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n Tr1 No. are best for measuring most fleet analyt- ;a, such as chassis, suspension, and driveline :omponents. Tabel explained. Engine hour usage creates wear -and -tear on the engine, and the usage by how takes this into account, according to Reid. Also, in many cases, the PM schedule would be better setwfth an hour guideline vs. miles, as PM ensures the engine and fuel system function," he said. Hours or Miles? So, what should fleet managers be measur- ing, and when? When determining wear in medium -duty trucks, mileage calculations can be very effective, especially for trucks driven primarily over the road. "Mileage over time can help determine a standardized replacement schedule, which can accurately layout the overall life-of- vehlcleperformance and pinpoint the ideal replacement time" said Korn ofARI. Currently, IOTA does not have a policy to directly equate engine hours to miles for service purposes, but did refer to the diesel particulate filter (DPF)-tecormnended ser- vice interval or 3,000 hours or 100,000 miles. "Both hours and miles are important cri- teria when determining service timing for a FleeC saidTabel of ICTA. Any systems that directly interface with the engine (fuel, cool- ing, exhausq etc.)would bestrongly impact- ed bythe engine hoom," Most ofthe experts agreed that the main factor of whether to measure by hours or miles is the truek's application. "The more the truck is used with idle time versus drive time, the more important us- ing cost per hour is to the Beet," said Reid of GE Capital Fleet Services. "For some Beets, you find the lower mileage units (but with higher how usage) have more maintenance costs than the lower mileage trticks. That is because the engine wear and tear of voca- tional equipment is more than a truck driv- mg; on a highwayY Kooken of PHH Arval noted the determi- nation of tracking by hours vs. miles should be Aridly baud on the application of the ve- hide and that specfficfleet. "If you have a vehicle that has high fre- quency of idling — those trucks wf ll accrue mileage thatwontshow up on the speedom- eter For example, I once had a client whose Beet was experiencing engine failures. The vehicles in the Beet did a lot of idling, and once we estimated the idle time, it was de- termined the vehiclesshould have had three preventive maintenance visits when, in fact, the vehicle had only one," he said. One example would be aerial bucket trucks. "These trucks may only need to travel a few short miles from their depot to an area where overhead work needs to be performed," said Jerry Renauen product order support spe- cialist for Ford Commercial Truck. "Once fhey arrive at their destination the mileage stops but the engine continues to run an- other six to eight hours, after several weeks only a few miles may have accumulated but the hour meter tells the truth about tlae uti- lization and may be calling for an oil and 61 - ter change. Without an hour meter you start guessing when to perform this service if at a0" According to Troy Davis ofRam Track En- gineeringfor Chrysler. one benefitfor mea- suring hours is for oil -change monftoring. "Hours are intended to monitor engine maintenance scheduling (oil change, fuel fil- ter change, air filmechange, etc.) for vehicles used frequently N stationary and/or idle con- dition; he..ted."The benefit ofnteasuring hours is for oil -change man itoring on whi- des that accumulate engine run time, but not many miles. Miles are typically best for mee- suring other factors such as chassis suspen- sion,anddrivelinecomponem; be noted. Measuring a vehicle's performance can also help determine if it is being fully utilized. "While the required level of use and need will vary among companies and industries, for the most part, mileage accumulated dur- ing a given tine period can help identify ve- b ides that are underntdized, as well as driving patterns that might be contributing to in= - finance or other issues' explained Korn of ARI. "In other cases, measuring the amount of fuel consumed or the number of engine hours can help identify more accurately the actual use of the vehicle. Regardless, inci ur- ing performance can give a feet manager a better understanding of vehicle use, which in turn can offer insight into whether changes may or may not need to be made." B a th hours and miles are valuable metrics formedium-duty Fleets to track. While miles may be best for measuring many Beet am - lytics, hours is an important component to ensure total visibility into all aspects of Fleet maintenance and measurements. Wf JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 1