Built on the campus of its North American headquarters, Volvo Trucks’ new 123,000-sq.-ft. North American Uptime Center physically pulls together the personnel and service, which had already been working together to keep Volvo trucks productive, under one roof.
The Uptime Center is a Volvo Group North America facility that Mack Trucks and Volvo Trucks share. The facility is able to handle both brands’ customer service needs. Click here to read Mack’s take on uptime.
Utilizing Volvo’s three integrated services—Volvo Action Service, ASIST and Remote Diagnostics—Uptime Center professionals monitor and respond to vehicle issues in real time, help dealers troubleshoot difficult cases and find the necessary parts for repair. This all helps Volvo customers increase uptime.
“It’s about data but it’s not just about a code,” said Rich Ferguson, senior vice president, aftermarket and soft products, Volvo Group North America. “It’s about turning data into useful information. That information allows us to work with our customers to manage people, assets and trailer loads.”
Using data from Volvo’s telematics systems, Volvo Action Service agents work directly with customers, dealers and Volvo representatives to resolve problems. They also rely on the work of product reliability engineers, who are responsible for diagnostics, developing service information and dealer tools, and ensuring issues are addressed.
Other members of the Uptime Center team focus on assisting the dealer in helping the customer. Dealer support personnel help troubleshoot challenging cases, manage warranty claims and resolve information technology issues. Parts specialists assist dealers in sourcing and managing parts, and work with suppliers and production plants to fulfill orders.
The Uptime Center not only reacts to downtime events, but also is proactive in identifying issues that may bring down a truck. As the center continues to improve and advance, Volvo sees a future where the center is an advisor and consultant to fleet owners and managers.
“Volvo’s number one priority is its customer’s needs and bottom line,” said Göran Nyberg, president of Volvo Trucks North American sales and marketing. “An airline doesn’t allow any unplanned stops. Volvo should have the same mindset when it comes to trucks. With the Uptime Center, we will be able to predict the lifetime of the components and predict when they will break or when they come to the end of their life, increasing uptime.”
According to Volvo, its dealers are key to customer uptime as they carry out most of the service support required to keep trucks moving. For that reason, Volvo dealers have invested $411 million since 2010 in improvements that will affect uptime. More than 50 new facilities are planned or underway, and the investments have also resulted in more technicians and Volvo master technicians, service bay capacity, spare parts inventories and parts department employees.
“Uptime is an ongoing process of improvement that requires the diligence and commitment of our people and our dealers combined with our industry-leading products, services and technology,” Nyberg said. “The new Uptime Center is one more step in the quest to make Volvo’s trucks the most productive in the industry.”
Site prep for the Uptime Center began in Sept. 2013. The center was completed in Sept. 2014 and has been fully operational and running since mid-October.
