Look around a fleet yard and you are likely to see lots of similar-looking trucks that do vastly different jobs. That Volvo over there? It’s used to run lightweight loads from Mississauga to the Northeastern States. And that Kenworth? That truck hauls domestic, pulling heavy-laden B-trains over the Rockies to Vancouver.

While the trucks may arrive from the factory with similar OEM-recommended maintenance intervals, how those trucks are operated has a big impact on how they should actually be maintained.

PacLease, with more than 40,000 trucks in its lease and rental fleet, uses the OEM recommendations as simply a guide.

“A typical starting point will be to set a PM schedule at every 90 days or every 25,000 miles for heavy-duty vehicles and 90 days or every 12,500 miles for medium-duty units,” explains Josh Schuster, senior service manager with PacLease. “From there, we leverage other data, tools and customer metrics to adjust the PM schedule as appropriate. For example, we have many fleets that run extended life lubricants and components which allows us to extend the PM intervals on their equipment by up to 45-55 days at operations of 100,000-plus miles (160,000-plus km) annually.”

PacLease adjusts maintenance intervals based on historical data and vehicle performance, Schuster notes. But you don’t have to oversee a 40,000-truck fleet to optimized PM schedules; there will be opportunities within any sized fleet to bring some customization to the shop.

Customizing PM schedules

It’s easy for fleets to fall into the trap of performing preventive maintenance the way they’ve always done it, following OEM-recommended service intervals to the letter. But a fleet that has various types of trucks in a range of duty cycles can take a more granular approach to maintenance, customizing PM schedules right down to the vehicular level.

Ray Hastings, director of service for national accounts with Mack Trucks, says fleets are most likely to customize PM schedules for oil, lubricant and filter changes, with exhaust aftertreatment components “being a close second.”

“Customization allows fleets to tailor maintenance schedules to the specific operational needs, usage patterns, and performance characteristics of their vehicles. This leads to improved vehicle reliability, reduced downtime, lower maintenance costs, and better overall fleet performance,” explains Schuster.

Engine hours, vehicle age, maintenance history, operating conditions and driver input can all be tracked to optimize maintenance schedules. But it’s important to strike the right balance. Is it worse to drain oil and replace filters too soon, leaving money on the table, or to extend intervals so long as to increase the risk of costly breakdowns?

“There is a safety net to simply using the standard PM schedule,” says Mack’s Hastings. “It’s easier to manage and there is less risk of overextending PMs.”

Fuel mileage has a significant impact on the truck’s service requirements, so maintenance managers can divvy their equipment into groups based on fuel economy but must also consider how driving behavior is affecting fuel efficiency and equipment wear. A driver who’s hard on equipment may result in more frequent service requirements than one who takes care to drive efficiently and minimize idling, all other things being equal.

Schuster highlights several areas where PM customization can benefit fleets (it should be noted, it’s wise to consult with OEMs or equipment suppliers before straying from recommended intervals):

Oil changes: “Many fleets still adhere to traditional mileage-based oil change intervals, but that is only the start to establishing an optimized PM cycle,” he says. “Limiting your PM to such stale practices can lead to unnecessary oil changes or neglecting oil changes.” He recommends leaning on condition-based oil monitoring systems that analyze oil quality and engine performance to optimize oil drain intervals.

DPF cleaning frequency: Similarly, fleets can clean their equipment’s diesel particulate filter (DPF) too frequently, or not frequently enough if they aren’t paying attention to actual soot accumulation and are instead relying on general manufacturer recommendations. Schuster suggests leveraging telematics and onboard diagnostics to track DPF performance and pinpoint the right time for cleaning.

Filter replacements: Air, lube and cabin filters are often changed based on time or mileage-based schedules, regardless of the condition of the filter, Schuster says. “Monitoring performance metrics such as fuel efficiency and air intake can provide insights into when filters are genuinely clogged or ineffective.”

Brakes: Brake components such as pads, rotors and drums are also often replaced on mileage-based schedules rather than the actual condition of the components. Schuster suggests using technology such as wear sensors and monitoring the braking performance every time the truck is brought in for service to optimize replacement schedules.

