Preventative Maintenance of Vehicles

Preventative Maintenance of vehicles is a very important issue for vehicle owners as well as the safety of the general public. As soon as one acquires a vehicle, it must be kept in mind that the vehicle is prone to normal and wear and tear. However, many vehicle owners neglect this important aspect of ownership, simply dismissing the probable inconvenience, costs, and hazards that may happen; thus, it is appropriate to quote the adage "Penny wise pounds lost". As early as 1973, a research was conducted on establishing the relationships between truck accidents and preventative maintenance.

The study conducted by McDole (1973) concluded that in the year 1973, about 345,000 truck accidents occurred in Texas; moreover, 6.4% of these truck accidents were related to vehicle defects. The study also identified that brake problems topped the list followed by tires and lost wheels. The brake problems were either due to inability to brake or "weak brake" causing the driver to crash or hit something or sadly, someone. In the case of blown-up tires, it is not actually the main cause of the accident but rather a consequence in a defect that contributed to the accident. In modern setting, we have more vehicles plying the highway and city streets. In regard to all of these, preventative maintenance is an important part of vehicle ownership since neglect of vehicle maintenance would result to loss or destruction of lives and property. Most states have rules governing the maintenance of public vehicles, for example, the State Board of Education in Carolina issued this:
"...adopt such rules and regulations with reference to the construction, equipment,
color, and maintenance of school buses. No school bus shall be operated for the transportation of pupils unless such bus is constructed and maintained as presented in such regulations." North Carolina General Statute 115C-240(c)

This supports the fact that preventative maintenance can avert accidents resulting to human injury. Before further exploring more the benefits of preventative maintenance, it is relevant to discuss concept first. What is preventative maintenance?

There are many types of maintenance strategies such as corrective, predictive, and reliability centered which are usually applied in plant maintenance. However, the focus of this paper is preventative maintenance. Auto Bradham Electric in Northern Virginia defined preventative maintenance as "the act of servicing or replacing worn or damaged individual parts and components of a system before their inevitable failure causes a total breakdown of the system". It can be inferred from the given definition that preventative maintenance is proactive rather than reactive, which is necessary in preventing further loss or degeneration. Unlike corrective maintenance, preventative maintenance anticipates the problem ahead which is a good form of planning. Preventative maintenance is geared towards equipment, a form of maintenance strategy originally conceptualized by industrial engineers. The concept of preventative maintenance is to replace, overhaul or remanufacture items on a scheduled time ( at fixed intervals) no matter what the condition of the equipment maybe at that time. Examples of preventative maintenance would be scheduling restoration or scheduling discard of equipment.

The policy of preventative maintenance is better compared to a policy that focus on repair. Primarily, preventative maintenance is attuned to minimizing or regulating costs. Periodic check-up of vehicles would mean appropriating funds beforehand through a budget. This is less costly since the expenses are predictable. Costs for parts that have to be replaced or discarded are already appropriated for. On the contrary, when fixing or repairing vehicles it is more costly since the breakdown must have been caused by a bigger problem. The problem area must be researched thoroughly before making recommendations. There is also possibility to choose from many options that could have caused the problem. This would entail a trial-and-error method that is costly and time-consuming. A concrete example would be replacing rubber or composite engine valve. Generally, this type of belt can last up to 70,000 miles since after that, it already worn-out. If this belt is not replaced according to schedule, additional costs running up to two hundred dollars could be incurred. However, there are additional costs on top of the material costs. When your vehicle breaks down in the middle of the highway, being towed is not a pleasant experience. In connection with the belts, there is also a probability that valves have to replaced since when the timing belt is under heavy pressure causing it to fail, pistons can damage the valves too. Vehicles are mechanical systems that when one part is broken, other nearby or related parts are severely affected too. While the belts costs only two-hundred dollars, the damaged valves can be very expensive with a price tag of one to two-thousand dollars. This proves in point that preventative maintenance could save you more money in the long run.

