Driver tyre maintenance ignorance proves costly for fleets

Poor care and maintenance by drivers are responsible for the premature replacement of a third of tyres on vehicles managed by Fleet Support Group thereby unnecessarily increasing fleet operating costs.

FSG fits approximately 50,000 new tyres in a 12-month period and latest figures reveal that, while more than 33,700 tyres (67.3%) are replaced as a result of normal wear and tear, almost a further 17,000 tyres (32.7%) were replaced due to damage.

Julian Bailey-Watts, FSG’s Technical Services Director, said: “Tyre husbandry is a vital part in prolonging tyre life and getting maximum value from a set of tyres - and that is very much down to drivers.

“If uneven tyre wear is spotted early then steps can be taken to pull the tyre back into line. If drivers fail to undertake routine tyre checks and consequently evidence of undue wear and tear is ignored then the life of a tyre can be reduced by half or even two-thirds in some cases.”

Of the damaged tyres replaced by FSG, almost 30% are typically due to punctures, a further 23.4% due to sidewall damage, 19.8% due to uneven tracking and 12.5% due to punctures on tyres that have been run flat that cannot be repaired. In addition, other tyre damage caused by driver-induced maintenance shortfalls includes: tyres being under- or over-inflated, blowouts and sidewall cracking.

“Almost a third of tyres are potentially replaced prematurely by FSG because they have not reached the end of their natural life,” said Mr Bailey-Watts.

At lower levels of under-inflation, a tyre’s contact patch with the road surface is reduced to two small areas towards the outer edges of the tread. With the full vehicle load placed on these areas, the tread wears at a much higher rate, drastically reducing the performance of the tyre and forcing its replacement much sooner than would otherwise have been needed.

By running tyres at just 80% of the recommended pressure, motorists can expect tyre life to be reduced to around 75%. If the pressure falls to 60%, motorists can expect to achieve just 35% of the potential mileage from the tyre, according to TyreSafe, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of the dangers of defective and worn tyres.

In recent years the trend has been for motor manufacturers to fit low profile, sporty tyres to even ‘bread and butter’ fleet models. Such tyres are more susceptible to damage and kerbing.

Mr Bailey-Watts said: “I cannot see that position improving because tyres are now wider and lower profile than ever before. When taking delivery of a vehicle the wheels and tyres look fantastic from a visual perspective, but they are expensive to replace - particularly so if not looked after by drivers.”

But it is not just the cost of replacement tyres that fleets must take into account, as fuel consumption is also hit by a failure to maintain tyres at their correct pressures.

Driving on tyres which are just 10psi under the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended pressure can increase fuel consumption by 2.5%. By keeping tyres at their correct pressures, motorists can travel further on each tank of fuel, reduce their CO2 emissions and stay safer.

“Making sure that tyres are correctly inflated costs nothing yet can save motorists significant sums of money,” said Stuart Jackson, Chairman of TyreSafe.

Top tyre safety tips and tyre facts

• Check tyre pressures and tyre tread regularly - ideally at least once a month. Incorrectly inflated tyres can increase fuel consumption by up to 10% and can endanger lives.
• Tyre pressure should be checked against the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended level. This can be found in the vehicle handbook and on a plate which is often located inside the fuel filler flap or on the driver’s door sill. Check the pressure when tyres are cold - when you have travelled less than two miles.
• If carrying a full load of passengers or luggage or will be towing a trailer or caravan, tyre pressures should be increased in line with the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations. Details can be found in the handbook.
• If you do not have a calibrated tread depth gauge, a 20p coin provides a useful guide. Insert the 20p coin into the main tyre grooves at several places around the circumference of the tyre and across its width. If the outer band of the 20p coin is visible whenever you check the tread, your tread depth may be illegal and you should have them checked by a qualified tyre specialist.
• If tyre tread is badly worn in some parts but not in others, it could mean that tyre pressure is too high or too low, and can be an indicator of worn suspension components as well.
• Excessive wear around the inside or outside edges of front tyres could mean the vehicle’s front suspension has been knocked out of line through hitting a deep pothole or banging against a kerb. A tyre expert should check the vehicle’s tracking; if it is out of alignment, getting it fixed will reduce the abnormal tyre wear and make the vehicle feel much better to drive.
• When checking tread depth, give the rest of the tyres a visual inspection for any cuts or bulges and remove any stones or objects embedded in the tread.
• The minimum legal tread depth is 1.6mm across the central three-quarters of the breadth of the tyre and around the entire circumference.
• At 70 mph the stopping distance of a car fitted with a new tyre with 8mm of tread is calculated to be almost 100 metres; with 3mm of tread remaining a car’s stopping distance increases to 150 metres; with 1.6mm of tread remaining a car’s stopping distance is 200 metres - double that of a vehicle fitted with a new tyre - and with just 1mm of a tread remaining a car’s stopping distance is 250 metres.
• The current fine for driving on illegal tyres is £2,500 per tyre and three points per tyre on a driving licence.

