“We execute over 200 preventive maintenance events each month,” stated Todd Flechsig, general manager at PacLease Grand Prairie in Texas. “We’re strong believers in a detailed preventive maintenance program because in our experience, it can dramatically decrease the number of breakdowns our customer’s experience. Regularly scheduled maintenance leads to maximizing uptime so they can best service their customers.”
At the PacLease facility in Grand Prairie, hundreds of straight trucks day cab and sleeper tractors are maintained for lease customers as well as the operation’s rental fleet, which supports the needs of businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The location has six service bays, a drive-through wash bay, and a fuel island. In addition to full-service and contract maintenance, tire services, and 24-hour roadside assistance, on a monthly basis the shop handles more than 100 repairs across the fleet and spends over 170 hours reconditioning lease and rental units to prepare them for sale.
“We work diligently to minimize the volume of roadside incidents for our customers as much as possible by using a wide range of tools and technologies to help streamline maintenance activities,” Flechsig stated. “One technology which we recently implemented is a custom-built, voice-guided PM system that instructs technicians to inspect over 200 items and accepts their feedback verbally. To the customer, this means they can be confident in the quality and consistency of each PM.
“Additionally, all of our vehicles are loaded with connected truck and remote diagnostic technologies, which allow communication with both the customer and our service department,” Flechsig continued. “Using these platforms, we’re also able to push over-the-air software updates to our customers’ trucks. That way, they have the benefit of operating equipment with the latest software without having to bring the vehicle into the shop.”
Remote diagnostics allow us to have real time data to see if there are any performance issues with a customer’s vehicle, noted Brian Harris, service manager at PacLease.
“It gives us an advantage in knowing what potentially needs to occur to make repairs quickly and efficiently to get trucks back on the road and minimize downtime for customers,” he said. “No one benefits when trucks are in the shop for unplanned service needs.
“If a truck does arrive for an unscheduled service event, we have a technician work to diagnose the problem as soon as possible so we know whether we will need to order parts or take other steps to quickly get it back on the road,” Harris added.
Harris went on to explain that parts inventory is monitored at PacLease in Grand Prairie using the operation’s Karmak Fusion business system, which connects to a web-based platform that helps maintain inventories and track orders and parts deliveries.
“We can use this system to recognize trends for fast-moving parts and have them readily available to reduce downtime,” he added. “If a particular item is needed but not available locally, we partner with the manufacturer to receive it the next day. We also have relationships with tire vendors to have quick access to replacements, and we use the Dana Rhombus system to manage and reduce tire usage.”
PacLease Grand Prairie also uses relationships and programs to keep its shop staffed by top technicians.
“We have partnered with local technical schools to identify talent, and with internal and external HR sources to connect with the best candidates in the area,” Harris stated. “We also partner with Kenworth and Peterbilt to provide internships and scholarships for new recruits.
“Our in-house training curriculum allows our technicians to continue their education as well as select a career path so they can advance within our company,” Harris said. “Along with training, offering great pay and outstanding benefits are ways we invest in keeping good people.”
Keeping a close watch on performance is also part of the daily routine at PacLease Grand Prairie.
“Advanced analytics allow us to measure key performance indicators, including PM currency and repair comebacks,” Flechsig said. “Monitoring technician time on a work order is crucial so we can identify which technicians are most efficient at certain repairs and assign them to those tasks as they come into our shop.”
All of its service management practices have a direct impact on efficiency, which ultimately benefits customers, Flechsig noted.
“The fewer unplanned service events that are required,” he said, “the better able we are to control the overall cost to maintain each truck for our customers.”
