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maintainingthefleet

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Everything posted by maintainingthefleet

  1. Thanks folks! Wow, I can see there are a lot of like-minded folk. To address what I've done so far, I have implemented a one-truck-a-day PM schedule until further notice. The one thing that's always tricky is the mixers, since they go by Hobbs hours and not miles. As far as my shop goes, I don't have a lot of dead weight. Fact is, I don't have a lot of weight at all. I'm too light! I have about 2 and a half mechanics, but I think I have them talked into another qualified guy. The other half a mechanic, if you want to call him that, I plan on putting him on PM only and shop cleanup until further notice. I think he has potential, but the other guys get frustrated trying to teach him. I will have to take him in hand, I believe, and teach him the right way. Occasionally I have to pick up a wrench, but it's been a long time. I have forgotten a lot of stuff. I find myself reading air-brake schematics, which used to be something I knew cold. Driver policies are being addressed, mostly since they have done what they want to for a long time, but I have told management that I don't want them in my shop or bothering my mechanics for tools. I am going to be very unpopular for a while, but I have the backing of upper management on my shop policies. DVIRs aren't being done properly. I read a year-old audit report from Tx DPS (truck enforcement div.) about things they have been cited on. Maintenance records, inspection and PM records were 3 separate things they got hit on. I am not too concerned with the driver records, since that isn't my thing, but for the sake of the fleet, I will be auditing drivers at random. This again has the blessing of management, and I will also be checkriding NEW drivers to make sure they won't hurt the trucks. That has been a rather lax operation as well. But they did get hit on that, and they got a fine probably a third of what they should have gotten, still well into 5 figures. If they don't turn themselves around, they will have their USDOT and TXDMV numbers pulled. Then they will really be up a creek. We will be implementing safety meetings within the next couple of weeks. I thankfully have some friends who are safety men and fleet managers from other companies that I have worked for as a driver, and they have agreed to give some pointers. And I have someone in the office who keeps track of truck records and driver records. Looks like she is going to wind up being my right hand and safety person. Thing is, she doesn't have a CDL, so she really isn't qualified to audit drivers. I do, and I am. I have driven most stuff, just not a mixer, but I do know safe driving. And I know how to drive a truck safely. I am having, on top of everything else, to even gather up a list of every shop chemical we use, including caustics to remove cement from trucks, and build an MSDS book to keep on hand. OSHA would have a field day with me right now, so I have to do what I can. 5 people have done this job before me. All have quit. I have a need to succeed in difficult situations, so that is one of the places I shine. I just need the support of my shop staff and management. But every time I have talked to my lead mechanic, a very soft spoken guy, about different policies, he grins and giggles a bit, saying "Oh, people have tried that before..." Apparently no one wants to stick with it. Bunch of wimps if you ask me, that is, my predecessors. They will have to fire me. Something tells me there will be a lot of sweeping changes. Maybe not all of them will work, but I will make an effort to make them work. My biggest problem right now is getting my hodgepodge of auction trucks up and running. A couple of them, my Freighliner Century trucks, are running. I have a Volvo that is running. My Macks are among the sick ones. I have a Vision that seems to be a mechanically sound truck, that constantly loses power to the dash and interior electronics while the truck is in motion. I took it on a 5 minute test drive up US 59 2 exits and the dash and cab electronics restarted no less than 7 times. Only happens when the truck is moving, but when the cab electronics restart, whatever the foot feed was set at is what it runs at while it does it, so it acts like there is no power. Not the case... The engine stays running. I have another one with a front end shake, a CH. Happens around 55, then smooths out. Just had new tires in the front and a balance. I suspect the right kingpin, and checked it at the tire shop. Checked it again at MY shop and I can't get the same amount of play out of the wheel. I know I didn't imagine it when I was looking and feeling it at the other shop. Only thing I can imagine is that it needs to be up a little higher. Wiring harness at the injector pump is kinda played out too.. Cut out on a driver the other day... Another CH, all the lights are flashing as if they are wired thru the flasher unit. Same truck, step on the brake and the right turn signal indicator pops on in the cab. My guys are flummoxed. So am I... One CH sitting because I am missing a hood... That's all... Front end loader op backed into it with a Komatsu. That will do it! Enough about my problems, but if anyone can add insight, I am open. Peace, folks. A
  2. Well, I am awful glad I found this place. Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Arthur. I have been in and out of the trucking industry in various positions since I was 17 and in the army as a 63S, heavy wheeled vehicle mechanic back in the mid and late 90s. For a short time in 99, I actually turned wrenches in the civilian world on road trucks. After a minor injury on the job, I decided I would pack up and sell off my tools, then learn to drive. I did some driving in the Army, which has come in handy if you've ever driven Houston local. I got out of driving and into dispatching, then just got fed up with the whole damn thing and quit to follow my dream industry. Well, about a year ago, I found myself out of my dream industry and in a dead-end job. I got my CDL back and started driving again, this time local. Had a couple of different jobs, then came to the company I am at now, and I originally hired on as a driver for end-dumps. The owner of the company, in light of my maintenance and management experience asked me to take over fleet maintenance manager. So, here I am, having to build a maintenance program from scratch. This company, which shall remain nameless for their own sake, has no PM program, so I am designing that as well. I have a bunch of surly drivers, and a hodgepodge of auction trucks that I am trying to get up to DOT specs, to include a nice handful of Mack tractors, CH and Vision series, and a bunch of International Paystar mixers. They aren't so nice, and I don't have a lot of experience with Macks, other than driving them. Any input is helpful, especially when it comes to the little tricks. Most of my Macks have various and sundry electrical problems, some pretty cosmic, others more pedestrian. I really am still trying to figure out how or why I took this job, but I think it's either because I'm just plain crazy, or maybe I love a challenge. I hope it's the latter. Mostly I think it's because I'm stubborn. But I may look to folks from time to time for help. My maintenance staff is as cobbled together as the trucks are, but I think even they can be whipped into shape. We'll see. But any input, even to tell me I AM crazy, would be appreciated. Take care, and thanks for being here in advance. A
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