Heavy Duty Trucking, September 2018

programs see a 30 average decrease in the total number of unscheduled downtime events Part of that program involves the identification of parts that might fail and recommendations on early replacement dependent on each customers operation But if you replace a part before it fails is it eligible for warranty Usually not were told But if you wait for it to fail youll have other indirect costs opportunity costs towing inconvenience customer dissatisfaction unhappy drivers Depending on the cost of the part it might be much less expensive to give up the warranty However data might reveal a pattern to the failures than can help settle a claim with an OEM if it can be shown to be a repeated failure as Cornelius did recently Through good documentation from my technicians and VMRS coding I saw that we had surge tanks that were cracking at exactly the same spot at the same mileage he says I was able to get with the OE discuss the problem and get replacement tanks in so they could be installed on the next PM I got about 75 of my costs back from the manufacturer because I paid attention to the data Cross platform visibility Fleets have all this data streaming at them what do they do with PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE HDT SEPTEMBER 2018 74 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM Back in the day fleets would routinely do in frame overhauls of their engines a job that consisted of changing connecting rod bearings main bearings and a few other rotating parts Engines of the time were expected to come apart at about 250000 miles so the preemptive step was easily justified Today we expect those same components to run to a million miles or more with little or no trouble but we hedge our bets with rigorous oil sampling programs Its probably the best single example of accurate and effective predictive maintenance By closely examining for traces of ingested contamination dust dirt and waste as well as system contaminants such as fuel glycol coolant and soot used oil analysis can identify causes of increased engine wear and possibly prevent catastrophic equipment failure says Brian Humphrey OEM technical liaison for Petro Canada Lubricants Some engine makers now offer oil change intervals out to 70000 miles provided the fleet has an oil sampling program Its vital to take regular samples to detect any fluctuations in the levels and concentrations of impurities additive concentrations and traces of wear metals Once wear trends are established those variations can help detect how and why the machinery is wearing along with helping to identify the source of any contamination Humphrey says By highlighting any problems before they become serious and expensive to repair used oil analysis can reduce maintenance costs and unplanned vehicle downtime he says OEMs are doing a lot more to support their fleet customers today says Joe Puff vice president of truck technology and maintenance at NationaLease Oil analysis programs are one way along with being flexible on maintenance intervals provided you have the data to back up the decision to extend those intervals Its a much better way than doing a major overhaul at a specific mileage just to avoid a major breakdown at some point in the future SURE FIRE PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE WE SAY DURONTM SAVES YOU MONEY YOU SAY PROVE ITWE SAY NO PROBLEMTM Owned or used under license