Volvo, Mack Highlight Certified Uptime Center Progress
Nextran has increased the percentage of five-hour jobs it was able to get out the door in 24 hours or less from 43% to 63%. Photo: Deborah Lockridge
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Nextran has increased the percentage of five-hour jobs it was able to get out the door in 24 hours or less from 43% to 63%. Photo: Deborah Lockridge
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Mack and Volvo announced their Certified Uptime Center program a year ago and named its first certified dealers in the program this past spring. Wednesday it told truck reporters that the program currently includes 76 Certified Uptime Centers — 67 Mack and 57 Volvo. And since the program was rolled out in April, dwell time has decreased 2.5 days, according to Phillip Swaim, director of network fixed operations for Volvo Group North America.
In an event in Birmingham, Alabama, home to the first Certified Uptime Center dealer, Volvo Group and local dealer representatives offered more insight into the need for the program and how it works.
After the Great Recession ended, truck dealers started having some serious problems with capacity. Increasing amounts of business were being driven back to the OE dealer because of proprietary technology, including that needed to meet emissions regulations. As the economy and freight came back, so did demand for repairs. But at the same time the technician shortage, like the driver shortage, came roaring back with a vengeance. Fleets became increasingly frustrated when their trucks sat for days at dealer shops, often for what turned out to be a relatively minor repair.
To help address that, Mack and Volvo have invested heavily in their dealer network since 2010.
At Mack, they’ve had a 5% increase in the number of locations, a 40% increase in the number of service bays, a 90% increase in the number of technicians and a 250% increase in Mack master technicians.
Volvo has invested more than $500 million in its dealer network, adding 63 locations, a 50% increase in bay capacity, a 109% increase in technicians, a 372% increase …Read the rest of this story
