Improving Maintenance and Operations

When a customer calls for a transportation pick up, a trucking company has the responsibility to pick up and deliver the freight with as little impact to the customer as possible. This includes both service expectations and cost expenses that the customer will incur. Nothing can be worse to a customer and trucking company business relationship than informing the customer you do not have the promised carrier equipment available, it will cost more than you had first estimated or that the carrier has broken down in transit. Especially with customers utilizing just-in-time manufacturing techniques, impacting a production line could be hugely detrimental and costly. By implementing a technology solution like Cimatruck’s, a transportation company will have better operations and maintenance records which will benefit their customer base by providing a reliable and safe truck fleet.

Corrective versus Preventative Maintenance

A transportation company constantly has to balance corrective maintenance needs, which are immediate with preventative maintenance needs which can be scheduled and coordinated. This balance involves much more than being able to adequately plan for maintenance expenses. It is critical to a customer to have reliable equipment moving their freight. Repeated service failures would be a red flag to a transportation customer, particularly if there were added expenses from expediting material, damage to freight or interrupting production schedules.

In addition to managing a proactive maintenance plan, the safety of the equipment is also critical for drivers and the reputation of the trucking company. A poor safety record would deter both drivers and customers. Significant safety errors can also result in fines from local and national government agencies that can be very costly.

Maintenance Records

One of the most overlooked opportunities for operational improvements for a truck carrier involves maintenance records. Regardless of the size of a trucking company’s fleet, organizing maintenance histories and records of equipment can be an extraordinary undertaking. Unfortunately, right about the time an organization finds the task too overwhelming and does not move forward with managing maintenance is exactly when equipment failures begin to impact service quality for transportation customers. With the right tools, a trucking company can plan, organize and even leverage their maintenance costs.

The cost of tires can have an extreme impact on a monthly maintenance budget. However, with adequate tools, the amount of mileage and need for new tires can be a preventive expense rather than an immediate, unplanned expense when a truck is on the road and now may require additional repairs caused by the damaged tires or even worse, a customer’s load is impacted. By planning tire replacements, a carrier could potentially even negotiate a volume discount with a repair company or lower mechanics costs by having scheduled replacement times rather than emergency or immediate repairs. Customers will also appreciate the decreased opportunity for carrier equipment failures that can impact their business.

FTR, a leading Mexican trucking company, had 80% of their maintenance orders expended on corrective maintenance. With the implementation of Cimatruck, corrective maintenance dropped to only 30%, with proactive preventative maintenance orders reaching 70% of the total amount of work orders. In a single calendar year, overall maintenance expenses decreased by 7.75% . These types of results are easily achieved for any organization with the implementation and use of e-SIT.

Managing Availability

Many trucking companies like FTR have fleets with hundreds of trucks to account for. Managing the scheduling and availability of the personnel can be a near nightmare. Cimatruck provides organization and visibility for driver and equipment schedules to help simplify and optimize these assets for a trucking company. With the ability to better manage personnel schedules and equipment availability, a trucking company can book loads with better efficiency and optimization of truck capacity.

Coordinating maintenance with operations schedules has a great deal of benefit for a trucking company. The ability to better utilize carrier equipment with the proper planning and scheduling tools in place are effective components that Cimatruck can provide. These components will ultimately increase overall profitability. The customer has a vested interest in having a safe and well maintained trucking company managing their transportation as it reduces the potential for equipment failures that can interrupt production lines or cause freight damage. Ultimately, the financial benefits to a transportation company who has implemented an integrated maintenance and operations program are significant and will improve both profitability and customer service.