A logical solution

Fleet Solutions celebrate their 25th anniversary this year. They are providing a more practical, innovative and cost-effective service than ever before, making them the obvious fleet maintenance partner.

Clondalkin based Fleet Solutions have added a VTN to their list of services. Their specialised area is trailer maintenance and repair, but they also boast a list of other services which include: shot blasting and painting; curtain manufacturing; sign writing; fifth wheel installations; and commercial parts distribution.

The VTN or Vehicle Testing Network is a network of test centres licensed and appointed by local authorities to carry out mandatory annual testing on commercial vehicles registered in Ireland. The network operates to strict standards laid down by the RSA, who are constantly striving to make our roads safer. Fleet Solutions wanted to offer their customers this service as it is considerably more efficient to test vehicles on site and it was a natural progression in their continual efforts to offer their customers an even better service.

Fleet Solutions was established in 1984 and this year the company celebrates its silver anniversary, a landmark that they are proud to celebrate, and wish to acknowledge that this would not have been possible without their strong and loyal customer base to whom they are very grateful.
To mark their 25th year specialising in trailer maintenance, they wanted to bring something new and fresh to the business. With this in mind, they carried out a full review of their business their customers and the maintenance practices and policies within the transport industry. This would prove to be a very revealing and important exercise.

It’s obvious that trailer suspensions and axles have become far more advanced with the addition of disc braking, ABS braking, EBS Braking, Led lighting etc. The chassis and superstructures are also developed to be much lighter and have advanced dramatically. However, trailer maintenance practices and policies are largely designed towards old technology.
The advances in technology were designed to make trailers safer and more economical but there is an exposure to extreme cost to the fleet operator brought about by the failure of these advanced components if they are not maintained correctly on a regular basis. But even more serious is the bad decisions and practices based on old trailer technology exposing operators to extreme cost.

Maintenance policies in the past were reactive, whereby owners would simply repair vehicles as they failed and put the vehicle back on the road as soon as possible. Rarely did anyone consider how they could prevent these extremely expensive problems happening in the first place. This of course was okay when the components required were just brake shoes, drums and repair kits, which had minimal cost, and the doe test was not as strict. But in the modern vehicle the story is dramatically different. For example on the modern vehicle if you miss service intervals the cost is huge because of the knock-on damage effect. To miss fitting a set of pads at a relatively low cost when they are required can result in a new disc being needed, increasing cost dramatically.
Fleet Solutions found too many different issues and opportunities to mention but the most important thing they concluded is that there is a desperate need for fleet operators and maintenance providers to work together in a collaborative way in order to minimize cost, get the best result for both parties, and avoid outrageously-inflated costs.

They feel they are in a unique position to develop this type of partnership with the haulier because of the wide range of services provided within the Fleet Solutions group and the wealth of knowledge gathered over the years, but the most important attribute they have to offer is their commitment to changing to the benefit of our customer. This commitment to changing maintenance for the better of the haulier is what they are offering that is different and will make the difference. They are working every day to find better solutions to the everyday problems and costs of trailer maintenance.

One of the first new innovations or products Fleets Solutions are developing is fixed price modular maintenance. Companies tend to agree an hourly rate with the maintenance provider in advance but find it difficult to get a fix on how many hours the job will take or how much the parts will cost so it becomes impossible for the customer to really know what the job will or should cost. To address this problem, they are immediately targeting routine service items that cost the customer heavily. They are negotiating with original equipment suppliers and alternative suppliers and agreeing prices that reduce cost dramatically. They then work with their service manager to develop standard times to carry out work rather than the suck-it-and-see attitude.

They are also training their fitters to insure they are making the best maintenance decisions. The result of this work is a fixed price module that they believe is exceptionally good value. Each new module is added to an ever-growing fixed price module folder on an ongoing basis. This folder demonstrates that Fleet Solutions are prepared to put their money where their mouth is.

When you look at the modules folder, you will see how they have simplified the business of trailer maintenance by breaking it down into logical steps. You will see that they have priced to impress. But most importantly, they have fixed the labour cost in the modules so that you don’t get any shocks. It is easy to see the significance of what they are doing; allow them to be your Fleet Solution.