AUGUST 2017 | VehicleServicePros.com 25
Th ese are the basic steps:
Step 1 – Determine the vehicle labor hours needed. TMC
defi nes vehicle labor hours as the total amount of labor hours
– both internal and those of a vendor – used to maintain and
repair a vehicle or piece of equipment. Vehicle labor hours are
fi gured by dividing the total vehicle labor hours per day by
the number of assets for each type, make, vehicle class and
model year of vehicle or piece of equipment.
Step 2 – Separately fi gure the total vehicle labor hours
needed for each type, make, vehicle class and model year of
vehicle or piece of equipment, and then add results.
Step 3 – Calculate the number of available direct labor
hours. Direct labor hours is the actual time spent by a technician
to maintain and repair a vehicle or piece of equipment,
according to TMC RP512A. Th is does not include tasks such
as parts handling, shop clean-up time, etc.
Step 4 – Determine the number of technicians required.
Th is is done by taking the total number of vehicle labor hours
needed per day to cover the work, and dividing this amount
by the amount of the direct labor hours per day.
Mileage Makes a Difference
Fleet mileage can have an infl uence on technician staffi ng.
“If the mileage the fl eet runs changes signifi cantly, the
technician staffi ng model can be adjusted by dividing the
total vehicle labor hours needed by the daily fl eet mileage,”
the RP 512A Technician Staffi ng Determination says. “Th is
will give the vehicle labor hours per mile.
“Multiply that number by the projected mileage fi gure to
determine the total vehicle labor hours needed due to the mileage
increase or decrease. Use that number for the total vehicle
labor hours needed in the number of technicians calculation.”
Th e RP notes that this will be accurate only if all of the maintenance
is mileage driven. If a part of the maintenance is driven by
time, it must be factored into the formula.
Collective
Maintenance
Wisdom
Perhaps one of the
trucking industry’s most
useful resources for
best practices on truck
maintenance, testing and
specification information
is the Technology
& Maintenance
Council’s comprehensive
Recommended
Practices Manual.
It is a two-volume set:
•• Recommended
Maintenance Practices –
These assist equipment
users, vehicle/component
manufacturers and
other industry suppliers
in improving the maintenance
of commercial
vehicle equipment.
•• Recommended Engineering
Practices – These help
equipment users,
vehicle/component
manufacturers and other
industry suppliers in the
design, construction and
performance of commercial
vehicle equipment.
These practices are
applicable in the designing
and engineering of
vehicles so they require
less maintenance, reduce
maintenance costs and
increase vehicle uptime.
The manual, published
annually, represents
the consensus and
collective industry experience
of Technology &
Maintenance Council
(TMC) (www.trucking.
org/Technology_Council.
aspx) members.
All TMC members
receive a copy. Others
may purchase the
Recommended Practices
Manual through TMC.
Schedule
for Uptime
Because of the changing needs
of shippers, trucking fleets
often find it’s better to schedule
truck repairs to be completed
during their drivers’ rest periods
or 34-hour restarts. Take, for
example, Zimmerman Truck
Lines (ztlinc.com) of Mifflintown,
PA, a dry van and flatbed carrier
operating a fleet of 120
trucks – nearly all Kenworths.
“The name of the game is knowing
when your trucks will need
to be repaired and fitting that
work into your fleet’s schedule,
not trying to fit your fleet’s
schedule around those repairs,”
says Thomas Naylor, a first-shift
foreman at Zimmerman Truck
Lines’ maintenance and repair
shop. But with an ever-increasing
number of advances in engine
and diagnostic technologies each
year, Naylor finds some repairs
have grown increasingly more
complex in nature, requiring
technicians with more advanced
training to complete them.
Naylor says he’s found that
the local Kenworth (KW) dealer,
Kenworth of Pennsylvania
in Carlisle, not only offers
extended hours to meet the
company’s scheduling needs,
but also has more technicians
on staff certified to work on the
PACCAR MX engines that power
Zimmerman Truck Lines’ KWs.
ADVANCED TRAINING
Frank Miller, executive vice
president of the Kenworth of
Pennsylvania dealer group (www.
kwofpa.com), says that like all
KW dealers, his dealerships have
for years provided fleets and
operators good service support
with trained technicians. But
with technological advances
in the PACCAR engines, and
engine and vehicle diagnostics
with the Kenworth TruckTech+
remote diagnostics and service
management system, the dealer
group recently started providing
technicians with more continuous
advanced education.
This investment has paid off
with four of its dealerships
– Carlisle, Dunmore, New
Stanton and Shartlesville –
each earning certification in
Kenworth Gold Certified status,
Kenworth’s highest level of
dealer service designation.
Kenworth Truck Company (www.
kenworth.com) is the manufacturer
of “The World’s Best”
heavy and medium duty trucks.
BENEFITS
Zimmerman Truck Lines’ Naylor
says his company greatly benefits
from the rapid response times,
» When Zimmerman Truck Lines
needs help with maintaining and
servicing its fleet, it turns to the
local Kenworth dealer because
it offers extended hours to meet
the company’s scheduling needs.
Photo courtesy of Kenworth
particularly with warranty work,
and he likes how Kenworth of
Pennsylvania uses Kenworth
TruckTech+ to constantly monitor
his company’s trucks.
“Even though I also have access
to the PACCAR Solutions web
portal through my smartphone,
in some cases, I’ll first hear about
alerts from someone at the dealership,”
Naylor says. “They’ll offer
to help us troubleshoot them to
determine if we need to deal with
the situations immediately, or if
we can hold off until the truck
has completed its delivery before
we bring it in for servicing.”
Parts availability and rapid delivery
also go a long way in helping
his shop provide the company’s
fleet and the shop’s other
fleet customers with fast and
responsive service, adds Naylor.