Fleet Maintenance - 38

SPOTLIGHT ON UNDER VEHICLE

Taking the extra
step to prevent
wheel-offs

One fleet shares the implementation of its standard
operating procedures for wheel end servicing.

By Tyler Fussner

he term "wheel-off" refers to an incident in which
a wheel dismounts from a vehicle while it is in
operation. This can be caused from loose lug nuts,
bearing failure at the spindle, improper torque on
the lug nuts, rusted or damaged lug nuts, threads,
or studs, or improper installation and inspection
procedures. Wheel-offs are extremely dangerous and have resulted in devastating accidents,
damages, and losses. To help mitigate wheel-off
instances, it is imperative to follow standard
operating procedures (SOPs) when installing and
servicing commercial vehicle wheels.

Updating standard
operating procedures
Dan Flanagan, vice president of maintenance for
Bulkmatic Transport, has implemented an installation and inspection procedure, in addition to
the Technology and Maintenance Council's recommended SOP, with company technicians. This
initiative minimizes the risk of wheel-offs and
helps to ensure the safety of Bulkmatic's drivers

and the public motorists with which they share
the road. Bulkmatic is headquartered in Griffith,
Indiana, and has 55 terminal locations across
North America with more than 550 tractors and
over 1,500 dry bulk trailers.
Bulkmatic, like many fleets, has had instances
of loose wheels and even wheel-offs. Flanagan

Bulkmatic's
SOP requires a
certified observer
be present for the
process of spindle
and nut wheel
installations.

spoke to the struggle of ensuring that technicians
and vendors were doing their part to confirm the
wheels and spindle nuts were properly installed
and torqued each and every time a wheel was
serviced. Technicians can face many distractions
in a shop from incoming and outgoing drivers,
dispatch, shop managers, and the workload of
simultaneous services.
Whatever the case may be, the reality is a technician may lose track on their progress of their
wheel service and miss important steps and procedures. Flanagan wanted to eliminate this risk and
came up with a customized SOP for wheel service.
Flanagan served in the U. S. Marine Corps for
21 years as a crew member involved in the repair
process of jet fighter aircraft. He spoke to the SOP
of aircraft repair and how it had influenced the
SOP implemented for Bulkmatic's wheel servicing.
"When our aircraft were repaired, it was
required that a collateral duty inspector (CDI)
inspect the repair," Flanagan says. "If the repair
involved a flight control item, a quality assurance
representative (QAR) would observe and inspect
the repair. We are using a similar process, requiring a 'certified observer' to witness the critical
process of the installation of the spindle nut and
wheel lug nuts. The QAR level [of service inspection] is the level we need to be [at] with wheel and
hub installation."
According to Flanagan, this SOP helps fill in
the gaps that standard SOPs may overlook. A
second pair of trained and certified eyes is verifying that the process is being performed properly.
The "certified observer" - who could be another
technician in the shop, a dispatcher, or even a
terminal manager - receives the same training
and certifications as the technicians completing
the service in order to thoroughly ensure that the
verification is sufficient.
The SOP requires a certified observer be present
throughout the process of spindle nut and wheel
installations. If a certified observer is unavailable,
the service is halted and only continues when a
certified observer is able to verify
the installation process. Flanagan
notes that this piece of the procedure has caused some delays, but
he values the safety assurance
over the loss in uptime.
The SOP also calls for a torque
check of every wheel lug nut
during each preventive maintenance (PM) procedure, which is
scheduled in 60-day intervals for
Bulkmatic.
This SOP goes beyond
Bulkmatic's own vehicles and
technicians. If a vendor installs
wheels on Bulkmatic property,
they too are subject to the SOP
and must have a certified observ»»Establishing a standardized
operating procedure (SOP)
for wheel-end inspection can
help ensure wheels and spindle
nuts are properly installed
and torqued each and every
time a wheel is serviced.
Photo courtesy of SKF

38 Fleet Maintenance | February 2020

Fleet Maintenance

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fleet Maintenance