FSG helps fleets cut costs as bodyshop network uses ‘lean-flow’ process

Businesses are making major cost savings and improving company car and van operational efficiencies as a result of accident bodyshops used by Fleet Support Group implementing industry-leading ‘lean-flow’ management techniques.

And while the impact of lean-flow delivers significant benefits to FSG’s fleet customers, it is also improving operating productivity at the company’s nationwide network of bodyshops that have so far implemented the programme.

As a result, the lean-flow approach, which has been developed by constraint management training experts I & J Munn of Melton Mowbray, promises to deliver:

• A virtual 100% on-time delivery of repaired vehicles
• A shorter key-to-key process time
• A real productivity increase for bodyshops of 20-25%
• Increased throughput of cars of 15% or more

Julian Bailey-Watts, FSG’s Technical Services Director, said: “The bodyshops that have so far introduced lean-flow are getting vehicles back on the road faster than anyone else. This massively reduces administration costs, means our fleet customers are getting their vehicles back quicker and that significantly increases customer satisfaction.

“Reducing key-to-key time is absolutely paramount for FSG and our customers because it means saving money. Many people lose sight of the overall cost of vehicle repairs when they look at the hourly labour rate, repair times, etc. The actual bottom line is how long the vehicle is off the road because a reduction in that time cuts overall repair costs dramatically.

“Every moment a vehicle is off the road costs money in relief vehicles and management time. Reducing that time period produces tremendous savings. Being able to give our fleet customers the actual turnaround time of an accident claim enables FSG to give true and absolute value for money to our customers.

“We are now encouraging many of our bodyshops to achieve industry-beating fast turnaround crash damage repairs. This programme delivers huge benefits for both the bodyshops as well as our fleet customers.”

Lean-flow uses many of the skills from manufacturing processes to drive through bodyshop efficiencies and change traditional behaviours.

Mr Bailey-Watts said: “FSG is completely focused on delivering top-class customer service every time. What every fleet operator requires is a high-quality, fast vehicle repair and the promise that it is carried out on time.”

One of the first of FSG’s bodyshop network to introduce lean-flow was the Manchester-based Academy Group, which is now recording a 97% on-time repair rate with the vast majority of vehicles back on the road earlier than scheduled, while any delay is typically the result of the late delivery of replacement parts.

Academy Group introduced lean-flow 12 months ago and Managing Director Jason Mawdsley said: “Lean-flow has enabled the company to have guaranteed on-time delivery because we can plan the business better. For customers, including fleets, it means that when we say a vehicle is going to be ready, it is ready.

“Sometimes, in the past, we over-promised and under-delivered. Now we promise and deliver at the same time. Before lean-flow our key-to-key time was running at about 14 days, but we are now down to 4.6 days which gives a big advantage to our customers. Lean-flow gives us a competitive edge.”

Mr Bailey-Watts said: “We thought that the Academy Group was one of the bodyshops in our network that was at the top of its game. We didn’t believe that lean-flow would bring very much to them. As it transpires, both ourselves and Academy have been astounded by what has been achieved.”

A second FSG bodyshop to implement lean-flow is Scarborough-based Trenhams Accident Repair Centre, which is now achieving 98% on-time delivery. Additionally the period of time from notification of an accident to invoice has improved from the industry average of about 22 days to 12-14 days.

Managing Director Mick Trenham said: “Lean-flow has meant at least a 20% increase in vehicle throughput, which is the ultimate aim. We have always tried to achieve high throughput but lean-flow has been a brilliant tool to enable us to achieve our ambition.”

‘Going the extra mile’ wins FSG’s Leanna Allison top award

First-class! That’s Leanna Allison who repeatedly goes the extra mile to deliver top-notch customer service to clients of Fleet Support Group, Britain’s largest independent fleet management company.

Leanna, who has worked for the Chippenham-based company for almost seven years and is currently Senior Rental Co-ordinator, is the first recipient of the company’s Lord MacLaurin Cup, which recognises customer service achievement.

FSG Chairman Geoffrey Bray believes that all customers deserve "good old-fashioned first-class service" and that is the concept behind FSG’s Going the Extra Mile campaign, which is designed to ensure that all staff deliver service standards that are unmatched by its rivals.

Customers are encouraged to notify FSG bosses when they receive service excellence and Leanna has a string of Going the Extra Mile plaudits to her name.

Leanna, who has also worked in FSG’s maintenance and accident management departments, said: “I was pleased, but very surprised to win the award. When I talk to customers I always try and put myself in their shoes, tackle the issue and treat the person in the way that I would expect to be treated myself.

“I hope I give our customers a sympathetic hearing, understand the reason for their call and then act swiftly and efficiently. I always try and encourage the staff who I manage to take that approach.”

Congratulating Leanna on overcoming the challenge of 180 colleagues to become the inaugural winner of the Cup, Mr Bray said: “Leanna is firmly focused on solving all issues and making sure that our customers are totally satisfied. There is no issue that is impossible to resolve as far as she is concerned.”

Lord MacLaurin, the former Tesco Chairman who shaped the supermarket giant into today’s leading business, is a non-executive director of FSG. He said: “Listening to what the customer says and then delivering is crucial.

