Undercarriage Management is not just inspection.
It is the conversion of physical measurements into decisions that extract maximum component life and eliminate unnecessary cost.
Measurements alone do not create value.
Decisions driven by those measurements do.
The process is simple to explain, but powerful in practice:
- Review current measured wear
- Compare against historically achieved life
- Forecast forward using validated wear rate algorithms
- Make the maintenance action decision that maximises total system life
This is how undercarriage becomes a controlled financial lever, not an unpredictable expense.
Example: Missing the Pin & Bush Turn
When bushes are at ~75% worn and links are ~50% worn, the correct data-driven action is to turn the bushes and change the seals.
This allows:
- the unworn side of the bushes to be used
- the remaining 50% link life to be consumed
If this action is missed, the consequences are significant.
- Links are prematurely scrapped at ~75% worn
- Bushes run through their hardened layer and reach 110% worn
- The reverse (unworn) side of the bushes is never utilised
This is pure financial loss.
Quantifying the Cost
On a Caterpillar D11T, chain components average ~$51,000 per side.
Missed maintenance results in:
| Value Destroyed | Value Lost |
| Unused 25% link life scrapped | $12,750 |
| 25% of a new chain required just to get back to the original position | $12,750 |
| Cost per side | $25,500 |
| Cost per machine (both sides) | $51,000 |
One missed decision = $51,000 lost.
Equal to the cost of a new chain.
This is why data-driven Undercarriage Management matters
The savings are real.
They are measurable.
They are repeatable event-by-event, machine-by-machine.
Undercarriage Management converts wear measurements into intelligent action – and financial outcomes.
Managing undercarriage is not a cost.
It is how you avoid unnecessary capital spend and drive the lowest possible cost per operating hour.
If you think this is difficult, let me help you, contact me at johnb@tracktreads.com and I will show you how to achieve these savings