Answer:

Thank-you for question and good to hear from you again Derek. Sorry for the delay on this response but, I have been on holidays for a bit. Here are a few pointers I used effectively in the fleets I managed both private and the leasing business. 

All engine manufacturers have increased fuel pressures to help meet emission limits. When it comes to filters I recommend sticking with the OEM for at least the fuel filters. I have found the aftermarket people not keeping up with the required fuel flow ratings of the engine for optimum performance and fuel economy. It is also recommended to utilize a high flow rated fuel filter especially in Winter because as the fuel filter gets dirty your flow rating drops and so does the engine performance. The flow rating drops even quicker if operators are not draining the separator as required. The extra expense will quickly be returned with better engine performance and fuel economy. 

I have found air filter restriction gauges to perform as stated but, do not move if there is no restriction. I have found too many times air filters with bonding material missing from manufacturing or holes in the filters from operators trying to clean out themselves for...what they think is more power. Restriction gauges will not register in these scenarios.  After much testing I found air filter replacement in Spring and Fall much easier to manage and we did see a return on investment with better fuel mileage annually. Much easier program to mange than worrying if technicians are actually looking at the restriction gauges.

I believe you are running Caterpillar engines. If you are running a fuel water separator check into Caterpillar recall number NAT-PR-3. It has expired for about two years now. C-15 and other engines require at least 100 GPH fuel flow rating for optimum engine performance. The fuel filter bases spoke about in this recall did not meet these requirements and a lost in performance and fuel mileage was recorded.

When it comes to tires to help with fuel economy and performance...keep the higher tread tires to the curb side of the road. The highway naturally is higher from the center to the curb side of the road. This will equalize the load run on all tires extending their life and lower rolling resistance. Keep the higher drive tires to the back axle again equalizing the load, lowering rolling resistance and lowering drive line wear by keeping proper angles on the driveline. Your probably running retreads so do not run soft wall casings such as Michelin with a hard wall casing such as a Goodyear. The Goodyear will be scrubbed very quickly as it does not move as the Michelin casing does. Again, rolling resistance and load equalization is also affected.

If you do not have a driver fuel savings bonus program in place...try one. I have heard from many fleets they do work and rewards the operator for efficient driving habits returning better fuel economy. This also helps to lower cost of ownership as there is less abuse to the unit lowering maintenance expenses.

Hope this helps my friend.

Answer:

Thank-you for the question. All OEM or suppliers of the components used to build the bus and the bus manufacturer themselves offer various training programs and can guide you to others. I am in Canada but, basically these organizations are looking to see trained technicians specializing in specific components of the vehicle.

I have sent one technician to as many training programs as I could and then set up in-house training for the rest of the technicians. This technician was now also an instructor. This included small salary increases with each course completed and also rewarded with a diploma created on the computer.

Very good incentive and makes them feel the company is investing in them. The company receives their return on investment with quicker job times, more efficient technicians and a little better public image. Also check out the website for the Technology and Maintenance Counsel. You will find training solutions there as well. Hope this helps.

Answer:

Thank-you for the question Mr. Marr.

Leasing is the best way to go when it comes to obtaining equipment required.
Two suggestions on which I have listed below:

Straight lease...no maintenance

On the financial side you want to obtain the lowest monthly payments while keeping the residual as high as possible. Any additional equipment required should be installed at the time of lease and included in the lease. Better to pay for these monthly as well. Stick to leasing new equipment and a term that ends before things start to break as downtime is also very expensive.
Usually before the warranty expires. Turning back equipment with warranty remaining allows for the dealer to sell or release the equipment much easier. This program works well only if you have a well established efficient maintenance department.

Full maintenance lease

This program works if you do not have an efficient maintenance facility or do not want the task and expense of managing one. An inefficient maintenance facility can quickly add to your cost of equipment ownership. Replacement equipment is also made available while your equipment is down at most leasing facilities. I hope this assists you with your decision.

