By partnering with a tire supplier, western regional transportation service provider Reddaway established a proactive and comprehensive tire maintenance program to minimize on-road tire failures and improve cost per mile.

How to operate a cost-saving tire program

Aug. 14, 2015
An example of how a trucking company works with a tire supplier to reduce tire costs.

Regardless of fleet size, today’s hot button issues revolve around road failure prevention and cost per mile. Not only are road failures complicated to deal with, but they often have huge financial implications that stem from delayed loads, emergency service calls, equipment repair and overtime salaries.

Reddaway (www.reddawayregional.com) – a western regional transportation service provider – has partnered with Bridgestone (www.bridgestonetrucktires.com) – the world’s largest tire and rubber company – to implement a proactive and comprehensive tire and truck maintenance program to ultimately reduce breakdowns and cost per mile. Reddaway operates 1,500 tractors and 4,000 trailers, and it has 10 maintenance shops along the West Coast. 

In the trucking industry, it is vital for a fleet’s vendors to not only serve its needs, but to also be able to provide strategies and solutions that positively impact its overarching corporate goals. This works best when the relationship is powered by transparency and collaboration.

Bridgestone offers Reddaway access to its newest products – tailored to terrain, unique transportation allowances and unique hauling needs. It is this granular level of detail that has enabled the tire manufacturer to understand our business so intimately and thus establish a functional and lasting relationship that has continued to evolve for the last 25 years.

In addition to providing access to many of the brand’s newest tire lines, Bridgestone provides support and guidance and creates custom-fit tire solutions delivering best-in-class service and products while helping us reduce equipment downtime and lower overall cost per mile.

RETREADS

Implementing a quality retread program is a safe, responsible and smart choice for fleets, as retreads typically cost a fraction of what a new tire costs and are a standard practice in the majority of today’s largest and most profitable fleets. With the latest generation of casings, Reddaway is now able to retread its tires two to three times over a span of more than six years.

By carefully evaluating corporate business strategy and goals together, Bridgestone has worked with Reddaway to implement a casing solution that extends the shelf life of trailer and tractor tire casings, further reducing the potential for road calls and lowering cost per mile. 

Reddaway has included retreads as part of its tire program for more than 20 years.

MOUNTED WHEEL PROGRAM

Two years ago, we worked together with Bridgestone to implement a mounted wheel program. All new tires now come mounted on the wheel and include a new valve stem and new valve cap. The tires are delivered in pairs that include powdercoated wheels for outside positions. The “special sauce” is the maintenance component of the program.

Tires are routinely checked for air pressure, wear and tread depth. They are replaced when necessary – due to certain types of damage or when pull points are reached – with tires in inventory. Tires removed from equipment are returned to the local Bridgestone dealer for processing. 

This mounted wheel program allows Reddaway to minimize equipment downtime and increase productivity.

PROACTIVE TIRE MAINTENANCE

The joint tire program also includes a proactive maintenance component, one of the major keys to its success. Primary fleet service centers are serviced by dealers twice weekly where equipment is inspected. This process includes:

- Checking each wheel position with an air gauge and adjusting inflation pressure as necessary.

- Inspecting for damage, brake skid stress or mismatched tires and removing and replacing flawed tires with new tires from onsite inventory. Removed tires are returned for retreading or repurposed back into the fleet.  

Inspection lanes are set up at Reddaway locations and technicians inspect all equipment entering the yard, checking tire tread depth and air pressure and looking for tire issues.

We have learned that every decrease of 10 psi greatly increases the chance of road failure. This underscores the importance of air pressure monitoring and the allocation of resources toward the management and maintenance of fleet vehicle tires. 

Additionally, Reddaway maintenance managers review all scrap tires each month to identify the reason for removal, as well as any opportunities for repurposing. Should issues related to operations or tires surface, Reddaway adjusts its program accordingly to improve the trend. Ongoing review of scrap tires provides for both asset repurposing and learning about specific wear trends.

TIRE CYCLE MANAGEMENT

With the help of Bridgestone, Reddaway can estimate when tires will need to be replaced monthly or yearly by using a simple formula based on miles per 32nd. This ultimately helps to project tire and equipment costs based on shelf life, giving us the ability to replace tires sooner than average, when tire projections are expected to be high in certain months.

This practice enables us to project and spread out costs – smoothing out expenditure trends – while also providing the company with an inventory of quality used tires that can be used on company equipment. Employees are able to match tires to equipment that arrives with mismatched tread depths.  

Establishing a culture of trust and transparency is paramount to every fleet customer/tire supplier relationship. The degree of trust, as in any relationship, establishes the level of intimacy for communications and ongoing knowledge sharing.

Eric Whitaker is director of maintenance for Reddaway (www.reddawayregional.com) – a regional transportation service provider to 12 western states, Hawaii, Alaska and British Columbia.

About the Author

Eric Whitaker | Director of Maintenance, Reddaway

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