Mack, Volvo open Uptime Center to address vehicle issues in real time
Mack Trucks and Volvo Trucks recently opened their new state-of-the-art Uptime Center in Greensboro, NC. The 123,000 square-foot facility is designed to serve the people and systems needed to monitor and respond to vehicle issues in real time, help dealers troubleshoot difficult cases and find the necessary parts for repair.
The experts now brought together under one roof include live 24/7 uptime agents, reliability engineers, dealer support staff and parts specialists. A key benefit of the uptime center is that uptime support employees now can frequently and easily interact with one another face-to-face, allowing increased flexibility and faster response times.
Mack uptime solutions managed through the new Greensboro-based Uptime Center include:
- Mack OneCall - Agents offer critical support to customers experiencing planned or unplanned service events, including scheduling service and repairs. Mack OneCall agents address and respond to potential service events as they are proactively identified through the Mack GuardDog Connect telematics solution. Using ASIST to provide service management structure, OneCall agents communicate with the customer, dealer and, if necessary, other Uptime Center colleagues to ensure the repair service is completed with as little inconvenience as possible.
- Mack ASIST - Mack’s web-based fleet service management platform ensures timely information sharing, communication and tracking of a service event among the customer, dealer and Uptime Center staff.
- Mack GuardDog Connect - Mack’s proactive diagnostic and repair planning system monitors fault codes that could potentially shut down a truck or lead to an unplanned visit to the dealer. GuardDog Connect enables quick diagnosis of issues, proactive scheduling for repairs and confirmation that needed parts are in stock and ready to install, all while the truck is still on the job.
- Reliability – As the main point of contact for field-based personnel, these experts are responsible for identifying issues, developing service information and delivering service campaigns to resolve the issue.
- Dealer support – In addition to offering technical support, troubleshooting and issue resolution to Mack’s dealer network, dealer support staff also provide technical software assistance for truck diagnostic tools.
- Parts ordering
The three Volvo uptime solutions managed through the center include:
- Volvo Action Service – Volvo’s staff of Uptime experts provide 24/7 support. They can intervene proactively if they detect potential problems, and they ensure a rapid response in the case of breakdown.
- ASIST – Volvo’s service management platform offers a web-based tool for monitoring vehicle status and managing estimates, repair approvals, purchase orders and communications with dealers. ASIST documents all the interaction among customers, dealers and Volvo, including Remote Diagnostics activity, to ensure everyone knows exactly where a case stands at any moment.
- Remote Diagnostics – Volvo’s telematics-based proactive diagnostic and repair planning system monitors critical fault codes. Remote Diagnostics identifies what parts will be needed and provides technicians with straightforward repair instructions – even before the truck arrives for service. Remote Diagnostics can reduce the diagnostic time by up to 70 percent and lower repair time by more than 20 percent, says the company. About 50,000 Volvo trucks are equipped with the system, which has been standard on all Volvo-powered models since 2013.
Equally important to Uptime is the availability and quality of dealer service facilities. Since 2010, Mack dealers have invested $400 million to better serve customers, which has resulted in a 35 percent increase in service bay capacity, a 162 percent increase in Mack Master Technicians, a 69 percent increase in spare parts availability and a 62 percent increase in hours available for service.
Today, Volvo has 356 Class 8 dealer locations throughout North America. And just as Volvo Trucks is improving its own capabilities, so are its dealers.
Since 2010, Volvo dealers have invested $411 million, and more than 50 new facilities are either planned or underway. The investments have resulted in 50 percent more technicians, including a 150 percent increase in the number of Volvo master technicians. Service bay capacity has risen by 34 percent, while spare parts inventories are up 37 percent and the number of parts department employees has increased 68 percent.