ROTATE Recap: Knowing The ‘What’ & ‘Why’ of Data
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During our previous installment of Transport Topics’ Magazine Event Series, ROTATE, we spoke with Anthony Marshall, UPS’ vice president of maintenance and engineering for transportation fleet, for the keynote presentation. Marshall gave some insight on how fleet maintenance leaders should focus on the big picture of tire management.
Here were some of his thoughts:
Listen to the Data
When leading a maintenance division of any kind, there are several data points of information that need immediate action in order to properly plan for repairs and scheduled work. Marshall cautioned that although it is easy to be caught up in “paralysis by analysis” and find yourself in a rabbit hole, it’s important to focus on your data.
“Data can tell you what it wants to tell you. Whether it is tire-related, you must get rid of your bias,” he said. “We try to create this narrative in what we want the data to tell us. But you must let the data speak for itself. There is no new algorithm or special sauce. You must read the numbers and understand what it is saying to you and how it will affect the fleet.”
You Have to Love What You Do
“You have to have a genuine interest in tires and understand what tires mean for the business,” Marshall said, adding that it’s a team effort with drivers and technicians. “You have to understand that nothing moves without those tires.”
Marshall added that while it’s vital to create and nurture a robust tire maintenance program, it also is important to know that the subject of tires doesn’t have to be mundane.
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“Just be diligent about it, but you can also have some fun with tires. It doesn’t have to be boring,” he said. “Because behind every tire, there is a story it’s telling you.”
UPS ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
In addition to our keynote, ROTATE also reached out to Kenneth Eggen, chief operating officer of Wolf River Express, who discussed how fleet tire programs need to be both data-informed and cost- effective. We asked him about some of the issues and challenges fleet maintenance shops are facing in tire management. Here are some of his thoughts:
Know the ‘Why’
“[When I come into a shop,] I want to know what mileage does the tire come on and what mileage does the tire come off, so that we give me everything I need to see when it comes to the life cycle of the tire,” Eggen said. “Then I want to understand — when they got the tires on the racks — what is going on? Are they rotating the tires through? Do they have the right product?”
Eggen added that it is important for managers to know where their tires are at in the maintenance cycle.
“It is not complicated, but you’d be surprised how many people couldn’t capture the data of why a tire comes off. They don’t why they are buying a tire. I heard it a thousand times in my career. ‘Tire costs are up.’ Why? Nobody knows,” he said. “You got to know why you are replacing a tire. What tire you are putting on? Where are you at in the cycle because trailers and tractors are different. You want to understand where you are and make a determination.”
To learn more from Anthony Marshall, Ken Eggen and other fleet maintenance experts, visit and register for Transport Topics’ Magazine Event Series, ROTATE, at ttnews.com/ttmes/rotate
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