Answer:

Thank-you for your question sir. When it comes to additives these only work with a small controlled fleet as it is difficult to manage operators installing the product at fuel up times. Installing additives at maintenance intervals will assist in running a cleaner more efficient engine. Fuel savings come from a cleaner more efficient engine which also extends the life of engine components and lubricates fuel system components which allows them to operate at their most efficiency. Some do raise cetane levels which will deliver better fuel economy...how much is very difficult to calculate. I always run the top brands such as Howes or Kleen-Flo. You just want to be sure a Kerosene type product is not being used as a Cetane booster as these will leave varnish deposits which have a very negative effect on the engine. Hope this helps.

Answer:

Hi Keith.

Here are a few pointers to help get some control back:

• Construct yourself full service forms and mid service forms. Depending on the mileage the vehicles run you may need to see the vehicle between full service (oil change) intervals.
• This also ensures your vehicle is being serviced to your standards both controlling your expenses and the safe working order of your vehicle.
• Maintenance intervals may need to be tracked by time rather than mileage as each vehicle may be running different mileages. (time is much easier to track as well)
• Have these service forms estimated by several maintenance shops in your area. Some OEM shops are actually happy to be included in these estimates and are easier to deal with when it comes to haggling over warranty issues regarding their work. Sit with the service manager ONLY to negotiate your program and also to ensure they clearly understand your requirements and expectations. Most will actually pick-up and drop off vehicles. All work is also computer tracked so no thumbing through old paper work to see if the job performed is still under warranty. Your time is worth money and you don't want to pay twice.
• Ensure you receive "fleet" labor rates and part pricing.
• Enquire with the OEM facilities for any possible warranty when repairs are required. Also enquire on any hidden or regular recalls. It's always beneficial when no charge repairs are performed.
• When serious power train or electrical repairs are required I recommend going straight to the OEM dealer. Most tasks are flat rated and they have the proper diagnostic equipment to do the job properly and quickly. Odds are they have probably come across the same problem more than once which means a quick repair. Get estimates on any required repairs.   
• Tires are expensive, ensure abnormal wear is inspected on each service to catch much needed alignments.
• I would also recommend having the operators perform pre-trip inspections and have a small and quick form filled. This ensures the vehicle leaves your facility in safe order as the operator may notice leaks or low tires. Having the repair performed in it's early stages is much less expensive than leaving the yard and failing out on the roadways. Saves a great deal of tow bills as well. Damage is a very big expense and can only be caught on these pre-trips.
• If you have the option, dedicate vehicles to the operators. Removes a great deal of headaches and it is much easier to control abuse and damage.

I hope this steers you in the right direction Keith and gets you thinking.

Answer:

Thanks for the questions David. All OEM programs offered are compatible to run from a laptop or desk top. Snap-on supplies Nexus hook-ups for Detroit engines which also works with their V-Cad hook-ups for Volvo, Cummins supplies Insight hook-ups for your Cummins engines. I always worked directly with my truck, engine, reefer and brake supplier OEM representatives to receive my options. If reps. are not available in your area I recommend visiting the OEM web sites and requesting information on what is available from them as this is always changing. Also, enquire with the tool suppliers such as Snap-On as they will also supply what you need...or some of it. Hope this helps.

Answer:

Thanks for the question George. Before you start deciding if you need a larger shop or more technicians to handle the existing work load you first need to make sure of a few things. Are the staff, number of bays, hours of operation being utilized to full capacity and efficiently? Here is how I set up my last shop I managed which was a very busy Paclease shop. We sold more hours and had a much lesser job return percentage in a 9 bay shop than our big sister Kenworth shop across the road which had 18 bays. Take a look how we did it and hope you can use it.

1.SET UP SHOP FOR EFFICIENCY. If you do both truck and trailer repairs have designated bays for each if space allows. Shop tools should be in a well marked designated area for quick easy access for the technicians. You should also have separate shop tool areas for trucks and for trailers. A technician can eat up a lot of valuable time running around the shop looking for tools.

2. For each shift I had 1 shop foreman running the floor and two working lead hands who were available to answer your technician's questions and quickly get him/her back to work if the foreman was busy with a customer or another tech and could not help. A technician standing around needing direction can also eat up a lot of time. The shop foreman was trained to perform my job and the lead hands were trained to perform the shop foreman's job. If I was away or the foreman then these trained staff just moved up a position so operations continue to run smoothly if someone was away or busy. Tell ya...was real nice coming back to a clean desk from holidays.

