ACC Heavy Duty launches component reengineering program
ACC Heavy Duty, a division of Multi Parts Solutions (MPS) has launched a new division, ACC Fleet Solutions. This program will focus on assisting fleets suffering from chronic component failures by reengineering replacement parts.
ACC will be led by the newly hired Brett Delp as commercial fleet sales manager.
“I grew up in this industry, starting as a technician wrenching on trucks and wondering why engineers designed things the way they did,” Delp said. “Now I get to apply that perspective working alongside engineers who can actually build better solutions.”
Focus on aging fleets
The new segment will focus on serving fleets that are trying to extend the service lives of their aging trucks due to economic pressure, especially due to the ongoing freight recession.
“The freight recession has gone into year four now, and these fleets are under a lot of pressure to look at their maintenance programs, their cost per mile, and overall total cost of the vehicle,” Delp explained. “There's a lot of opportunity for us to provide solutions specific to them, that's impactful not only to their dollar and bottom line, but ultimately, keeping the vehicles on the road longer as they're aging [and] getting out of warranty.”
Delp noted that the business could be especially impactful because of how OEMs tend to operate on a forward-looking basis, so that as they work on putting out new trucks “they focus less and less on older vehicles,” he noted.
This is where ACC Fleet Solutions steps in. The division connects MPS engineers with fleet technicians to improve components, such as refreshing outdated circuit boards or rethinking fuel pumps for greater longevity. ACC Heavy Duty is no stranger to this process, as they have previously worked with a national fleet to address chronic fuel pump failures and engineered an updated turn signal switch for another project.
With this experience, ACC Fleet Solutions can produce new parts relatively quickly, depending on the particular component.
“Depending on the complexity and things of that nature, it can be as quick as six months for a plastic mold or plastic-injected component that's more of a bolt-on cab [component],” Delp said. “The engineering process really has been refined. The years of experience that Multi Parts and the engineers bring is already there.”
This process includes researching the intellectual property of the failing part, and then moving forward with engineers so that they can work with a fleet’s technicians, maintenance directors, and overall leadership to fully understand the issue. Here, ACC Fleet Services delves into how many components are failing, how long they are lasting, and what’s causing them to fail. Then, after collecting samples from the fleet, the company looks for any other reasons the component might be failing within its ecosystem, finds a solution to the problem, and then gets into prototype development.
This process has many moving parts, but its one that Delp is familiar with from sides. He began his career as a diesel technician at Ryder Systems and JB Hunt Transport before spending nine years with Dorman Products.
“I spent a lot of time with fleets talking through their troubles, and not only identifying specific solutions, but ultimately, new categories and lines that really weren't available in the aftermarket,” Delp stated.
Throughout his career so far, the new commercial fleet sales manager estimates he’s helped develop over 400 SKUs.
Keeping an eye on Right to Repair
As ACC Fleet Solutions makes its debut, Delp is also keeping an eye on federal legislation that could impact the business, particularly the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act (H.R. 1566 / S. 1379). The bill grants access to diagnostic codes, calibration tools, and other essential repair information for independent shops from OEMs. Currently, the bill has been introduced to the House and a companion bill that includes commercial vehicles has been introduced in the Senate.
While ACC Fleet Solutions is currently working with simpler components with fewer electronic components, they do anticipate working on more complicated parts in the future, at which point they’ll need the data guaranteed by the REPAIR Act, which was introduced last year and has been going through revisions. On Jan. 13, a hearing was held by the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade to discuss the proposed legislation, along with 15 other potential transportation bills.
“As [vehicles] get more and more complex and we need to work with the OEM systems to get that feedback and to get access to that data, the REPAIR Act is vital for our success, future development, and being able to provide solutions for fleets,” Delp explained.
Additionally, he anticipates that the REPAIR Act could help ACC Fleet Solutions not just grow, but help become part of the supply chain alongside OEMs.
“If the REPAIR Act is approved, we can work closely with the OEMs on newer platforms,” he noted, so that ACC Fleet Solutions could use OEM’s component failure data to get ahead of problems, and become a robust aftermarket that serves fleets after warranty periods are up. This would allow ACC Fleet Solutions to “come in and say, ‘We already know this is a problem. You guys have worked on it from an OEM perspective, but here's an aftermarket solution that’ll allow us to be an additional supplier for that type of component.’”
About the Author
Alex Keenan
Alex Keenan is an Associate Editor for Fleet Maintenance magazine. She has written on a variety of topics for the past several years and recently joined the transportation industry, reviewing content covering technician challenges and breaking industry news. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.