What is new with LeasePlan’s maintenance and repair management program?
Most recently, LeasePlan teamed up with Sears Automotive Centers to launch our E-Auth tool, which is a fully integrated communication tool that enables Sears Automotive National Account Repair facilities to communicate directly with LeasePlan. In turn, this allows all details of the service order to be submitted electronically. Using this system creates a more efficient experience for the driver, more timely and accurate billing and allows our technicians to spend more time scrutinizing the repair estimate rather than being burdened with gathering the information within that service order.
Tell me how it works.
E-Auth is a direct link to the point of sale system for the national account service provider, Sears Auto Centers. It is an industry leading technology, of which LeasePlan is first to market. We are able to pull all of the data electronically from the point of sale as it is entered. This eliminates the need for the service writer at the Sears Auto Center to create double entries.
What was the driving force behind this E-Auth tool?
E-Auth evolved from our award winning eRepair online authorization tool. It was a natural fit because eRepair has been used with our repair shops, including our medium-duty facilities, for some time. We piloted that program in 2006. It worked very well, especially for the medium-duty repair facilities because of the sheer volume of information that needed to be communicated to LeasePlan. With this tool, we can easily receive information from the shop and make the decision to communicate that back. The difference being, with E-Auth, it is an automated process. With eRepair, the facility would enter the information into the website to communicate to us.
What trends are you seeing in the medium-duty truck arena?
Lately, we have seen a renewed interest in AFVs in the medium-duty arena including battery power and propane powered vehicles. Because of the rising fuel costs, propane is a clean burning alternative. It is much less expensive than gasoline and it helps reduce your carbon footprint. One of the hurdles in the past was the convenience of the fueling locations. Lately, we have seen more prevalent fueling locations, which has allowed for expansion of this particular technology within fleets. The medium-duty arena will be seeing more of this technology in the future.
Do you see any differences with regard to the maintenance of these vehicles?
In regards to the propane, yes. It is a cleaner burning fuel so, in theory, it doesn’t create as many contaminates in the oil. The manufacturer with tell you to keep the same maintenance schedule as you would for a regular gasoline vehicle. Ideally, the engine will be cleaner and last longer when you run an alternative fuel such as propane.
What should fleet managers be aware of? Is there any area that you are seeing a change?
We have seen a couple changes prevalent in our industry in the last few years one of which is synthetic based oils. As manufacturers look to extend the maintenance intervals and the oil drain interval, this created the need for higher quality oil that doesn’t break down as quickly. It offers less coefficient of friction, therefore, increasing fuel economy. General Motors introduced the Dexos Oil in 2011 and they are going to continue using it in 2012. This is a proprietary standard of measuring oil quality. Many of the oils in the marketplace, in order to achieve that Dexos standard, will be synthetic based oil. They are slightly more expensive, although you can increase the oil change interval with these synthetic based oils as compared to traditional petroleum based products.
What are some of the issues you are seeing with tires?
We are seeing the manufacturers continue to produce new sizes of tires. We also see rim diameters increasing. Each time you add to the size of the tire you increase the cost. Additionally, the cost of raw materials has escalated sharply in the last couple of years. We are starting to see these costs passed along to the consumer. In addition to that, the repair facility needs to stock thousands of different sizes and models of tires. It is very difficult to keep that type of inventory based on the space limitations within their facility.
We talked to a fleet a couple of weeks ago about using nitrogen in their tires. What is your sense on that?
Nitrogen is more geared to high performance vehicles. It is a dense gas so it is less likely to escape from the tire. It is not always easy to find in the aftermarket and the perceived benefits do not outweigh the cost in our opinion. We don’t generally recommend it for fleet vehicles.
There are systems that measure the state of the oil as opposed to straight interval. Do you do that?
Yes, for some of our medium-duty and heavy-duty truck fleets, we will do oil sampling and conduct a chemical analysis of the oil to determine when the optimal maintenance interval would be. They also can predict component failures based on the metal particulates they detect within that oil sample. For passenger cars and light trucks this is not commonplace. Most of the vehicles in the marketplace today have an oil life monitoring system. Within that oil life monitoring system there is an algorithm that detects the operating conditions, engine and ambient temperature, idling time and miles driven. Based on this criterion, it will trigger a reminder for the driver when the oil change is due. The downside to all of this is if you were to move that interval out too far, you are not getting the vehicle into the shop often enough in order to get tires , brakes and other safety items inspected that may need attention on that vehicle. We recommend a hybrid between the oil life monitoring system and a preset failsafe interval, whichever occurs first. That way you are covered on all your bases.
What would you advise a new fleet manager to do with respect to maintenance management?
One of the things that LeasePlan provides for our clients is a total cost of ownership view when evaluating vehicles for their selector list. As you research a particular vehicle, you should not be focused on any one single element but look at the overall totality of cost in terms of the acquisition cost, the resale value, fuel economy, maintenance and repair cost, etc. One of the things we urge our clients to do is look at the tire size as well. Many times, the tire size will change year to year, which can create an unanticipated increase in that vehicle’s overall cost. This can impact your ultimate cost of ownership. We urge them to take a look at the tire size and get a sense of where that cost might lie before a vehicle purchasing decision is made.
BIO
David Doyle serves as director, maintenance and repair management for LeasePlan USA. In this role, he oversees all interactions and functionality of the maintenance and repair management staff. The award-winning team, staffed with certified experts, is the strategic hub for managing hundreds of thousands of vehicles across the United States. They are instrumental in controlling client costs, while keeping drivers safely on the road to perform their job.
[email protected]
