Charleston County Fleet is a fleet that is currently setting an example in the realm of preventative maintenance.

The county’s fleet is one of only 22 agencies in the U.S. that have earned the Certified Fleet Management Operation (CFMO) certification from the Government Fleet Management Alliance (GFMA). The National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence certified Charleston County (S.C.) Fleet Operations as an ASE Blue Seal of Excellence Certified Shop. Charleston County Fleet Operations was the only ASE Blue Seal Certified Government Fleet in South Carolina for 2014-2015.

Before Charleston County Fleet started its process its Preventative Maintenance (PM) program was at 74% compliance. Currently, PM compliance is at 95%, and has remained at this level for the last seven months. Another area of improvement came from its fleet availability; the rate of availability jumped from 92.5% to 95.6%.

Integral to these preventative efforts have been the Opti-Tread Tire Diagnostic and Vehicle Safety System from Squarerigger in combination with the Snap-on Integrity Test Lane system, says the fleet. This is a vehicle test lane and evaluation system that Charleston County uses to deliver printed analysis of the condition of the vehicle. It inspects and evaluates vehicle alignment; battery and charging system, wheel bearing drag, brake efficiency, brake pad thickness and diagnostic trouble codes (check engine lights).

Opti-Tread combines hand-portable tire measurement hardware with workstation-based software that examines, evaluates and diagnoses the condition of tires. It requires that a technician personally reach out, see and touch the tire while taking automated air pressure and tread depth readings. It automatically prints out a clear, graphic image of the car tire footprint along with its measurements. This detects and points out problems as simple as a nail in a tire, to tires approaching end of life, to indicating problems with the alignment or suspension components of the vehicle.

“In South Carolina we have a lot of damage to tires because of exposure to the elements. UV rays can disintegrate rubber when vehicles sit outside. With Opti-Tread, our guys look right at each tire and catch those problems and that is very important. Tire tread may look good a couple feet away but you have to get up close to see any weather damage on the treads and sidewalls,” said Mark Kostos, shop supervisor at Charleston County Fleet. “You have to really look at every tire and Opti-Tread does the personal inspection with the technical measurement system. It is a safety thing and tires, brake and steering are the most important vehicle systems.”