Tyres are a transport company’s third largest variable cost after wages and fuel.
With one steer tyre costing approximately $600 and a drive tyre at $350, one bogey-drive prime mover and tri-axle trailer combination is carrying over $9000 worth of tyres. Multiply that throughout a transport company’s fleet, that is a lot of money just to get the wheels turning. If tyre life is not being maximised, the cost of this mismanagement is likely to be passed onto you, the customer.
Here are some key points to make sure that your transport company is getting the best out of their tyre life:
Tyre Pressure
Correct tyre inflation is critical for tyre life. Under-inflation can cause structural damage, cause abnormal tyre wear and make it more susceptible to blowouts.
Tyres need to be inflated to the tyre manufacturer’s specifications, not what the vehicle manufacturer recommends. The vehicle manufacturer will recommend a lower tyre pressure to make for a more comfortable drive whereas the higher inflation rate recommended by the tyre manufacturer will ensure optimal tyre surface area on the road and better handling.
Key Performance Indicators
Tyre life can vary widely and is influenced by factors such as the vehicle, route, dock accessibility, road conditions and driver. Each of these factors can and should be managed by the use of appropriate measurement and comparison with KPI targets.
I like the KPI of cents / kilometre for tyres, with the ability for data to be analysed over an extended cycle to smooth out information. This is important as measures can be skewed by such issues as multiple tyre replacements in a short period of time impacting cost KPIs.
Driver Behaviour
Drivers need to be held accountable to perform their pre-operational checks, advising any issues with wear, inflation and damage. Problems that occur during their shift must also be reported.
Anything out of the ordinary should be investigated. For example: if there is damage to the sidewall of a tyre, a root-cause analysis should be completed to look at why the damage occurred. Bear in mind, you as the customer may get feedback during this process about poor access at receiving or despatch points which forces a driver to screw the tyres to avoid hitting barriers. Remember, addressing these issues may incur a short term cost but will inevitably impact your long term transport costs.
Scheduled Checks
In addition to the pre-operational checks done by drivers, a transport company needs to be completing more thorough checks of their tyres. Trained personnel such as supervisors and/or the tyre supplier can do this and need a process to ensure that they can examine all fleet.
Items that need to be considered can include:
Individual tread depth of each tyre
Tread depth of paired tyres
Wear patterns
Inflation
To Cap or Not to Cap?
The choice to cap tyres can be a polarising issue. Some transport operators believe that capping tyres is an easy way to extend tyre life and reduce costs. Others avoid caps like the plague, saying that they are more likely to experience blowouts and truck damage in isolated areas. It is a good opportunity to have a conversation with your transport provider to understand their routes and thinking.
Safety, Service and Cost
Poor tyre management can impact beyond an increase in freight rates.
Safety: the remnants of blown tyres can cause hazards for other road users.
Service: unscheduled downtime of vehicles may impact service standards to your customers with a reduction in DIFOT.
Cost: in addition to the actual tyres, costs can include other repair and maintenance expenses such as truck damage, additional wages and lost revenue.
Tyres are more that just what makes the wheels go round. They are the single point of contact between a vehicle and the road and can make a real difference in not only your freight rates, but also safety and service.