Be strategic about your vehicles' maintenance schedules to reduce downtime. Photo courtesy of Peak

Be strategic about your vehicles' maintenance schedules to reduce downtime. Photo courtesy of Peak

Maintenance costs fleets money not only when it comes to the supplies, people and equipment needed to complete a proper inspection but also in downtime as an asset needs to be taken out of service for the necessary maintenance to be performed. But if maintenance isn’t performed on a regular basis the cost is even greater with roadside breakdowns and even catastrophic failure.

While it’s important that trucks be brought in on a regular schedule to be maintained, there are things you can do to reduce downtime related to maintenance.

  1. Set standards: Have a list of all the things that need to be completed during a preventive maintenance (PM) appointment. Organize the list so the vehicle can be inspected and work performed in a logical order. Ryder, for example, recently performed a lean analysis of its preventive maintenance bays. The company optimized the work flow and rearranged the way work on the maintenance checklist was laid out so the technicians physically walk around less. The reorganization of the work bay itself saved the average technician over two miles of walking back and forth around the vehicle to complete the PM inspection.
  1. Coordinate needed services: Before setting up PM schedules look at the OEM recommended service intervals and see what inspections can be done at the same time. If needed maintenance for one component is within a few hundred miles of needed maintenance for another component, schedule them at the same time. In addition, check for recalls and service campaigns when a truck is in for normal PM service. Complete the recall work or service campaign while the truck is already out of service rather than scheduling another service appointment.
  1. Lengthen PM intervals: Consider increasing the time (miles or hours) between PM appointments. But don’t do this without first evaluating data from previous PM service, CSA reports and breakdown events, and oil analysis. If the data tells you the interval can be lengthened, push it out but make sure to add things like oil analysis to the PM checklist to help you catch developing problems. Switching to synthetic oils and lubes also can make it safer to extend PM intervals.
  1. Schedule carefully: Maintenance takes time but being careful about how and when you schedule it, can reduce its impact on your productivity. Consider outsourcing your maintenance to a service provider who can perform the work for you after hours or have maintenance performed in your own shop when the truck is not being used. Also coordinate the maintenance service with the drivers Hours of Service rest periods. Use the driver’s downtime as an opportunity to get needed vehicle maintenance completed, so that when the driver is legal to get back on the road, the truck will be ready too.
  1. Be available and accountable: If you outsource your service make sure you respond quickly to service provider’s questions and need for authorization. Remember that a big portion of the time attributed to truck service is actually non-wrench time. If a service provider is waiting for you to approve a repair of something he discovered during a PM inspection, failure to respond quickly will result in the truck sitting in the bay waiting. You could inadvertently be playing a role in lengthening your own maintenance downtime.

Originally posted on Work Truck Online