a year and that the OEMs will only participate if they have something new to present.

This will ensure a faster and better communication.

For more information on the Technical Committee or on the face-to-face meetings, please do not hesitate to contact the ERA Secretariat, at era@erarental.org.