PHILADELPHIA -- Mack Trucks said it is establishing Certified Uptime Centers at its dealers that will streamline service for small repairs, such as software corrections, lighting problems and diesel particulate filter regenerations.

The system replaces the traditional first in, first out method of working on customers’ vehicles by diverting jobs that will take under four hours to special service bays with dedicated technicians. Now, the small jobs get caught behind big jobs and trucks are tied up unnecessarily for long periods, said Stephen Roy, president of Mack Trucks North America.

“We’re increasing customer uptime by changing our approach to the service process, ensuring our customers’ trucks are diagnosed and repaired efficiently and returned back to them as quickly as possible,” he said while announcing the new system on Monday at the ATA MC&E meeting here.

Information about diagnoses and planned repairs meanwhile will be sent directly to fleet managers so they can decide what to do about drivers and loads while work is underway. That will be done as a matter of course for all types of repairs, he said.

The program includes standardized workflows and service processes at Mack dealers, which will have to qualify for certification and commit to the program.

Mack Certified Uptime Centers are the latest extension of Mack’s commitment to keeping customers’ trucks and operations at peak productivity, Roy said. The special “uptime” bays are being designed for quick, accurate work.

The process uses Mack’s ASIST service management system and Guard Dog Connect telematics introduced last year, and recently announced Truck Diagnostics System.

“Customers with vehicles needing a quick repair will be rapidly diagnosed, serviced and returned to work, increasing efficiency at the dealership and improving a customer’s ROI,” he said.

Dealers who are pilot-testing the processes at 21 American and Canadian locations find their shops are moving service orders faster and gaining more revenue in a given time.

“The Mack Certified Uptime Centers pilot has significantly reduced the amount of time we’re spending on diagnostics and has also allowed an increase in technician productivity,” said Jon Miller, service manager at Vanguard Truck Center of Phoenix, one of the pilot locations.

“Our customers have noticed they’re getting their trucks back more quickly, as the new workflows are helping us be more efficient and move trucks through the repair process faster.”

Mack will continue its Certified Uptime Centers pilot through 2015, and will begin the rollout of the certification to the Mack Trucks dealer network in 2016.

Dealers in major markets will be the first to qualify, and it’s hoped that all dealers will eventually join the program, said Roy. Mack currently has 420 service locations in North America.