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Until recently, engine maintenance and repair management involved changing the oil when it was convenient and repairing the engine when it was damaged. This seemed to be the accepted way of managing a maintenance operation.However, due to a variety of circumstances, freight hauling jobs became increasingly competitive. This competitiveness caused users to look for ways to prolong equipment life and lower operating costs so that they could be competitive when bidding jobs.To assist Caterpillar Truck Engine users in prolonging engine life and reducing operating costs, the Value Planned Repair approach to engine maintenance was developed.The Value Planned Repair approach can be tailored for any engine. This approach, when properly structured, outlines every maintenance and repair service required to support an engine from the day it enters service until the day it is retired.To ensure the repair is performed efficiently and expediently, the Value Planned Repair concept approaches a given repair in three basic steps: 1. Repair determination2. Evaluation of repair options3. Selection of the most appropriate optionThe Value Planned Repair approach addresses: * Services required to maintain an engine at optimum efficiency.* Scheduled maintenance, repairs and overhauls to minimize unscheduled downtime.* Preplanned repairs and overhauls that can be flatrated, putting you in charge of costs.* Repair or overhaul options designed to restore the engine to proper operating condition.* Repair or overhaul options designed to renew the engine if a failure has occurred.Part of the Value Planned Repair approach is the repair before failure concept. The objective of the repair before failure concept is to repair the engine before a failure takes place. The fact that a failure has not taken place makes the repair before failure concept more economical since a high degree of parts such as pistons, liners, valves, etc., and major castings such as cylinder blocks, cylinder heads, etc., can be reused.Also, an extensive internal cleaning of the engine, which is labor intensive, is eliminated because a debris-generating failure has not taken place.The best part of the repair before failure concept is that unscheduled downtime is minimized and in most cases eliminated.Because the repair or overhaul can be scheduled, it allows the user to adjust his operation accordingly.The overall benefit to a customer who repairs an engine before failure is that the customer and not the engine is in control of the repairs required.To stress the importance of the Value Planned Repair approach, please consider the following example that reflects the difference in the cost of a before failure repair versus the cost of an after failure repair.The cost to repair a turbocharger after it fails is approximately five times more than the cost of repairing a turbocharger before it fails.However, if parts from a damaged turbocharger enters the engine, then the cost to repair your engine could be as high as 10 times or more the cost of repairing a turbocharger before it fails.By subscribing to the Value Planned Repair approach, you can avoid spending money on costly repairs that should have been prevented.Caterpillar strongly