Fleet tyre management... sorted

From long-haul freight carriers to heavy quarry teams, fleet operators everywhere will agree: tyres - and there are thousands involved in these operations! - follow fuel as their second biggest cost. There is no need for them to be among the biggest headaches as well. Like high performing employees, they just need to be superbly managed.

Trentyre's retread division is at the forefront of its field, with 14 factories strategically located around the country. The three major facilities - near Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban - operate round the clock to meet the turn around times of key customers.

"We have a dedicated tyre team, but they're the hands-on guys, they're not experts in tyre management. It was difficult to keep tabs on the life cycle of our tyres and it was costing us time and money. Since outsourcing this aspect of the business, the professional tyre management system that has been implemented has given us complete control and delivered substantial cost savings."

Judy de Waal, Accounts Administrator at Buhle Betfu Cargo Carriers in Ngodwana, described the tyre management system (TMS) established for them by Trentyre as "expertise on tap".

"With just a click of a button, we can now see exactly what each tyre needs in terms of maintenance and instruct our team accordingly. It assists our planning and helps us monitor the cost and performance of our tyres, from the moment they go on to our vehicles, while they are on the road, when they go for retreading and all the way to scrap."

Increasingly, fleet customers - whether big or small, are finding that a formal TMS is worth its weight in rubber, and Trentyre's comprehensive, custom-tuned service offers the country's best.

Heavy-duty tyres call for heavy duty management systems, such as Trentyre's on-site facility at Kumba Iron Ore's Sishen Mine, near Kathu in the Northern Cape. Sishen is ranked as the third-largest mine in the world.

With 14 factories, a broad national footprint of 90 outlets, established on-site capabilities and a dedicated 24/7 network co-ordinated through a central call centre, Trentyre is the country's largest commercial tyre fitment company. This kind of muscle gives it the strength to keep its customers rolling (because downtime is the profit killer) as well as the flexibility to understand individual operations and customise a service package that meets their requirements.

National Sales Manager Dean Roberts said Trentyre's multi-layered response to its customers' evolving needs over the past decade had proved a massive competitive advantage for the company. "Trentyre's objective is to minimise the tyre operating cost (per kilometre, hour or ton) for customers by providing a full package of products and services and ensuring maximum tyre life, safety and fleet efficiency.

"Tyres are clearly not the core activity for fleet owners, yet they do need to be capably managed because they impact so heavily on business cost and performance. There is a certain level of expertise and understanding required in running a good tyre system. Trentyre's systems simply and confidently relieve them of all aspects of tyre management." Key optional features of Trentyre's complete service include tyre bay management, total vehicle alignment service, a national breakdown service and extensive technical support services such as scrap tyre analysis, load studies and staff training.

ELECTRONIC EXPERTISE

Simply, Trentyre's TMS is a highly sophisticated, computerised wheel monitoring system. Its primary function is to help fleets keep productivity high and operating costs low. Updated daily, it includes a detailed analysis of cost calculations and tyre performance throughout its life cycle. New tyres, retreads and services are all monitored through the TMS programme.

There are two TMS options for commercial customers: the first, a stand alone TMS, which enables reports, purchase details, unit reconciliations, scrap tyre analysis and fleet surveys, among other services. Tyre tracking is another package, which formally tracks a tyre's performance from cradle to grave.

The system can generate up to 250 reports (from brand comparisons to tyre pressure analyses) and eases complete control for fleet managers. "We don't believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, we ascertain a thorough understanding of the business, its tyre requirements, which aspects of the TMS will work best for them and which they do not need. Then we customise the system to work optimally for them," said Roberts.