When designing a vocational truck, carrying out competent research, along with proper planning, can avoid unintentional consequences and added costs.
When designing a vocational truck, carrying out competent research, along with proper planning, can avoid unintentional consequences and added costs.
When designing a vocational truck, carrying out competent research, along with proper planning, can avoid unintentional consequences and added costs.
When designing a vocational truck, carrying out competent research, along with proper planning, can avoid unintentional consequences and added costs.
When designing a vocational truck, carrying out competent research, along with proper planning, can avoid unintentional consequences and added costs.

Cost control begins when spec’ing new vehicles

July 11, 2016
Proper vehicle design can reduce costs and improve vehicle reliability.

Fleet maintenance managers typically have direct input and responsibility on cost control. While they may not be the “captain” of their organization, their contributions can be extremely impactful on the overall operation, maintains Christopher Lyon, director of fleet relations, NTEA, the Association for the Work Truck Industry (www.ntea.com). 

Fleets are often the unsung heroes – viewed as a cost of doing business, he says. But in fact, “a properly run and managed fleet is actually an invaluable asset to the organization, and the potential is limitless. Professionals in a position to influence vehicle design can influence operational costs, and cost management can start with vehicle design.”

For the most part, vocational trucks are not mass produced. Rather, they are purchased for a specific application or job function. As such, they often have detailed parameters and regularly require high levels of customization.

Inadequate research, paired with poor planning, generally results in a pitfall of unintended consequences and costs, observes Lyon. The way to avoid this is through proper vehicle design.

He says that with more time spent on the front end with a well thought plan can:

- Reduce initial acquisition costs.

- Lower maintenance costs.

- Improve vehicle productivity.

- Decrease direct and indirect operating costs.

THE DESIGN PROCESS

“Cost control can be directly impacted by your vehicle design approach,” says NTEA’s Lyon. “These impacts will positively or negatively affect the bottom line of your next purchase.

“Before you begin your next vehicle design, research the application to fully understand the scope and requirements of the unit being purchased. Understand that you or your organization will have to live with the decisions for the life of the unit.”

In beginning the design process, he says it is important to “understand that there is no one right answer, as each organization’s dynamics can be fluid and require constant adjustment.

“Evaluating the performance and utilization of current vehicles can give insight into the functional requirements of your operation, while avoiding the pitfall of solely relying on what’s been done in the past.”

Lyons points out that this is the first step to saving money.

“Requirements and equipment specifications often change from year to year,” he observes. “Advances and improvements in new technologies and regulations are constant.”

Therefore, it is wise to regularly review and reevaluate vehicle design and specs.

He stresses that the application should be completely defined. “Lacking a complete understanding of functional requirements will almost certainly guarantee less than satisfactory, and often costly, results.

“Identify critical design constraints. This requires a reality check. Will all the pieces fit?

“Put ideas on paper and visualize the end result,” he recommends, “as this can often highlight design conflicts.”

REQUIREMENTS

All too often, the specification for a truck chassis is written first, says Lyon of NTEA. “Designing the second unit – for example, a utility or dump body – first is critical to following logical truck design. This is where the functional requirements are designed.”

Once this is completed, match the second unit to the chassis, he says. Take a moment and do a final sanity check. Did you identify everything – factors such as overall weight and dimensions and regulatory requirements and impacts?”

Another requisite is to keep the equipment users and maintenance stakeholders close in the design process, adds Lyon. Look at current vehicle productivity. Are units over- or under-utilized? Why?

Talk with maintenance personnel and review maintenance records to identify failure patterns and specific problems, he counsels. Also, visit with the equipment operators. Among the things to learn from them is whether the job environment they are working in affects vehicle design changes.

“Understand you will always have to make compromises,” he says.

“Finally,” concludes Lyon, “review and evaluate productivity after the unit has been in service to continue the cycle of improvement.”

About the Author

David A. Kolman | Contributor - Fleet Maintenance