“Businesses must have a mindset that says the customer is king and FSG has that. To deliver customer service excellence, staff must have an attitude of mind that they do a job for FSG but they will serve their customers in the best possible way.”

FSG’s operational centre is staffed 24/7, 365 days a year. The organisation, which has more than 50,000 vehicles on its books, prides itself on taking a holistic approach to service delivery and the management of clients and their drivers.

Unlike many of its fleet management and contract hire and leasing company rivals, FSG does not resort to a third-party call centre outside office hours.

Additionally, with its own Masterserve network of 470 independent garages and its own vehicle breakdown and recovery service, CARE (Car, Accident, Roadside Emergency) services, as well as a technical team with a wealth of knowledge and expertise, FSG employees have answered cries for help from customers and their drivers at all times of the day and night.

Mr Bray added: “Since launching the company 23 years ago one of the visions we had was to provide our own services to our own high standards and not rely on external providers.

“Third-party supplier partnerships are based on financial grounds with service delivery a secondary consideration even if KPIs are built into agreements.

“FSG provides a seamless extension of a client’s own management so our service levels are higher because we are in control and not reliant on the whim of external providers.”

Photo: Leanna Allison (left) receives The Lord MacLaurin Cup, which recognises outstanding customer service, from Suzanne Jiggins, widow of Gerald Jiggins, a founding shareholder of Fleet Support Group.

Independent garages put customers first as franchise dealers fight back

Independent garages belonging to FSG’s Masterserve network have been urged to ensure they continue to deliver top-notch customer service in the face of a fight back by franchise dealers to regain lost fleet business.

Phil Todd, FSG’s Masterserve Network Manager, says that going the extra mile is key for Masterserve’s 470 garages to delivering first-class customer service and being better than the competition.

With customer service being at the heart of FSG’s growth to establishing itself as Britain’s largest privately-owned fleet management company over the last 23 years, Mr Todd said: “Retaining existing fleet business is getting harder; getting lost business back is almost impossible. But it is high-quality customer service that keeps clients coming back and using FSG.”

In recent years many franchise dealers have lost service, maintenance and repair work to the independent sector for a variety of reasons including poor customer service as well as charging higher prices.

Mr Todd said: “Vehicle owners - fleets and retail customers - have voted with their feet and more and more are using the independent sector, like FSG, because they are fed up with being ‘upsold’ to.

“Franchise dealers believed that they had a captive market after selling a new car, van or truck, but they haven’t. Independent garages have been getting busier and busier because franchise dealers have been haemorrhaging work.

“But it is important that independents are not complacent because vehicle manufacturers and their franchise dealers are becoming more and more aggressive in their efforts to win back lost business, particularly in the fleet sector.”

He revealed that in recent months all of the major motor manufacturers and dealer groups had contacted FSG to try and win a slice of SMR work. Mr Todd said: “They are desperate for fleet business and are using all sorts of marketing ploys.”

As a result, he said: “It is essential that both FSG and our entire Masterserve network understand the needs of our mutual fleet customers and deliver.

“Customers want us to drive down costs and add value and not upsell. There has never been a better time for FSG and our independent network to ensure that we get it right and work together as a partnership to ensure that we can meet our customers’ requirements.

“We have very challenging times ahead and the magnitude of our challenge is measured by our actions.”

FSG Chairman Geoffrey Bray added: “The team that we have at FSG and the Masterserve network is our strength. We need to be aware of what the franchise sector is trying to deliver, but we don’t need to be afraid; we must ensure that we deliver excellent service to our customers because they will decide who wins the battle.”

FSG Chairman to speak at ‘Best of the Best’ fleet safety conference

Fleet Support Group Chairman Geoffrey Bray and Road Safety Minister Paul Clark will be among the speakers at the 2010 Fleet Safety Forum conference.

Entitled the Best of the Best, Mr Bray will outline how delegates can get the very best from their suppliers, while Mr Clark will open the seventh annual Forum conference on Tuesday 2nd March at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham. 

The conference, sponsored by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, will showcase innovative and effective policies and procedures to tackle work-related road crashes.

Fleet managers are encouraged to book places now. The cost is £175 + VAT for members of the Forum and subscribers to road safety charity Brake, which manages the Forum, and £295 + VAT for non-subscribers.

A wide array of speakers from organisations that are leading the field in work-related road safety will outline their road risk management programmes, successes and plans.

Topics and speakers include: Mike Stockton, senior asset control manager, Royal Mail; Peter Larner, managing director, Suckling Transport; Steve Kay, national health and safety adviser (logistics), Allied Bakeries (Kingsmill); Graham Telfer, fleet manager, Gateshead Council; and James Burrows, professional services manager and Martin (Nobby) Clark, driver development manager, Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services.

Roz Cumming, Fleet Safety Forum Manager at Brake, said: “I urge anyone involved with fleet safety, whether they work in a public sector organisation, blue chip company or supplier, or indeed are a small operator, to participate in the 2010 Best of the Best conference, to ensure they’re doing everything to reduce their company’s road risk.”