Page 28 - Commercial Vehicle Engineer - June 2021

PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE
This makes the maintenance process much more efficient. “As opposed to [previous times] where
the vehicle arrives blind, we take the mileage off the dashboard, measure the brake wear, check for fault codes, then scrabble around for the parts and we might guess it will need two hours labour, but it then takes four and it presents a problem.
“Now, we can be prepared well ahead of time
so that everything is ready for the vehicle’s arrival, we have built the job card, we have allocated the labour and the parts, we have told the customer what the scope of work is, those are clear benefits. The element of surprise is removed and that’s what always causes the pain – we haven’t got the parts, we didn’t realise we needed that much labour, we need the vehicle for longer – all those are eliminated with that advanced information over the air.
“Going forward, predictive maintenance will reduce drastically the amount of unscheduled stops and roadside breakdowns as we can intervene earlier and preventatively with the vehicle and call it in before the problem causes a breakdown. Even if there is a breakdown, at the call centre we can get much more information so when the roadside technician arrives, they know exactly what they
are dealing with and what the fix is and can take
the right parts and equipment to fix the vehicle.
It is the difference between flying blind and with
full visibility. Therefore, we give the customer a much more efficient service.”
Efficiency
With a more efficient service comes cost savings. For instance, trucks will spend less time off the road than they ordinarily would, which means they can be out earning again. It also makes workshops more efficient in terms of the workload of technicians, meaning they can do more.
Predictive technology can also have to optimise stock levels and reduce unnecessary stock holding, adds Patrick Tandy, managing director of telematics provider Freeway, whose products include a
routine maintenance functionality, which can predict the labour required and manage future stock requirements. "More importantly, it ensure operationally critical stock is always available," he says. “While overstocking is wasteful it can be more costly to be unable to complete a job because a part is out of stock. This can affect the whole schedule
of work leading to inefficiency, wasting staff and management time and often extending VOR [vehicle off road].
VOR [vehicle off road].
28 JUNE 2021 > COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ENGINEER