march2023 - 18

" Encourage drivers to treat a vehicle as if it
were their own, " Woerpel offered. " What we've
found in working with many last-mile delivery
companies is that drivers are under pressure to
deliver a lot of packages in an eight-hour shift.
Often, the driver will get out of the vehicle and
let the door slam closed on its own. This creates
more wear and tear on the hinge and door stopper
than usual, and it can cause these parts to
wear out more quickly. Sometimes, the driver
kicks the door open, putting strain on the door's
hinges. It's similar for the sliding doors. Often, a
driver will hop from the front seat to the back,
grab a package, and go out the sliding door, closing
it with a heavy slam. "
Woerpel also explained that Ford Pro Telematics
software offers in-cab coaching capabilities for
support in helping to manage and change operating
behaviors.
" Connected vehicle data, sensors, and technol»
Technicians should inspect for wear and tear during PMs on cables, latches, and related hardware.
224366487 | Mr.chaiyasit Duangchay | Dreamstime
annoying, " Kegley related. " Noise is actually one
of the bigger complaints that we have when we
start identifying things. "
Another top identifying factor is looseness. Door
handles or hinges that feel loose are another indicator
that service is needed.
" You may need to put more effort into opening or
closing the door, " said Dirk Woerpel, manager, Ford
Pro NA marketing and strategy. " Doors are meant
to be tight fitting; if it doesn't feel smooth and tight,
it may be a sign that a part is wearing out. "
Kegley recommended paying special attention
to latch adjustments during installation or repair
to avoid looseness.
" The latch itself has an adjustment to it. And
when you replace either side of that, you're going
to want to make sure that it is adjusted so that
the door stays snug, " he said. " If you read through
the manuals, most of them use the word 'firm.'
It has to close 'firm' and stay snug. If it's loose
on the seal, it'll rattle, and that'll cause extra
wear. Any time any of the hinges or the latches
are replaced, even if they're removed for some
other repair, when you put those back on again,
you want to make sure that door has a firm feel
when it closes, and it's snug when it's latched so
it doesn't vibrate. "
Cinquegrana recommended replacing the latch
and lock in sequence, together.
" You don't always need to replace the hinge with
it, but if you're replacing any pieces that interact
together, it's a good tip to replace all the pieces at
once so they continue to interact well together, " he
explained. " Replacing a worn piece and keeping a
semi-worn piece can temporarily solve an issue,
but it won't fix the problem entirely. "
Cinquegrana also noted that keeping an eye
on usage patterns may help fleets identify abuse
or neglect.
" If Driver A makes 30 stops less than Driver
B, but Driver A is seeing more wear and tear on
the doors, locks, and hinges, that could indicate
misuse in some capacity or some type of part failure, "
he said. " More important than how frequently
your drivers are using the doors and locks is
how your drivers are treating those assets. "
When a fleet spots warning signs of failure,
good technicians will want to diagnose the root
cause. The most common culprit in this case is
a lack of lubrication.
" The most important thing is lubrication, "
» Lubrication is the key to uptime when
servicing door latches and locks.
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Kegley emphasized. " Lack of lubrication is definitely
the death of any of those components. Abuse
is always there, but lack of lubrication is probably
the key thing that we see when we see the failures. "
There are, however, other tips that drivers and
technicians should be aware of to avoid unnecessary
wear and tear on door components.
18 Fleet Maintenance | March 2023
ogy that learns driver behaviors to adapt vehicle
performance are all going to play a part in helping
to prolong the vehicle lifecycle long term, " he said.
The low-tech solution?
" The best practice to avoid abuse or misuse is to
slow down and open, close, and shut latches, locks,
and doors appropriately, " Cinquegrana noted.
" Avoid slamming doors, kicking doors open, and
knocking doors shut, for example. "
" [These components] live pretty long without
the abuse of flying wide open or getting rattled
loose, " Kegley agreed.
Also, ensure the door is closed before moving
the vehicle.
" We found that there are a lot of incidences
where somebody thinks they are just going to
back up a little bit and they have the door open,
and when they back up, the door gets caught on
something, " Kegley said. " Don't move the vehicle
with the door open. It sounds simple. It sounds
funny. But it has caused some situations. "
Another measure to prevent unnecessary wear
on doors and their components is to avoid stacking
packages against the door, hinges, latches,
etc. Cinquegrana suggested operators keep the
surrounding area of the door free and clear so
that unwanted pressure from the weight of the
packages is not applied to any door components.
Lock-tight preventive
maintenance
The key to uptime, in this instance, is thorough
and consistent preventive maintenance. Doors,
locks, hinges, and other related components
should-if not already-be accounted for in a
fleet's PM inspection list. And beyond maintaining
the vehicle, maintenance costs can also be
adequately controlled through rigorous PM, as
Ryder's Kegley attested.
" We actually went through and looked at the
cost of replacement door handles, " he said. " Think
about how last mile has really kicked up in the
last two to three years. When we went back and
looked at the cost that we're having per vehicle,
just average cost of door components, we're pretty
much flat. We're just a little bit lower than what
our cost was per vehicle in 2018. Even with the

march2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of march2023