Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/737160
2 E very spring and fall I take a brief detour from the independent aftermarket to attend the semi- annual meetings of the Technol- ogy & Maintenance Council (TMC). Now in its 60 th year, TMC is an Ameri- can Trucking Associations' organization that brings OEMs, suppliers, fl eets and service providers together to discuss and address current and future technological and maintenance challenges facing the commercial trucking market. TMC does a billion things for this industry, but more than anything else it is known for its incredibly diverse and valuable recommended practices (RP). These documents provide detailed, in- tricate guidelines for nearly every tech or maintenance issue found in this industry. There are RPs for wheel end bearing adjustments; for measuring voltage drop in trailers. There are RPs for establishing alternator effi ciencies: for coolant iden- tifi cation. Additionally, there are process RPs; step-by-step guidelines that offer service providers and fl eet maintenance facilities detailed instructions for manag- ing common operational procedures, such as parts acquisition, technician training and much more. The fi rst full day at TMC is dedicated to these RPs. The Council breaks into more than a dozen study groups to dis- cuss current challenges facing the indus- try. Each study group has a specifi c focus — engines, chassis and brakes, tires and wheels, on-board electronics, etc. — and within each study group conversations get even more granular with individual task forces. It's within these task forces that RPs are proposed, built, modifi ed and fi nalized. It makes for a busy day, but holy cow is it informative. And this year, fi nally, a meeting was held to address how to handle it all. TMC's Service Provider study group introduced a task force at its fall meet- ing last month specifi cally to build a recommended practice fl eet, dealer and independent service providers can use to effi ciently implement other RPs within their businesses. Yes, I know how circular that sentence sounded. But it's really a great idea, and I believe it could be hugely benefi cial to the aftermarket. TMC's RP manual is immense. I've heard close to 2,000 pages. It's not a quick read. But if you know what you're looking for TMC's RP manual has cheat sheets for hundreds of things you and your technicians address each day. Want to be quicker at diagnostics? There's an RP for that. What about a best practice for core management, or parts acquisition strategy during repairs? Yeah, there are RPs for that, too. By developing an RP for implement- ing RPs, TMC hopes to provide anyone in the service industry a guide that can be easily followed to add one of TMC's resources into your business. It's early, but thus far TMC believes the assisting RP will include these steps: Determine your need: Where does your business analysis tell you to focus fi rst, i.e., What RP would be most benefi cial to you? Determine your team: Which departments/employees will be impacted by implementing an RP? Integration: How will adding an RP to your business impact your cur- rent operation? What now needs to be altered or changed? Train your team: Educate previously identifi ed employees on the RP and how it will be implemented in your business. Accessibility: How will your employ- ees access your training materials, and the RP document? I guarantee that list will grow, and I'd guess within two years TMC has a com- prehensive document any service shop can use to slip RPs into their operations. In the meantime, if you don't want to wait you don't have to. TMC offers mem- berships specifi cally for service providers, and I can tell you from experience, if you need help in your service shop go to TMC. Everything TMC does is designed to help you. T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | O c t o b e r 2 0 1 6 A recommendation for your practice By Lucas Deal, Editor lucasdeal@randallreilly.com Editorial | Lucas Deal Want to be quicker at diagnostics? There's an RP for that.