Dear Al Shirawi Enterprises (ASE) customer
This week I’ll show you how daily inspections can help prevent unplanned stops. It is an activity that takes just a few minutes per driving day and is a vital way of helping you save time and money in the long run.
Studies by leading equipment manufacturers confirm that up to 70 per cent of the unplanned stops are avoidable. The keys are daily inspections and regular proper maintenance.
Without meaning to state the obvious, daily inspections should be made daily and done by the drivers.
Some drivers think that they do not need to get their hands dirty and would prefer to leave inspections to the technicians, but they are the ones that live with the vehicle and know all of its unique noises and characteristics.
I recommend that drivers are trained to do a 10 or 15 minute systematic walk around the vehicle each day following a specific check list to ensure that all is covered.
This includes, but is not limited to, fluid levels, leaks, loose items and lights – things that can be detected without using any tools or equipment.
Many customers I talk to say: “We don’t need driver training for inspections, our drivers already do daily inspections.” And in some cases, that will be true.
But, if not, then you could be missing out on a critical opportunity to identify problems with your vehicles before they develop into something more serious and costly. Keep in mind that a repair on failure can be 10 times the cost of a repair before failure.
It is important that those who carry out the inspections know what to look for, as they could look straight at a potential problem but not see it. That’s worse than having no inspection at all because managers believe the system is fine and then make a misinformed decision.
You can avoid up to 70 per cent of the unplanned stops and reduce the repair cost by up to 90 per cent compared to repair on failure. To me, those 10-15 minutes every morning is time well spent.
Next Week
I will talk about maintenance agreements and oil analysis.
More Time on the Road
with Al Shirawi Enterprises (ASE)Lars Möller, General Manager, After Sales
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