Need a technician to fix your construction equipment or do preventive maintenance?
There’s now an app for that.
It’s called Heave, and its founder Alex Kraft is this week’s guest on The Dirt. He likens the app to “Uber for heavy equipment service.”
Just download the app, input your need, and available independent field technicians pop up, showing when they can arrive, along with the rates and fees they charge. You pick the one you want, and they show up on your jobsite.
After the job is done, the app bills you. “The customer has control,” Kraft says.
To find out more about how Heave works and if it’s right for you, check out the latest episode of The Dirt.

Equipment World serves up weekly videos on the latest in construction equipment, work trucks and pickup trucks – everything contractors need to get their work done. Subscribe and visit us at equipmentworld.com!

In This Episode:
00:00 - Heave: On-Demand Equipment Repair
00:31 - What is Heave?
02:09 - How Fast Is Heave?
03:35 - How Much Does Heave Cost?
05:24 - Heave vs. Dealer Service
08:52 - Does Heave Offer Preventable Maintenance?
10:17 - How Much Can You Save by Using Heave?
11:31 - Using Heave as a Technician
12:38 - Can Heave Solve the Technician Shortage?
13:37 - Final Thoughts

Newsletter Signup: https://randallreilly.dragonforms.com...

Video Transcript:
Bryan Furnace:
Today we're here to talk about the diesel technician shortage problem and a new platform that's here to help us deal with this problem. The platform is called Heave, and Alex is going to talk to us about how exactly it works and how it's going to help ease some of the problems of finding a technician to work on your piece of equipment.
Your platform is really intriguing. So for the audience, can you just give us a high level overview of what Heave is?
Alex Kraft:
Yeah, so Heave is on demand heavy equipment field service. So one way to describe it is Uber for heavy equipment service. So customers who own and run excavators, loaders, dozers. As an alternative, when machines break in the field, to calling a dealer and waiting on a field tech, they can go to our app and book a technician to fix their heavy equipment right there.
Bryan Furnace:
What is the process to get started on Heave as a customer?
Alex Kraft:
To download the app. So ultimately customers have accounts with us. We don't really change any of the payment terms in the industry. So typical payment terms are net 30, but customers can download our app, put in a service request, get a service, and then we typically follow up with customers after that and set them up with an account, standard issue account creation.
Bryan Furnace:
So that's what I was going to say is your app really is... I would equate it to the Uber of field mechanic service because when I popped onto it yesterday, it was literally download the app and you're rolling within five to 10 minutes of setting your profile up. I mean, it's that quick.
Alex Kraft:
You had to call me because we had a guy on his way to fix your CAT and I 50 loader.
Bryan Furnace:
That's it. I mean, it was that quick. That was the shocking thing. I thought for sure it was going to take me some time to really get things set up and get things tuned in. And then there's probably some verification process on the backend and it's literally like Uber. You just download it and away you go.
Alex Kraft:
Yeah, it doesn't have to be complicated.
Bryan Furnace:
So here's the really big question. What is the average response time from me putting in a service ticket to having a tech on my job site?
Alex Kraft:
Yeah, so in the markets we operate, on average, once a customer submits a service request, they will have three to four available mechanics within 10 minutes. So you'll see, okay, So-and-so can be there tomorrow morning, So-and-so can be there this afternoon. So they'll have four choices within 10 minutes. And last month, 80% of service requests on our app were completed within 24 hours.
Bryan Furnace:
Wow. So you're responsive. It's not, "Okay, we got to wait two or three days for the local dealer to send out a tech." This is quick.
Alex Kraft:
This is on demand field service. So we have a large network of independent technicians. One of the things that makes this whole thing go is that a customer request goes immediately directly to the technicians. So in the way that field service is always run, I think one of the inefficiencies to it is everything goes through a dispatcher, everything goes through an office employee. Not with us. It's an app. It goes directly to the technicians and the technicians are answering right away. And so when you're dealing with the person that's going to be fixing it, it's a lot faster of a response and they don't over promise because they're the ones who have to show up.