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Online parts
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Say what you like about the “good ol’ days.” Give me the Internet and the amazing ability to look up parts and get them coming without all the paper-bound hassles of years gone by.
In the machine repair business, it’s easy to spend more time getting parts than installing them. You don’t want to spend your day on the phone chasing parts. You call the dealer. You try to describe what you need. But you don’t know what the manufacturer calls it. No, you don’t have a part number. No, you’ve never needed that part before, and if you ever had, the invoice with the part number would be buried somewhere in the business office.
This assumes the dealer still carries that product line. Or the dealer is still in business. Or the product line wasn’t spun off or mergerized and is no longer supported in your area.
The Internet and Web-based parts searching is rapidly relieving these old headaches. The goal is not to cut out your local dealer. It’s to help the dealer and you work together better.
All about options
The new system isn’t perfect, but it’s very promising. It gives the service technician access to the same parts manuals that dealers use. Many manufacturers give you access to their interactive digital databases.
You get detailed “blow-up” diagrams. When your mouse cursor touches the part’s reference number, the system flashes over to the parts list and highlights the item’s name and part number. In no time, you can print out a list of everything you need and can call or fax your dealer. Or locate a dealer. Or order directly online.
Not all equipment makers offer that high-level interactive system. Some provide a digital copy of the original operator/parts manual for the machine. These are in the common Adobe PDF format. You can save the whole file on your own computer, then page through and print out what you need.
To take full advantage of online parts research, you’ll need a high-speed Internet connection: cable, DSL or satellite. Dial-up is too slow to handle the big hunks of data. You’ll want a big, clear computer monitor to bring out diagram details. A good printer will help.
You’ll find most golf-oriented manufacturers have Web addresses. You’ll find them in the Ad Index in this issue of GCM and in the exhibitor listings from the last GCSAA Golf Industry Show guide.
Start clicking
A good place to start exploring online parts research is www.arinet.com. This is hosted by ARI Network Services Inc., one of the oldest and largest software and system companies specializing in linking power equipment dealers, distributors and manufacturers. Let’s look at two big golf-related sites.
Go to www.arinet.com. On the top-right side of the page, left-click on “Customers.” You’ll get a page listing many of ARI’s customer/manufacturers.
Click on Toro. When that page opens, look in the lower left corner and click on “Genuine Parts & Look Up.” On the page that opens, look under the headline “Look Up Parts” and click on the line “Click Here.” This opens a page with step-by-step instructions. At the top right corner, under a globe logo, click the line “Start PartsViewer.” Type in a model number and the site gives you an interactive database.
Go back to the www.arinet.com customer page, and click on Textron TurfCare. Find the link to www.jacobsen.com. When the page opens, near the top find “CustomerOne Support.” Hold your cursor on that for a second, and a menu pops up. Click on “Parts Manuals” and you have a list of several dozen PDF files of the original manuals to download. Or click on “Parts Catalog,” and you go to an interactive electronic catalog comparable to Toro’s.
All the ARI-based interactive sites share many common terms and operating concepts, so learning one system makes for smooth sailing in the other catalog or PDF download archive.
Accept the challenge
But there are challenges. You’ll need a large supply of patience and persistence to get through the quirks and conventions adopted by various Web designers.
As with any search for parts, you need the exact model and serial number from the ID plate on the machine. The common model name won’t help. Your McCulloch chain saw may have “610” on the filter cover, but that produces 89 listings — mostly for lawnmowers — on McCulloch’s Web site.
Even the exact ID plate isn’t always what you need. The ID plate on my Homelite pruner attachment says “UT15520A,” but that produces no result on Homelite’s Web parts site. Searching under “Models that start with UT” produces 2,357 possibilities. But if you type in “15520-A” (I had to guess it needed the hyphen) you get the correct diagram. Sometimes you have to just add or remove spaces and hyphens until you figure out what the Web site demands.
There’s also a barrier imposed by Web page designers. They don’t always use obvious terms like “Parts” or “Service” or “Manuals.” Just one of many examples: Kawasaki, makers of the popular Mule utility vehicles, takes this round-about course: Start at www.kawasaki.com. Click “Enter Kawasaki.com,” scan down to “Owner Info” and click it. Look on the far right side of the page, and find “Parts Diagrams.” From that point on, it’s easy. You can get the complete factory parts diagrams for free and can order up the factory service manuals and pay for them online.
If you’ve got the time, it’s worth exploring the possibilities.
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