Proper vehicle alignment is critical to the longevity of a truck and its components. When a truck isn’t properly aligned tire life and fuel economy can suffer. Bee Line Company’s Howard Williams shares insights into vehicle alignment service, and considerations for when to bring this work in-house.
Transcription of interview:
Erica Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: Welcome to VSP News: Uptime Update. I am your host Erica Schueller, Editor-in-Chief of Fleet Maintenance magazine, covering all maintenance, all vehicle classes, all management, all the time.
Proper vehicle alignment is critical to the longevity of a truck and its components. When a truck isn’t properly aligned, tire life and fuel economy can suffer. But, there can be some challenges to getting this work completed on a regular and efficient basis.
We talked with Howard Williams, Business Development Coordinator for Bee Line Company, about considerations when it comes to choosing how to complete alignment, and when it makes sense to no longer outsource this service, but bring it in-house.
First, let’s talk about the different types of alignment equipment currently available to fleets.
Howard Williams, Bee Line Company: Bee Line makes everything from a portable laptop alignment system, all the way up to a full field machine that would be in-house and frame.
As far as going outside of the fleet or completing the service in-house, it depends on the types of trucks, cost, time-savings of having to send a driver to another location to get an alignment done. It also depends on if they have enough people to run the equipment as well.
Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: A number of shops currently outsource alignment work, but it may be cost effective for the shop to purchase their own alignment equipment – depending on a number of criteria. So when does it make sense to bring alignment in-house? Williams share more.
Williams, Bee Line Company: That depends on how many power units they have. It depends also on the time and the cost. Most of your fleets, 25 to 30 trucks, depending on trailers – because, as we know, it’s not just the front axle we’re dealing with, we’re dealing with rears as well. Trailers as well, which most people forget to do.
The number of units they have, or if they have their own in-house repair programs, then it’s more likely they may also complete in-house alignments. You want to do an alignment when you first get the truck, and then do it every time you do a PM (preventative maintenance), or at least every 100,000 miles or 10 months.
From a cost standpoint, it may be more cost-effective to go ahead and do it in-house.
Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: There are some common features and benefits to consider when looking to purchase alignment equipment. Williams explains.
Williams, Bee Line Company: I think the first thing you want to look for is the cost factor. But then, you also want to look at the user operation of (the equipment).
One of the things that Bee Line offers with every machine is they offer calibration. Calibration is user-friendly, it’s done in-house so you don’t have to go out for it. The other thing you want to look for is what comes with the equipment; the training programs, the customer service, parts repair if there’s a problem with parts.
Bee Line offers an extensive training program, whether it's in-house, or you come to our training facility. We also offer training videos with every machine that goes out.
Those are things you want to look for, that you need to get with this equipment in this day and age.
Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: Just as vehicles become more complex, so does the equipment to service them. Williams explains the challenges and continuing trends we can expect when it comes to alignment equipment.
Williams, Bee Line Company: With the technology evolving, the disadvantage of a computer is it’s old the day it comes out. Same thing with alignment. We have to continue to work with the new vehicles, new products, the electronics that go with it. We have to be able to match that, work with it and stay in front of it.
For Bee Line, the new system we just introduced, it’s a camera system.
We have to continue to evolve and continue to make alignment easier for the customers, so they’re not having to use their high-dollar technicians to do the alignments but so they can make it so that an oil change person can do those as well.
Schueller, Fleet Maintenance: For more information about alignment equipment, and guidance on when to bring this work into the shop, check out the link below.
That’s it for this week’s episode. Thank you for tuning in to VSP News Uptime Update, I’m your host Erica Schueller.
Until our next broadcast, keep up with this, and other industry topics, by visiting us online at VehicleServicePros.com.
Learn more about moving alignment service in-house.
