Fleet Maintenance - 26

this spectrum because of their experience with the
diverse customer. This independent provider can
also typically work on both tractor and trailer."
The ability for an independent network to
service trailers as well as tractors may seem minor,
but it can make a major difference when facing
downtime due to an issue with a trailer.
While OE networks have the benefit of offering
warranty service, working with an independent
network does not necessarily leave a fleet without
warranty options. Some independent networks
are certified to perform warranty work for certain
OE vehicles.
"With the addition of Love's Truck Care and
Speedco as an International Truck warranty
provider, we have bridged the gap between [OE
and independent] networks," says Eric Daniels,
director of tire care operations for Love's Truck
Care, a network of service centers providing heavy
duty tire care, light mechanical services, and roadside assistance.
Drew Kortyna, vice president of TA Truck
Service for TravelCenters of America, a full-service travel center company operating full service
centers, confirms that Freightliner and Western
Star warranty service is offered at most TA Truck
Service locations as well.

Lease networks

Somewhere in between OE and independent service
networks, lease networks are for fleets that choose
to lease vehicles rather than purchase them.
Mike Hasinec is vice president of maintenance
for Penske Truck Leasing, a provider of full-service commercial truck leasing, truck fleet maintenance, truck rentals, and used truck sales. Hasinec
relates that one advantage to lease networks is
receiving priority service at virtually any service
location, even without an appointment. A vehicle
experiencing difficulties that takes the truck down
while away from its home base could stop at the
nearest Penske location and be prioritized above
local vehicles in for non-emergency service.
"For example, if ... you're domiciled in Redding,
Pennsylvania, and you're traveling to California
and you need something done to your vehicle,
you can stop at any facility in between [and] we're
going to work on it," Hasinec explains. "You don't
necessarily need to schedule an appointment.
Especially if it's safety related or mission critical,
once your vehicle shows up at that facility, we're
going to prioritize that and get that vehicle back
up and running on the road."
Penske also maintains relationships with many
major truck OEs, which allows the truck leasing
company to perform warranty work as well.
"We perform our own warranty work for
Daimler, Navistar, Volvo, Hino, Isuzu, et cetera,
inside our facilities," Hasinec says. "And, we have
our own internal warranty department who then
has the capability to file warranty [claims] with
the OEM, just like a dealer."
Hasinec notes that Penske service centers will take
on virtually any type of maintenance or service, but
typically outsource major projects such as engine
overhauls to engine or vehicle manufacturers.
"Other than that, if it comes in the door, we're
going to work on it," Hasinec says.

26 Fleet Maintenance | August 2020

»Daimler's Virtual Technician telematics
platform is provided with the purchase of new
Cascadia vehicles for a five-year period.
Photo courtesy of Daimler Trucks North America

A truck is never
far from a service
network facility.
Services offered

OEs are traditionally known for taking on larger service items such as engine overhauls, while
independent networks are known for their quick
work on smaller tasks as well as roadside service.
In recent years, both network types have begun
to offer a wider variety of services to bridge that
gap, but offerings still vary.
OE services
While warranty work and larger overhauls are
the trademark of OE service networks, many
are beginning to see the benefit of more readily
providing less labor intensive services. Some OEs
are doing this by providing triage when a vehicle
first arrives at the service center to determine how
long repairs will take.
According to Todd Shakespeare, director of
parts marketing for commercial vehicle manufacturer Volvo Trucks North America, Volvo service
centers categorize and split repairs between long
and short. Based on the company's research, the
majority of jobs can be considered short. Short
jobs are placed into a subset of bays in the shop
called an Uptime Bay, and the work is completed
as soon as possible to free up time for technicians
to focus on longer, more involved jobs.
DTNA's Kreso confirms Daimler dealers handle
repairs in a similar manner.
"Every vehicle entering the dealership is placed
in DTNA's Express Assessment process and
receives rapid diagnosis of the problem," Kreso
explains. "Today, 40 to 50 percent of the repairs in
our network are zero to four hours in labor hours.
These are Express Repairs and are diagnosed and
fixed by the same technician to provide the expe-

»Most OEs provide a triage process to determine
if a failure can be repaired immediately or
will require additional time to repair.
Photo courtesy of Navistar

dient fleet/customer service experience. Longer
hour repairs require staging and, in most cases,
are scheduled into long hour repair bays."
Cory Just, field service director for Navistar,
notes that the company uses a similar triage
process called Accelerated Service Lane, which also
provides a two-hour communication window to the
fleet during an unplanned downtime event. This
communication provides the fleet with important
information on what next steps are needed for the
cargo they are transporting: whether they can wait,
or if they need to send a replacement vehicle.
Commercial vehicle manufacturer Kenworth
also uses a similar two-hour diagnostic process
at Kenworth PremierCare Gold Certified dealers,
according to company spokesman Jeff Parietti.
These dealers offer ExpressLane service and
extended evening and weekend hours to help
expedite vehicle service.
Independent services
Jon Salter, director of shop operations for Pilot
Flying J Truck Care, a network of commercial
vehicle service centers, says Pilot offers mainly
quick services.
"Our Service Centers offer standard truck
services, preventive maintenance, trailer wash-

Fleet Maintenance

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