Why isn’t a truck’s appearance part of the PM process?
Companies are spending thousands of dollars on graphic and designs for their equipment; some of those companies as well spend millions on television ads and internet ads. And it’s advertising space with that kind of reach isn’t cheap. Yet a lot of professional companies look at their vehicles as a rolling billboard and use decals
Properly inspecting wheel end caps
I do a lot of wheel end failure and wheel off legal cases that become very scary and dangerous. There is no question that in the past few years, there has been tremendous energy placed on wheel off situations and maintenance to prevent such devastating situations that I have seen, which in many cases end
Tire costs are down, but not my tire CPM?
In a recent meeting I was a part of, a fleet owner began by saying that the cost of rubber is down, oil is down, and his profits are down; so why aren’t tire costs down? He has a point—some fair non-bidding negotiations brought adjusted tire costs down. So why are tire costs-per-mile not coming down?
Who is controlling the checkbook?
A recent fleet cost reduction meeting, requested by the president, called for our department heads to come up with three cost saving initiatives outside of the normal box. The thinking was to fire up and measure the results from each idea going forward. The real intent, in my opinion, was to see what people have
Tire Inventory: Are you counting costs in the right place?
Everybody wants to get what they can out of tires: the last rotation, the lowest cost per mile and the cheapest cost, while putting air in them on a daily basis. Different fleet managers or accounting departments want to have inventory taken in various ways and at various times—some want to take inventory annually, semi-annually or
At the crossroads of loyalty, commission and margin greed
With the lowering cost of a barrel of oil, there is a time when it is just a market fluctuation or a clear reduction is cost. When the barrel or rubber prices go down, there is a time when fleet managers believe that cost of lubrications and tires should follow the downward trend of pricing.
Send it out to the ‘Experts’
I want to relate an experience I had to demonstrate the importance of training technicians for quality. There was an emissions problem with a vehicle under warranty, which seemed to be electrical; with the fleet’s mechanics not specializing in electrical issues, they decided to send it to the experts at the dealership for repair. So
Top 10 fleet maintenance management tips
1. Have a sound-documented preventative maintenance (PM) program combining annual inspections with schedule “B” PM intervals. A. Check batteries, load test and clean each time. B. Pressurize radiators to 18 lbs. C. Properly grease the truck or trailer. D. Maximize oil drains. E. Check alignment of front and rear axles. F. Air pressure, air pressure,
During transition: Hide the big stick, try evolution
Most often in fleet management, we have to be the agent of change. It is important to motivate people in maintenance and to coach them into change, not from the basis of fear or intimidation. As I advise current clients, their employees and maintenance personnel, I am not here to take your job. I am
Maintenance management structure: Centralized or decentralized?
What is the best structure for a good low cost provider maintenance program? Would that be centralized or decentralized? Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each. Centralized This is where maintenance programs, policies and procedures or developed and managed and controlled from. You typically find this in a corporate office with
Tough fleet decisions made easy: Remove the money!
In our world of fleet management, we are always hammered from the financial group about what we do, how we do it and how we spend money (it is their responsibility). There are always innuendos putting maintenance managers in the defensive mode. And with that defensive mode come Mr. Sarcasm. (I was once told that
ROI: Return on investment or rounds of insanity
ROI. What does ROI mean? It stands for “return on investment.” Yes, it’s an accounting term that is a method of ensuring that what ever is invested in pays for itself. It means when we deposit money in an account, we expect a rate of return; we expect some form of interest on the money
