Fleet Maintenance - 33

When assessing the product, be sure to consider the total cost of the device, versus the upfront
price tag. Warranty and unit downtime should
also be considered when determining total cost
of the device.
If a shop is considering a traditional consumer
device and opts for an extended warranty, Guest
stresses a shop may still experience downtime.
"You can pay for an extended warranty on a
less robust device, but then
you also need to consider
the downtime you will experience when a device fails, the
need to have extra devices to
accommodate downtime, the
increased need for IT support,
and device management,"
he says.
If that device is out of
service, consider how long it
will be unusable. "How quickly can your manufacturer
turn around a broken device
if needed? If the answer isn't
48 hours, then that could be a
problem," says Guest.
Companies should have
a comprehensive program
for replacing the devices,
Panasonic's Lewis adds.
"[If] the device goes down,
we FedEx you a box for you to
put [the inoperable device] in,"
says Lewis. "We pay for shipping, both directions, overnight to have it repaired." He
says it is a rare occurrence,
but the company has procedures in place to expedite the
replacement process when it's
needed. "People often ask 'How
can you afford to do that?'
It's actually very simple; if it
doesn't break, we don't have to
do it very often. So, if it does
break, we owe it to you to make
sure it's back in your hands in
as soon as possible."
Sometimes, though, the
actual device will continue
working long after its warranty expires. There are other
issues users face as a device
gets older.
"In many cases, the limiting
factor is the changes in software demands that require a
new processor, not the device
itself," says Guest.
Lewis adds to this, explain*PADII not
ing that shops will usually go
another three to five years
after the initial five-year
standard warranty period on
the company's devices. These
devices still function, but some
applications and hardware
become outdated.
"The problem is the application begins to change and

you don't have the hardware necessary to run it,
or the technology has changed and you're going
to have to have new ports or new connections,"
Lewis explains.
To address this, Lewis suggests fleets confirm
with the manufacturer about after-warranty
support, including parts and service availability.
"For instance, [with] Panasonic, because of being the
core manufacturer we guarantee parts and service

for seven years after end-of-life," he explains.
Lewis emphasizes the difference between a
traditional consumer computer, and devices
designed specifically for extreme environments
like a maintenance bay. "These are people's
tools," he says. "They get their work done with
it so it's important to look at it from that same
perspective. You wouldn't go replace a screwdriver every three years."

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VehicleServicePros.com/10094390
May 2019 | VehicleServicePros.com

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Fleet Maintenance

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Fleet Maintenance