New UPS Fleet Maintenance Procedures Save Company Cash, Oil

How does one of the world’s largest fleets stay in top running condition? How do you take the guesswork out of maintenance, reduce environmental impact and identify trends in your operation that might help save time and money?

For United Parcel Service, the answers to these questions lie in the company’s preventive maintenance inspection process, which seeks to resolve performance issues before they become expensive problems.

UPS recently completed a three-month overhaul of the preventive maintenance process for its 70,000 delivery vehicles. The new procedures will reduce oil use by 330,000 quarts and save an estimated $3 million annually.

“For UPS, the reliability of our delivery fleet is paramount,” said UPS automotive engineering vice president Ron Kirby. “In conjunction with our drivers, our vehicles are critical tools in making commerce happen every day for our customers. Taking care of our fleet is a business imperative for the company and our customers.

“We’ve also shown that significant environmental gains can be made by focusing on quality maintenance methods,” Kirby continued. “State-of-the-art maintenance procedures reduce fuel consumption and oil usage resulting in lower emissions.”

UPS’s Automotive Study Group, an innovation “go team” in the company’s Automotive Engineering Department, evaluated every aspect of the PMI process from oil changes and lubrication systems to warranty tracking. In addition, intensive time and motion studies were conducted to optimize each step a mechanic takes while performing the inspection.

The redesigned process is built around the individual characteristics of UPS’s delivery fleet, essentially giving each vehicle its own fingerprint. Through rigorous part testing, real-time duty cycle analysis and fleet-wide assessments, the Study Group developed a detailed matrix of vehicle characteristics, including engine type, vehicle group, miles driven, days of service and manufacturers’ recommendations for oil changes and other types of engine service. It was this process, for example, that allowed UPS to better gauge how frequently a vehicle type needs an oil change. Some vehicles were found to need less frequent oil changes, providing the net savings of 330,000 quarts.

All vehicle characteristics are tracked by the company’s proprietary Automotive Information System software, a key factor in the success of UPS’s maintenance programs. AIS tracks all aspects of fleet maintenance and notifies mechanics when a specific vehicle should come in for a preventive maintenance inspection. AIS removes the guesswork in planning labor for vehicle repairs, maintaining parts inventory and estimating fuel usage. The software also allows engineers to pinpoint trends and constantly refine methods and specifications.

“UPS’s delivery fleet is clearly one of the company’s most valuable assets,” said Kirby. “The exhaustive vehicle analysis performed by AIS allows us to manage those assets with one-of-a-kind maintenance procedures.”

This rigorous process has been so effective over the years that other companies and government agencies have consulted with UPS’s automotive engineers and adopted the company’s maintenance procedures.