{"id":3356,"date":"2019-08-28T16:22:19","date_gmt":"2019-08-28T14:22:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=3356"},"modified":"2019-08-28T16:22:19","modified_gmt":"2019-08-28T14:22:19","slug":"equipping-vehicles-to-operate-through-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2019\/08\/28\/equipping-vehicles-to-operate-through-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"Equipping Vehicles to Operate Through Winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"To<\/p>\n

To continue working through the Alaskan winter, BlackHawk Works, a tree removal company, adds snow plows to three of its trucks. Additionally, BlackHawk Works hauls a skid steer with the F-550 and puts a sander in the F-450\u2019s bed.<\/p>\n

Equipping Vehicles to Operate Through Winter<\/h2>\n

In some parts of the country, many businesses shut down upon the arrival of the snowy days of winter. For others, it\u2019s merely the time to switch business gears.<\/p>\n

Business Fleet<\/em> talked to service fleets to learn more about how they prep and equip their vehicles as well as how they deal with the challenges \u2014 including maintenance \u2014 of the winter season.<\/p>\n

To continue working through the Alaskan winter, Derek Broderick\u2019s tree removal company adds snow plows to three of its trucks.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe weather here in Alaska dictates a lot of your working season,\u201d says Broderick, owner of BlackHawk Works<\/a> in North Pole, Alaska. \u201cEveryone is frozen in time in the winter and then everyone comes out in the construction season during the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

After he retired from the military, Broderick started his tree removal company with a Ford F-450 truck and a snow plow. He says his fleet contact at the local Ford dealership was instrumental in advising him on how to prep his trucks for harsh winter conditions.<\/p>\n

Broderick would use the truck for snow plowing in the winter and for stump grinding and tree removal during the rest of the year. Currently, he attaches plows to his F-250, F-450, and F-550 trucks in the winter. Additionally, he hauls a skid steer with the F-550 and puts a sander in the F-450\u2019s bed.<\/p>\n

Michigan-based Summit Landscape Management<\/a> continues to run a majority of its trucks during the winter. Out of its 55 vehicles, the landscape fleet only has eight to 10 vehicles rest in the winter, says Jeff Hoeksema, production manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trucks cost so much money that we try to use them year-round,\u201d says Hoeksema. \u201cThere are certain vehicles that we just can\u2019t use in the winter, but we try to use what we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prepping for Winter Work<\/h3>\n

Before the snow hits, Summit Landscape\u2019s in-house mechanics check the oil and fluids, the brakes, the truck\u2019s front end and rear end, and the frames to make sure there are no cracks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the fall, I start rotating the trucks into the shop for a day or two, allowing the mechanics to go through the entire vehicle,\u201d says Hoeksema. \u201cI also have our mechanics look at the plow systems to make sure they are working properly and there is no visible damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he purchased his vehicles, Broderick opted for Ford\u2019s plow prep package, which coordinates the snowplow\u2019s interaction with the vehicle seamlessly and works with the truck\u2019s warranty.<\/p>\n

Broderick wanted a contractor-grade, steel plow that would hold up in extreme temperatures and could be installed easily. Ultimately, he went with a Boss plow with V-blades. \u201cThe V-blades help cut into the snow while a straight blade tends to just push [snow] forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

To prep his plows, Broderick installs Arctic-grade hoses and makes sure to change out the fluid, which is designed for cold temperatures as well.<\/p>\n

Conversion Challenges<\/h3>\n

To make the conversion process smoother, Summit Landscape leaves the plow\u2019s wiring and hookups on each truck year-round. Then once the snow starts falling, they can add the front and back plows to the hookups.<\/p>\n

\"During
During the winter, Summit Landscape Management\u2019s fleet equips a majority of its vehicles with plows and hauls salters and skid steers. The company has one full-time mechanic working nights at the office while its crew is out plowing and salting the roads.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Hoeksema, the biggest challenge of converting his trucks is the uncertainty of when the snow will start; it comes at different times each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur landscapers try to work until Thanksgiving, but if it doesn\u2019t snow, they will go farther into the season, which complicates the process for getting the trucks ready for snowfall,\u201d says Hoeksema.<\/p>\n

For example, a landscape crew will be using a dump truck and skid steer on a landscape project. But if there is snow coming the next day, Hoeksema will have to get that skid steer to a job site to clear snow and will need to add plows and a salter to the dump truck.<\/p>\n

During the winter, Hoeksema also faces the issue of rotating trucks for different tasks. If a customer needs snow hauled off a job site, the dump trucks that are being used for salting now need to get ready for hauling snow. But to haul snow, the salter needs to be taken off the dump truck, he says.<\/p>\n

