End-to-end tire management reduces costs, manpower

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With the economy forcing fleets to cut costs in all areas, executives and managers looking for savings in maintenance see tires as a big target. At more than $300 each, mistakes in purchasing and maintaining these assets can be costly. Information technology can help fleet managers make more informed data-driven decisions for planning tire purchases and refining their strategies to reduce tire costs.

Any general accounting software can be used to track tire costs as a total expense item. Fleet maintenance management software systems can track tire and labor costs on an individual vehicle basis. But to maximize visibility and control, tire management software systems now can capture the full range of tire-related information.

The Dossier Tire Management System from Arsenault Associates is designed to track tire-related costs from cradle to grave. From the moment a tire is placed onto a vehicle, the software tracks miles, air pressure and tread depth to determine a tire’s “per 32nd” tread-depth rate of wear.

Once the tire leaves the vehicle, the software tracks the quality and value of the casing and retread, says Charles Arsenault, chief executive officer. The software also updates the cost of the tire when it re-enters inventory as a retread (the retail cost minus its cap value).

Tire-tracking capabilities have been available for some time in Squarerigger Software’s flagship maintenance management product, SQ7, but the company says it has taken a new approach and designed an integrated tire management system – Revolution – which is slated for commercial release early this summer.

“We’ve developed this software application to tell management exactly what their tires are costing them – and, over time, what brand of tires are optimal for their specific fleet,” says Richard Koontz, a spokesperson for Squarerigger.