Michelin Announces New Digital Trailer Maintenance and Repair Program
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ATLANTA — Michelin Services and Solutions is a major step in helping trucking companies lessen the pain of fleet trailer repairs and maintenance, Michelin North America said of its new digital services platform.
It also advances Michelin’s transformation to a mobility and technology that is much more than a tire company.
Ralph Dimenna, senior vice president of Michelin Services and Solutions, outlined the program Feb. 23 at American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting.
He said the fleet maintenance program will allow for standardized consistent pricing and quality scheduled light maintenance.
We’re excited to be at @TMC4Trucks this week! Come visit us at Booth 4323. #TMCAnnual20 pic.twitter.com/xiZgSY1j9E — Michelin Business (@MichelinBiz) February 24, 2020
“This is a digital platform, which Michelin service providers and fleets can come together to work together in a transparent, safe digital environment to do business,” he said. “For our fleets, it allows them to optimize their asset utilization, to control their downtime and understand when, and where, and who is working on their vehicle at any given time.”
Dimenna said the program also will benefit service repair centers in terms of scheduling, billing and customer satisfaction.
Michelin Mechanical Care currently includes U.S. Department of Transportation annual inspections, and preventable maintenance and repairs for body repair, mud flaps, electrical systems, lights, hoses, tires and wheel ends and brake systems.
Dimenna said Michelin has run the program as a pilot at about 30 network locations with between 10 and 12 fleets during the past year. The plan is for more locations to be added as additional fleets demand the service.
“We eventually think this offering will go coast to coast, and we’ll need several hundred, if not a thousand, for the amount of business that is out there,” he said.
Michelin said it is running the program using TMC’s standardized codes for repair times. Fleets will not be charged additional fees should repairs or maintenance exceed the recommended work time.
“That is our guarantee to the fleet. Whoever is touching your vehicle is going to respect the time in the shop,” Dimenna said. “From the time it starts to the time it ends, that is the time. That is our guarantee.
“The other part of that guarantee is that if it goes beyond the allotted time, they would not pay for additional labor if a service provider can’t do it in the allotted time. The fleet has full control and visibility from start to finish.”
While tractor maintenance cycles within the industry are standardized, trailer maintenance is a more of a challenge, and it’s one of the major reasons why Michelin said it is getting into this business in a larger scale.
Often trailers run coast to coast for weeks on end, or they are part of drop-and-hook operations. Dimenna said many fleets are finding it difficult to get trailers to their own facilities for preventative maintenance or needed repairs because of their constant use.
“That is a complex problem today,” he said. “Where are the trailers? What is the work being done on those trailers? This digitizes that.”
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