Tires: Mileage-driven schedules for tire rotation or replacement can cause a fleet to pull its rubber too early or too late. Schuster advises using tire pressure monitoring systems and frequent tread depth measurements to optimize pull points and prevent premature wear.

The same philosophy holds true for trailers. James Martin is founder and CEO of independent shop Diamond Fleet Service, in addition to running a furniture hauling fleet, Keystone Transport.

“In furniture, we have a lot of trailers that half the time are not being used, they’re sitting at docks,” he said. “That’s a different scenario than if you’re running that trailer all day long every week. A lot of fleet operations have a lot of trailers sitting at docks for drop-and-hook [duty cycles] or different scenarios, so you can set up groups of trailers that match their cycles.”

Becoming more predictive

Fleets are increasingly becoming more predictive about their future maintenance needs, by leveraging data that can be pulled from their vehicles — even remotely.

“With predictive maintenance and repair, fleets are replacing components before they fail, to ensure uptime,” says Mack’s Hastings. “Those fleets are taking PM customization way behind the beneficial cost savings of bulk oil and filter purchases.”

PacLease, which manages a massive vehicle population, is taking advantage of this opportunity.

“The use of predictive maintenance is increasingly common, especially at PacLease,” Schuster says. “We continue to advance our ability to introduce machine learning technologies to develop algorithms that can predict vehicle and component failures based on a combination of historical data and real-time monitoring inputs. These algorithms can adjust their predictions based on new data, improving accuracy over time.”

Leverage data

In order to optimize PM cycles, or become more predictive in replacing parts, fleets need reliable data. Fortunately, trucks have never been more connected, and the ability to access data has never been easier. At Mack Trucks, Mack Connect serves as an integrated suite of telematics and digital services.

“With Mack Connect, our customers get real-time vehicle diagnostics, predictive maintenance alerts, and tools to improve fuel efficiency and driver safety,” Hastings says. 

More than 90% of PacLease’s vehicles are equipped with telematics that monitor real-time vehicle performance.

“This data can inform maintenance schedules based on actual usage rather than generic timelines,” Schuster says.

Shop software can help

Shop management software can help fleets to track and optimize their maintenance practices. Paclease, for instance, uses software to track maintenance history, prognostics data, to generate alerts for upcoming PMs and to log repairs or issues that arise during vehicle inspections.

But make sure it’s easy to use in order to get technician buy-in, suggests Marcus Mares, vice-president of business development with DataDis.

“These guys in the shops, they’re not computer scientists. We have to support them,” Mares says, noting a touchscreen platform, not unlike those used by serving staff in restaurants today, is effective and easy to use. This should be coupled with automation that helps simplify decisions like parts selection.

“If it works, mechanics are very eager adopters,” Mares says, adding software also helps identify inefficiencies in a shop and to track technician performance. “The best mechanics are often the ones who have the hardest time explaining what they did in the first four hours of the morning, because they don’t focus on recording their day, they focus on how to fix things.”

Software helps to tell the story about how a technician spent their workday.

Martin uses the Fullbay platform to manage parts inventory and track vehicle performance, both for his fleet and his independent shop.

“I’m a big believer in utilizing software to help automate and streamline operations,” he says. “We like Fullbay because we can see what parts we’re using on a constant basis and what we should stock.”

Diamond inputs max/min inventory levels into the Fullbay platform so alerts are provided when it’s time to order more parts.  

He integrates it with the electronic logging devices (ELDs) in his trucks so information like engine fault codes and driver vehicle inspection reports (DVIRs) are fed in real-time back to the shop, allowing technicians to be proactive and ready to service the vehicle when it returns to the terminal.

Software also helps enable the customization of PM schedules. “You can set up cycles based on engine hours for some situations and for others it may be miles or time,” Martin says. “I can take groups of equipment and apply PM cycles that make sense. If you’re traveling the Rockies doing 100,000 lb. all the time, that’s a different scenario than if you’re hauling furniture like I do at 10,000 lb. all day long on flat roads.”