Tyres – Part 1
Let’s be frank about it, cost cutting is king in truck fleet management, but an unwanted side effect is seeing the wrong type of person into such roles because it leads to unforeseen problems.
I can cite one example of such a person in a fleet management role at a large refrigerated transport company.
He is making decisions on tyres beyond his capabilities and costing the transport company dearly.
Many people that think they know about tyres but it’s a far more complex challenge, and only long term experience can teach you the intricacies, the hidden detail, and the consequences of taking the wrong action.
In this particular case, when trailer hub meters broke down he chose not to replace them. Then he went one step further and purchased new trailers without a hub meter, which is a foolish move.
Therefore, he is actually costing the company money in the long run just by making naive decisions mandatorily rather than discussing options with a trained, industry expert.
A way around it is through our Bears Tyre Tracker which logs distances and advises rotations at optimised moments of each tyre’s lifespan for all types of transport.
It has been developed in-house for national use and apart from enhancing tyre life it delivers cost breakdowns for each tyre at a cp/km level.
Companies are now employing those who talk a lot but lack true experience and technological know-how to maintain the tyres as an asset.
Like the example above where trailers were unwisely purchased without hub meters, there is a relentless ‘chase for cheap’ rather than proper asset management.
This is just one example of a huge list of glaringly obvious mistakes made by fleet managers – and sometimes even the executive managers – who wrongly believe they have adequate knowledge to oversee outcomes only an industry expert can achieve.
Remember it’s not what you pay for the tyres, it’s what you get out of them.