When it comes to maintenance, outsourcing and doing it yourself both have benefits and drawbacks.
Cost control is an essential component of effective fleet management, and maintenance is one area where managers can make a dramatic impact on the bottom line. No doubt that’s one reason more than two-thirds of CCJ readers surveyed last month perform preventive maintenance in-house, and more than half conduct their own brake and tire maintenance. And that’s just during the warranty period. Once the vehicle is beyond warranty, half of fleet operations perform their own engine repairs, and the majority performs all other maintenance tasks except paint and body work.
And yet, the simple truth is that electronics have made vehicles more complex, and complexity is the biggest reason fleets outsource repairs. “If you’re a dealer for an OEM, you send your technicians to their schools,” says Wayne Demma, a sales representative with Volvo and Mack dealer Chicago Truck Sales and Service. “We see everything that comes out before everyone else sees it. Many times, the fleets don’t see new equipment or issues until after the equipment is purchased.” Fleets then have to wait for technician schools to offer training on the new equipment.
Aside from the training and experience, the cost of purchasing computer programs and diagnostic equipment necessary to maintain newer tractors makes outsourcing an attractive alternative for many fleets – particularly smaller ones. But regardless of a fleet’s philosophy on routine maintenance and repair, there’s one situation in which few fleets – especially over-the-road operations – can avoid working with outside providers: A breakdown. In any situation, the keys are communication, cost control and an understanding by providers that uptime is king.
Control and comfort
Does the ever-increasing complexity of trucks today – particularly engine systems – make in-house fleet maintenance a losing battle? Not according to Bobby Allen, director of maintenance for Danny Herman Trucking, a Mountain City, Tenn.-based fleet of 165 company trucks, 100 owner-operators and 750 trailers. Allen, who supervises about 35 technicians scattered among five repair shops across the country, says Danny Herman keeps maintenance in-house mainly to control costs.
“Our mechanics have a better understanding of the trucks and the issues we commonly face,” Allen says. “The guys are used to seeing the same type of trucks, the same type engine and the same type of equipment on the trucks.” That familiarity also makes it easier for Danny Herman to control parts inventory and labor.
“Doing repairs, maintenance and tire work in-house keeps our fleet availability at 99-plus percent,” says Mike Maher, fleet supervisor for Kansas City Power & Light Co. “No dealership or independent shop can provide service at this level, plus it is more cost-effective to do in-house – very few comebacks, etc. Our company has been in business since 1882, and we do have a good handle on our costs.”
Those sentiments are shared by Wayne Beaudry, vice president of fleet maintenance for Maywood, N.J.-based Metropolitan Trucking. The fleet’s major hub is in Bloomsburg, Pa., where it maintains 790 trailers and 318 tractors. “We prefer to keep things in-house because I can control the cost better and keep an eye on the quality of the work,” says Beaudry, who has noticed a marked uptick in prices for outsourced labor. “Because dealers aren’t getting large volumes of new truck sales, they’re trying to make up a lot of their profits in the shop,” he believes. “The parts markup is starting to get pretty high at a lot of places.”
On top of that, some dealerships and shops pay technicians on a parts-commission basis, which makes it virtually impossible for a fleet that outsources to control repair costs, Beaudry says. “I’ve had shops tell me they can’t do a simple repair – put a spring in a fifth wheel – for that reason,” he says. “They come to you instead and tell you they have to sell you a whole new fifth-wheel unit because their technicians are commission-based and they get a cut out of that new component as opposed to just replacing the spring.”
Opting for outsourcing
Few fleets perform everything in-house, and according to last month’s survey, a quarter of fleets use independent repair shops or dealers even for preventive maintenance. B&B Global Logistics, a Montreal-based dry box hauler with three tractors and five trailers, had been fortunate to benefit from the services of a nearby mechanic that owned his own shop until the recession forced him out of business. “He would do all of our maintenance and oil changes,” says Alex Bardos, B&B president. “He was a little more expensive than others, but he was thorough. That’s why we have a 1994 Peterbilt with 3 million kilometers still running to Florida every week.”
