Malc England, marketing manager of Tecalemit, looks a ways operators can improve their maintenance regimes and take costs out of testing.
Commercial vehicle operators are presented with many challenges in order to maintain a safe, efficient and effective vehicle fleet. From daily safety checks to periodic brake safety testing, all of the checks and tests have to be scheduled around the daily operational activities and requirements related to consignment schedules.
The outsourcing of checks and certain repairs can further impact the smooth flow of operations and incur increased fleet downtime and costs. Equipping commercial vehicle workshops with the appropriate equipment to test and maintain tyres, axles and suspension can significantly improve workshop operations and the subsequent fleet utilisation.
Fleet operators can select a suite of equipment to improve their maintenance regimes respect of:
- Brake testers, for in-house safety checks and MOT preparation.
- Tyre changing and wheel alignment equipment.
- Suspension play detectors.
Integrating brake testing in-house can deliver significant benefits to the fleet operator. For example, the DE-9700 commercial vehicle roller brake tester allows the operator to build their own fleet database, automatically recording vehicle test results and removing all of the administrative activity of creating a manual records system up in the office. Add in the ability to test a vehicle within minutes together with minimal down time for the trailer, tractor, driver and no third-party fees to pay, then the benefits start to multiply dramatically.
It isn’t all about safety checks though: it is also about preventing system failures and eliminating on road problems. Brake binding and orality issues can be diagnosed early and preventative maintenance scheduled appropriately. The binding brake that causes overheating and wheel bearing damage can be addressed in good time, reducing the risk of the potential subsequent on road failure with expensive call out repairs and delays to the load shipment.
To benefit from in-house tyre and when maintenance, operators need to consider four stages of operation. Fit efficiently, inflate safely, balance effectively and align accurately. A wide range of proprietary equipment enables operators to adequately address these requirements and reduce their dependency upon third party maintenance providers. Commercial vehicle tyre changers will safely handle large HGV wheels. Robust jaw-clamping systems ensure wheels are held securely during the tyre changing operation, and tyre inflation cages will ensures tyre inflation can be undertaken in safe conditions.
Detecting wear and play in steering and suspension joints can be made easier and quicker by installing DVSA-approved MOT play detectors, known affectionately as shaker plates. This allows all the vehicle maintenance technicians to subject the vehicle to the same standard of test procedure that is used in DVSA MOT Authorised Test Facilities. By testing to the same standard, technicians can identify and rectify and potential MOT failure items prior to the test. This can save significant vehicle downtime that arises from dealing with a MOT failure together with all of the time-consuming and costly return visits to the workshop and back to the testing station for re-test.
For instance, the Tecalemit DE/7353 Commercial Vehicle Hydraulic Play Detector consists of two Electro-hydraulic recessed floor plates. A single axle is presented to the play detector plates and the technician controls the movement in four directions using a simple hand control with integral illumination. This allows the steering and suspension joints to be examined for wear in a safe manner whilst avoiding the need to handle the road wheel or use pry bars to identify steering and suspension joint movement.
