Getting a handle on tire maintenance and extending tire life is crucial for any fleet, regardless of economic conditions. Keeping track of individual tires can be a headache for even the most organized fleet manager. But money saved by maximizing tire life goes straight to the bottom line, highlighting the dramatic impact a good maintenance program can have on a fleet’s overall financial health.

But consider the challenge faced by Ryder System, which has a fleet of 160,000 vehicles and purchases about 300,000 new tires every year. According to Scott Perry, group director of vehicle supply management at Ryder’s Miami-based headquarters, a comprehensive tire management system is vital for controlling costs and assuring customer satisfaction. “I don’t know that we can – or would – attempt to quantify this program in dollars,” Perry says. “But I can tell you that in the 15 to 17 years we’ve had defined, total tire management discipline, we’ve seen our vehicle breakdowns related to tire failures go down exponentially.”

At the same time, Ryder has seen the yield of its tires – their absolute life – improve through both management practices and air pressure management competencies. “That’s in conjunction with improvements being made by our Bridgestone/Firestone and Bandag partners in compounding and tread design, as well as the selection of what treads we use in what applications,” Perry says.

Good tire maintenance practices should be part of any fleet’s culture, regardless of size. And technology has advanced in recent years to provide many resources to help with tire management. Pressure monitoring and inflation systems, computer software programs and more can make tracking, maintaining and analyzing tires easier.

However, just because a fleet might not be able to afford the technology – or perhaps not even understand how to use it – doesn’t excuse it from having some kind of tire program. “Despite today’s technology, a fleet’s tire management system can still be old-fashioned and done with pencil, paper and a tire gauge,” says Doug Jones, customer engineering support manager for Michelin Americas Truck Tires. A solid tire maintenance program calls for cradle-to-grave tracking, strong preventive maintenance and savvy analysis. Perhaps most of all, fleets should put their tire maintenance programs in writing, ensure everyone knows them and revisit their programs often.

Dealing with dealers
Fleets have to acquire tires before they can worry about maintaining them. Before making the purchase, they need to evaluate their trucks and routes to determine the type of application and weather climate the tires are likely to experience for the majority of their run time.
Choosing an application-specific tire will make a fleet more efficient. Long-haul fleets should find a tire that will provide them with the required levels of wear and traction, while also providing fuel savings over similarly performing tires.

Active OEM/dealer participation is crucial for an operation the size of Ryder System. From an inventory-planning standpoint, making sure the company has the proper tires on hand at the right time for the proper truck is critical. “We have a tire matrix, developed with our partners, established for each location to help them understand the fleet mix because it is so broad and diverse, ranging from light-duty up through medium- and heavy-duty vehicles – trucks, tractors and trailers,” Perry says.