3. The shop work order stayed with the shop foreman and he was the only one authorized to have any technicians punched into it. Shop work orders can really run wild and cost a lot of wasted hours that should actually have been charged to a job.

4.When a technician has completed a job he handed off the work order to the shop foreman and started cleaning and putting away his tools, cleaning the bay of cores and garbage but, never touched a broom. The shop foreman inspected the job to ensure it was completed to company standards and that ALL parts related to the job were on the work order to be billed out. You ever here the saying "you can ask 10 technicians to do the same job and when each completed...may be done so 10 different ways." This is very evident when troubleshooting tasks are performed. A technician is utilized for      his/her skills. The level of standard and job procedures should be set by the company so that no surprises arise. If the above is followed less free parts go out the door, less completed jobs come back and less hours spent cleaning dirty tools and the bays being put on the shop work order. These hours should be billed to the job. Notice I said "less"? Human beings will make mistakes. If policies and procedures are put in place to  minimize mistakes, your pulling less hair out and utilizing your shop better.

5. The shop foreman then signed off on the work order meaning he was happy with everything he saw on the job. He then went and punched the technician out of the completed job and into his next job. By then the technician's tools were ready to go again, cores, etc were put where they belong and he   is now ready for his next job and receives the new work order. It happens so often where the tech brings the finished job outside still punched into that job and the next truck won't start to bring into the shop. At this point the tech should have been punched into the work order for the no start truck as the customer should pay to get his truck started to bring into the shop for repair.

While the bay is empty waiting for the next job my "shop kid" swept out the floor and emptied garbage.

6. Your goal is to have every hour for each bay billed out during the hours you are open for business. Dead jobs waiting for parts, etc for more than a  couple of hours or more should be moved outside if possible and you can measure this one. The bay is for selling hours and parts and not for storage. I ran day shift and an afternoon shift and had a 15 minute overlap between the 2 shifts so the day tech can explain things to the afternnon tech who was taking over his job. I found anyone working past 11:00 pm became none efficient especially when outside parts required at these times were hard to get.

7. A lot of my customers were repetitious "fleet" customers so I also had 5 mobile service cube vans fully equipped working right in the customer's yards working two shifts also. I just added another 10 bays to my shop without moving to a bigger building. The service trucks also sent a lot of bigger jobs to the shop...great sales tool.

I hope the above information was some help for you and I am very happy to hear you are very busy during these tough times George.

Answer:

This question would be best handled by a human resources department. However, I do know that with the economic downturn it is possible that there are many techs looking for jobs. That said, I would advertise for exactly what you are looking for or outsource your recruitment needs to a staffing agency.

When I was a maintenance manager, I would organize and set up visits to the local high schools to speak to students about the career opportunities as a heavy duty technician and how this trade has changed extensively.

I have obtained many good technicians through this process, which included supplying interested students with a job after high school and sponsoring them through their technical training while working for me. Hope this helps.

Answer:

It is our opinion that the benefits are worth the cost and here is why. Wheel alignment will affect major components of your vehicle such as steering and tires. Wheel alignments are seen as a preventative maintenance measure to ensure that the wear on the vehicle is reduced, that it tracks straight and handling is properly calibrated to the vehicle. If your alignment is out you can expect you use more fuel and greatly increase tire wear probably costing more than the alignment was worth. So save those tires and fuel.

We give the thumbs up to proper maintenance as a proactive measure to save time, money and headaches.

Answer:

We suggest that in a case like this you try a variety of programs as most offer a 30 day free trial. This is a little homework for you that should take no longer then about 2-3 hours or reading and selection of the best fit. That being said, it is very dependent on the fleet and who will be operating the program. Fleets the size of 50-100 trucks we have heard of an excel sheet being made to track a fleet or giant white boards. The two programs that have a large fleet following are Dossier and Fleetmate, so if you would like to review them based on more the 5000 fleets using them we think it might be a good fit.