june2023 - 10

truck so it is not affecting their utilization, " said
Kirk Altrichter, EVP of fleet services for Kenan
Advantage Group.
Clark said a lot of customers prefer Cox
Automotive's mobile service for PMs. " They can
leave the vehicle at home and not worry about
drivers' hours; it is more convenient, " he said.
Pyle has established time- and mileage-based
PM intervals for its power units and uses a fleet
maintenance software system to forecast PM
needs based on utilization. Shops get an alert ten
days before a truck's PM is due.
" That 10-day window helps us get those vehicles
in and set the priorities, " said Carrano, who added
the fleet also regularly reviews PM intervals to
ensure the fleet is on target.
Carrano also noted that though equipment
manufacturers have been able to extend mileage
intervals, that doesn't mean equipment shouldn't
come into the shop.
" [The interval] changes when you change oil and
coolants, but you might [schedule] a dry service
and do everything except changing the fluids and
the oil filters, " Altrichter said.
Initially, many fleets didn't realize how extended
oil drain intervals would affect equipment, said
Daniel Mustafa, director of technical service for
TravelCenters of America. " We definitely saw
increased failures in those other lubricating
components-clutches, U-joints, " he said, adding
that the industry saw the trends and adjusted
service needs.
Still, over the past five to ten years, TA has seen
fewer chances to provide PMs due to extended
intervals but is constantly looking for opportunities.
TA now offers its base PMs and an extended
drain PM that focuses on filters and other components.
Shops also provide specialized air disc
brake inspections. " They require a minimum of
three inspections a year, " Mustafa said.
A. Duie Pyle tracks PM needs with a checklist
for each vehicle type and the type of PM, including
the annual PM.
There's one final thing to consider: Before thinking
how to sync service the right way, a fleet must
first understand the worth of PMs. And to get into
an efficient scheduling routine, you might have to
spend a little money.
Chris O'Brien, chief operating officer of Fullbay,
argued that a strong PM program is an investment.
" Preventive maintenance saves you more
money than it costs, " O'Brien asserted. " If someone
is shortsighted, they see it as an expense, but
that is a disservice to highway safety. "
One option is to invest in fleet maintenance
software, such as Fullbay, or one of the several
other platforms out there.
The right software will not only ensure companies
create a smart maintenance schedule, but also
keeps them from bringing equipment in too often,
noted Jessica Kim, head of marketing for Pitstop.
" [Routine PMs] can lead to over-maintained
vehicles, over repairs, and over costs because it
is tied to a static schedule and doesn't take into
account the vehicle's health, " she said. " You bridge
in a maintenance provider like Pitstop, and we
pull data from multiple systems. "
Kim added that AI is getting smarter with every
data point: " You pull this data together, and it spits
out a smart maintenance schedule that fits into
the calendar of what you currently have set up. "
Optimizing labor
Once you know what PMs need to be done and
when, the next question to answer is who will
complete the task?
And finding technicians can be among the top
challenges shops face.
" Labor has been an issue for quite a while, not
just internally, but externally with the dealerships
and repair facilities, " Altrichter said, adding that
» Fleet
maintenance
management
systems can help
ensure the right
technicians are
assigned to the
right PM intervals
on time, with some
shops dedicating
certain techs to
handle all PMs.
Fullbay
» " Preventive maintenance saves you
more money than it costs, " Fullbay
COO Chris O'Brien noted.
Fullbay
some techs are more skilled than others and shops
may want them on more technical jobs.
Pitstop allows users to create a work order tied
to a specific technician. " You can keep track of who
is fixing what, so it keeps it automated, " Kim said.
TA has had success hiring dedicated lube technicians
who focus on PMs. " Some people choose
to stay in those job roles because they are more
predictable. We have very long-term lube technicians
at many of our locations, but we offer a lot of
opportunities for people to grow, " Mustafa said. TA
has focused on its recruiting and retention, adding
bonuses and vacation benefits for field employees
and providing tools to new hires.
" We're about 5 to 10% up on our technician
count, " he said.
The overall challenge is the rapid advancement
in technology and maintaining the in-depth
knowledge to service vehicles properly, making
ongoing training for technicians essential,
said Jason Richards, program manager II for
TravelCenters of America.
Shops also want to optimize technicians' time.
Fullbay can build PM programs to measure technicians'
efficiency with the expected completion
time, O'Brien explained.
" It is very similar to warehousing, where everything
is based on a throughput or KPI, " he said.
" It is to look for areas where we have them standing
around waiting, or doing clerical work rather
than maintenance. "
Fullbay's system can also identify technicians
that are underutilized. " Maybe I'm 100%
efficient, but I'm standing around waiting for
work, " O'Brien said.
To help decrease clerical work in the shop,
Trimble says its TMT Fleet Maintenance platform
can automatically create " work pending "
entries that can be converted to a work order
to reduce the amount of manual work needed
to sort through and enter data. In TMT, engine
fault codes are automatically converted to work
pending repairs, and assets are checked whenever
10 Fleet Maintenance | June 2023
june2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of june2023
