Obtaining commercial, government accounts via specialty vehicle training

Similar services can be applied to other governmental and quasi-governmental fleets, including post offices, police departments, disaster preparedness agencies, road crews, utilities, educational and cultural institutions, and an additional assortment of entities at the national, state and local levels. Commercial operations are another avenue for your expertise in specialty vehicle repairs.

On the military front certain confines do apply, however: Addressing the mechanics of a turret affixed to a Humvee doesn’t mean that you can “inspect” the machine gun and fire off a few test rounds, no matter what temptations may arise. Weapons systems and the like are typically off-limits and tended to by personnel holding the appropriate security clearances.

Having assumed the role of military workhorse, wherever there are boots on the ground there’s a good chance that the troops are riding in a Humvee. Bearing the official acronym of HMMWV – for High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle – Humvees are produced by AM General as part of its large roster of purpose-built governmental and commercial vehicles.

Headquartered in South Bend, Ind. with a 675,000-square- foot assembly plant along with a Supply & Logistics Center and a Testing & Training Facility, AM General ensures that its customers are thoroughly educated on all the aspects of automotive-oriented readiness.

Features of the company’s operational base include a 320-acre off-road training course, classrooms, hands-on technical training bays and state-of the-art driving simulators.

A network of trainers is deployed worldwide to impart military and civilian technicians, vendors, sales representatives and associated personnel with the skills they need to execute mission-critical maintenance, up-fitting and other tasks. Specialized in-house and field service representative-led instruction is taught to thousands of students in the United States and abroad.

The company’s Service, Parts and Logistics Operation (SPLO) entails:

• Supply chain management, including options for onsite warehousing and parts
• Support at strategic locations in the U.S. and overseas
• Field service support from experts who share the latest technical knowledge and hands-on training to operators, technicians and instructors
• Dealer and technician training
• Driver training
• Maintenance planning
• Technical manual, both interactive and conventional
• Warranty support
• U.S. Government safety reporting
• Customer satisfaction analysis.

Jordan Ford Mobility/MV-1 of South Texas in San Antonio highly recommends the instruction provided by AM General’s Mobility Ventures subsidiary, producer of the MV-1 line of paratransit vehicles.

“We have two certified mechanics for the MV-1,” reports the dealership’s Manny Todd. “It’s complex because you have specialized parts that you have to order, so that’s where the training comes in handy.”

Constructed from the ground-up for wheelchair accessibility, “the ramp comes first” in the design process, he explains, “and the vehicle is built around the ramp.” Avoiding the engineering and performance challenges that can be encountered when converting a conventional van, the MV-1 has become a popular fleet addition within the disability community.

Shipping its stock of MV-1’s nationwide, “We’ve sold quite a few; we just got an order in for eight new ones and we’re working on moving them,” says Todd.

Chicago, Washington, D.C. and other communities have been implementing the MV-1 along with social services agencies throughout the country.

In 2016, the MV-1 Empire Taxi was unveiled and introduced into New York City’s teeming collection of cabs. Pat Kemp, Mobility Ventures’ executive vice president, describes the model as “the best choice for taxi drivers and fleet owners now making the switch to a wheelchair accessible vehicle.”

Innovations and opportunity

Assuming the proper management and staff training is achieved, ongoing opportunities are available within the overall specialty vehicle sector.

As you might expect, suitable training is especially important because specialty vehicles can be highly sophisticated in terms of diagnosing problems, obtaining the correct parts and completing the repairs.

Numerous OEMs are consistently unveiling a vast variety of specialty vehicles along with updated training requirements necessary to maintain operational capability.

The U.S. Postal Service, for instance, has implemented a Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) program under which AM General’s Center for Advanced Automotive Design in Livonia, Mich. was selected in September to provide prototypes aimed at meeting certain fuel efficiency and exhaust emissions standards as the USPS replaces its aging fleet.

(Although people are mailing far fewer letters in the Internet age, e-commerce has resulted in a dramatic increase of package deliveries – growing from 3.7 billion pieces in 2013 to 4.5 billion in 2015.)

“Our design offers the postal service unmatched innovation and the opportunity for significant savings on costs, maintenance and delivery operations,” says Howard Glaser, AM General’s executive vice president for commercial business who is also president of Mobility Ventures.

The engineering “is combining highly reliable, low maintenance, fuel-saving powertrain options and advanced safety systems into a durable, low operating-cost vehicle.” Innovations include:

• Lightweight, fuel-efficient vehicle technologies
• Advanced powertrain with system options
• Substantial emissions decrease with a zero-emissions option
• Next-generation safety systems that provide safe vehicles for letter carriers
• Reduced maintenance schedule with less complex repairs yields significant savings
• 20-plus-year body durability for long life.

Building on its engineering abilities as displayed on the MV-1, the company is partnering with the U.S. Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) to develop and demonstrate an autonomous vehicle that could revolutionize how soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines – along with equipment and supplies – are transported at military facilities.

A test-model is being put through its paces by carrying cadets with medical issues at the U.S. Army Military Academy in West Point – which has a semi-controlled environment of restricted roads and predefined routes – as part of the Applied Robotics for Installations and Base Operations program (ARIBO).

“The West Point demonstration uses AM General’s vehicle to not only demonstrate an autonomy kit, but to highlight the idea of robotics for military and civilian use,” says Alex Jimenez, project leader for TARDEC’s ARIBO program.

“The best robotic systems in the world will not find traction until users are comfortable with the systems,” he points out. “West Point is a prime location to address the acceptance aspect of robotics by having future Army leaders see and experience these robotics first hand.”

AM General Executive Vice President Kevin Rahrig says the vehicle is ideally suited for this initiative because it augments the Academy’s existing transportation system consisting of a 24/7 shuttle service for cadets and other military personnel going to and from the base hospital.

“Imagine what having a fully autonomous wheelchair-accessible vehicle would mean to individuals with disabilities,” he says. “This partnership with the Army could be the first step in transforming transportation for millions of people.”

And as an OEM contract manufacturer, the company is producing the Mercedes-Benz R-Class luxury crossover, currently sold only in China, at its 675,000-square-foot Commercial Assembly Plant in Mishawaka, Ind.

“We take the needs of our Chinese customers seriously and, therefore, continue to produce the R-Class, which is very popular in China,” says Jason Hoff, a Mercedes-Benz unit president and CEO. “We have found the ideal partner for this project with AM General.”

Subscribe to Aftermarket Business World and receive articles like this every month….absolutely free. Click here.