To be ready at all times, Broderick leaves the plows on his trucks all winter long. That way, he doesn\u2019t have to worry about trying to hook up the plow when he gets a customer call. \u201cHooking up the wires on the plow can be difficult when it\u2019s really cold out,\u201d says Broderick.<\/p>\n

During the winter, the conversion process for Sonoma County\u2019s fleet of dump trucks includes adding sand spreaders to the back and plows to the front.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have snow and ice occasionally,\u201d says David Worthington, fleet manager of Sonoma County, Calif. \u201cThe push\/plow blades can also push dirt off the roads from mud slides and debris associated with heavy rains.\u201d<\/p>\n

Worthington\u2019s team employs a master welder and fabricator, who designed and built metal covers to sit over the tops of the dump truck bodies. This allows the enclosed space to be used for collecting wood and brush chipper wood waste.\u00a0\u201cIt allows us to not have a dedicated truck for just a single purpose in the fleet,\u201d Worthington says.<\/p>\n

Maintaining Vehicles<\/h3>\n

Winter\u2019s cold temperatures and harsh conditions can lead to more maintenance issues for vehicles and equipment.<\/p>\n

During winter, Hoeksema has one full-time mechanic working nights at the office while his crew is out plowing and salting the roads. Then during the day, the other mechanic repairs any vehicles or equipment from the previous night.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mechanics work every day to keep up with the maintenance through the whole season,\u201d says Hoeksema. \u201cHaving in-house mechanics saves us money and has a quicker turnaround compared to sending the vehicles out to an off-site repair shop.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Hoeksema, the top weather-related damage comes from road salt, which causes vehicle rust. To help alleviate rusting, Summit Landscape adds a rubberized undercoating to the trucks and washes them regularly. The aluminum bodies on the new Ford trucks have the added benefit of greater protection against rust, says Hoeksema.<\/p>\n

Wet, heavy snow also leads to maintenance issues. Hoeksema advises his drivers to take it easy when plowing; hammering into snow piles can damage the plow and the front end of the truck.<\/p>\n

In preparation for on-the-road maintenance issues, Hoeksema keeps spare parts for the plows in his trucks.<\/p>\n

Broderick uses engine block heaters to keep his trucks warm. He also keeps extra parts, fluids, and hoses on hand. An extra strap came in handy when a plow broke, which kept the plow off the road and allowed him to get the truck in for servicing, he says.<\/p>\n

Wintertime is Downtime<\/h3>\n

For some service fleets, finding new work in a different season isn\u2019t the right course. Jim Zylstra, owner of Tuff Turf Molebusters<\/a>, a pest control and lawn fertilization company based in West Michigan, says he wouldn\u2019t consider adding plows to continue operating in the winter.<\/p>\n

Zylstra references the extra allocation for liability insurance, as well as having to convert his current two-wheel-drive trucks to four-wheel drive or buy new ones. \u201cAlso, all salt, all night long, is really hard on the trucks,\u201d he says. \u201cYou shorten the life of the trucks; you can\u2019t clean them as easily in the winter. And the driver doesn\u2019t want to clean the truck. They want to park it, go home, and sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Typical for seasonal professions, Tuff Turf lays off most of its field technicians in the winter, keeping only a few to stay on as indoor vehicle mechanics. At BlackHawk Works, Broderick\u2019s team of six scales down to two, including his full-time mechanic.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring our off-season in the winter, we do all the major maintenance work on our vehicles, such as rewiring taillights, putting in new hoses, replacing brake pads, and rewiring tanks,\u201d Zylstra says.<\/p>\n

The extra downtime in the winter means mechanics can do additional \u2014 and more extensive \u2014 maintenance processes, including pulling off the flatbed with a forklift to check the frames for rust. Similar to Summit\u2019s process, the mechanics clean off rust and protect with a rubberized undercoating spray, according to Zylstra.<\/p>\n

by Amy Hercher<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.businessfleet.com<\/a><\/p>\n

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/h3>\n

Fleet management is the use of a set of vehicles in order to provide services to a third-party, or to perform a task for our organization, in the most efficient and productive manner with a determined level of service and cost.<\/p>\n

Fleet management activities are shown in the following graph 1:<\/p>\n

\"fleet<\/p>\n

Graph 1: fleet management activities<\/p>\n

The proposal audit analyses and assesses all fleet management activities shown in the graph 1, and its main goals are:<\/p>\n