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DO IT YOURSELF?
Page 52
Page 53
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Some hauliers outsource maintenance, others opt for the DIY approach. Bryan Jarvis talks to a group of operators with very firm views.
0 utsourcing maintenance has always been alien to a large section of the transport industry.These hands-on operators much prefer to exercise complete control of their fleets, and believe strongly that fleet management and fleet maintenance go hand in hand.
They see apprenticeships and further training as important foundations of a dedicated workshop-based business and an asset in a community. Problems such as staff recruitment, parts sourcing and waste control are regarded as part of the daily cut and thrust of running their own repair organisations But there are many others who believe that you don't need a dedicated repair organisation to support a haulage business. Instead they point out that the truck manufacturers' networks of service agents are well enough staffed, trained and equipped to deal with any thing from regular maintenance to inspections to unforeseen problems.
Indeed some fleet operators are content to place virtually their entire 0-licence requirements in the hands of an adjacent dealer. Many enjoy good relationships with their dealers and make the very best use of some very flexible arrangements.
North Yorkshire bulk tanker and tipper operator K&RA Brown's small fleet works within an extremely competitive sector and is as lean as they come.
The last thing Richard brown wants is to send vehicles on a 60-mile, four-hour trip from Skipton to Volvo's Birstall.West Yorkshire, dealership for a service —fuel costs, tyre wear and man-hours would make that a prohibitively expensive operation. Instead. Crossroads Commercials' service team visits Brown's premises in a fast, well equipped service van at the weekend, and its technicians use the customer's own workshop.
Brown's fleet comprises 11 late-model Volvo FH12 6x2s: a mixture of 460s,420s and 380s.They all operate at 44 tonnes UK-wide; five trunk bulk fuel in Caldal tankers on a Total contract while the others haul animal feed and grain in Stas bulk tippers.Three rigid tankers deliver heating oil around the Dales. Brown's workshop manager Richard Balderson previously worked as produc controller at Crossroads, so he's well acc ed with Volvo maintenance procedures problem solving.
"Between our two experienced tech cians, some really good drivers and mr we know when something is serious oi he points out.
If immediate action is needed Balder will either take care of it himself or calif dealer's help.
Once every two weeks Crossroads is i formed when vehicles are due for a serv six-weekly inspection and its service tea a visit. "We generally have four units ser and inspected at a time, which is just a ch work for a good team," he says.
Vehicles for annual tests visit Birstal a pre-MoT test, brake and smoke tests, a thorough going over. After a steam-c the units are coupled to a loaded traile: for a Saturday morning visit to the nea: Steeton test centre.
"We do some outside repair work ti the week ourselves," says Balderson,'' we also allow Crossroads in here to c1( similar work on other local operators' Volvos." Serious fault-finding is an iss he points out: "We can't afford expeni diagnostic equipment such as the V-C but if a tanker fails down south we tar the Volvo dealer network — with 95, ye never far from one."