Are Your Preventive Maintenance Checklists Done in the Right Order?

To keep your fleet vehicles on the roadways, it’s important to establish an organized preventative maintenance program. This can ensure your vehicles are serviced on time and allows your technicians to catch small issues before they become larger. 

While performing these inspections, it’s important to be efficient and follow a logical process to prevent wasting time during PM services. Use these tips to ensure your shop’s preventative maintenance inspections are being done in the right order. 

Use a Logical Approach 

Following a logical PM procedure can make inspections more efficient by cutting down on wasted time. According to our founder, Ron Turley, preventative maintenance is being done in the right order if: 

• A technician does everything he or she can reach from one spot before moving on to the next spot. 
• A technician doesn’t have to retrace his or her steps during the inspection. 

Using the circle method can help achieve both of these goals. 

Whitepaper: Why Your Fleet Needs an Organized PM Program

The Circle Concept 

Ron Turley believed that everything a technician needs to inspect should be within a 3-foot circle.  

Using this method, technicians break down the vehicle into manageable chunks so they can focus on areas of their checklist without repeatedly walking by the same area of a vehicle or checking the same part repeatedly. Focusing on a specific area will allow technicians to find issues with a vehicle that might not even be on their inspection list.  

To use the circle method, start by drawing a rough sketch of a vehicle. Then draw circles around the vehicle that represent roughly 2 to 3-foot areas in diameter. If the circles overlap, you know you have the vehicle covered. If there are holes in the diagram – or areas of the vehicle that don’t fall into one of the circles – then there are gaps in what was inspected. If this occurs, go back and adjust the circles to include these points. When all areas are covered and a technician has checked each circle, the inspection is complete. 

When performing the inspection, examine the vehicle in this order: 

1. Start with the cab. 
2. Move completely around the vehicle, inspecting the wheels, sheet metal, frame and body, and attached components such as waste body, dump body or digger. 
3. Next, go underneath the vehicle. Start the oil draining and lube it from front to back and inspect it. Put the plug back in and change the filters. 
4. Open the hood. First work one side of the engine compartment, then the front and then the other side. 

Following these steps and using the circle method will help make your PM inspections more efficient. 

To learn how RTA can help your fleet operation reduce your expenses, contact us today to schedule a demo!