In business organizations, preventative maintenance can dramatically reduce costs. A good case study is the article about the American Eaton Group. This company manufactures an extensive range of industrial goods on a global scale. According to African Review of Business Technology (2006) Eaton has a staggering turnover of $US 9.8bn. The main focus of this company is on systems and components for vehicles that includes the aviation sector as well as compressors for the engines of the high-profile motorcycle Ducati.

Due to the expansive industry that it maintains, the organization has adopted the policy of preventative maintenance. The preventative maintenance technique that the company has adopted is thermography. Thermography has a lot of use but its relevance to Eaton is the ability to measure and show heat generation in which is crucial in machines. This technique further "detects and prevents "creeping" breakdowns" ( African Review of Business and Tech- nology:2006). Still, human intervention is needed in the application of thermography. There are 50 preventative maintenance technicians who conduct regular maintenance rounds for inspection. The inspection is categorized by four levels: minor problem, intermediate problem, serious problem, and critical problem. Upon detection of a problem, the employees immediately submit a report to the local maintenance managers which is filed at the Service Department to serve as reference in the future. The report includes important data like the visual presentation of the object through a scanned infrared photo, the thermographic data results from the machine with comments, and a temperature curve. This procedure that is part of the preventative maintenance policy translates to savings worth US$250,000 per annum in the European Division of Eaton. Consequently, the other divisions of Eaton has adopted this practice too that immensely contributed to the profits of the company. The case study presented is beneficial since it provides a complete overview of the advantages of using preventative maintenance on a large scale basis.

The government is also active in its campaign for preventative vehicle maintenance by implementing its vehicle safety inspection policy. In 2006 alone, vehicles from 60 states were mandated to undergo safety inspection. According to Poitras and Sutter (2000) the argument behind the inspection is mainly economic since it is based on the idea that proper maintenance of vehicles reduce accident rates that thereby gives external benefits.

The vehicle safety inspection as discussed earlier pointed out that the main reason for inspection was to hinged on economic objective of minimizing costs. In the same reason, vehicle owners hope to save money by maintaining their vehicles. One of North America's top car technician - Peter Meier, discussed in the March 2008 issue of Motorage magazine the relevance of visually inspecting the vehicle. At first, the problem seemed deceptively simple since the owner requested for an oil change. However, it was just a symptom of bigger problems for the Wrangler Jeep since worn-out brake linings, malfunctioning light signal system were just few of the conditions that the vehicle was in. Since Meier is an expert, he visually inspected the vehicle and reported the problems to the owner. This is a classic example of how preventative maintenance could have played a role in preventing costly repairs. Apparently the owner just used the vehicle and did not pay attention to minor incidents that he encountered every day. Problems involving brake lining is not a minor issue since this has been contributory to most vehicular accidents. . In the study made by Loed, Talley and Zlatoper (1994) it was cited that:

..... approximately 50,000 lives lost per year just in auto accidents. This is about 80 percent of the number of fatalities the United States incurred during the entire Vietnam War. Many of these fatalities affect young individuals.....

It is a sad fact that negligence by a vehicle owner result to loss of lives especially that of young people. In this case, the public must appreciate the value of motor vehicle inspection. The legislation responsible for instituting this inspection policy is the Highway Safety Act of 1996. This law set the criteria for conducting inspection on motor vehicles. In the future, the government may be able to come up with more measures that will warrant the safety of the driving public.

Aside from the normal wear and tear due to daily usage of vehicles, the weather is also a factor in safety driving. Torrents of rain can give poor visibility to drivers as well as heavy snow. Another concern in preventative maintenance should include the weather especially during winter season. In the article by Hollis (2007), step by step methods were explained clearly in order to inform the general public on what preparations to make in order to ready a fleet of company vehicles for the winter season. Hollis is a seasoned manager when it comes to handling fleet vehicles. Hollis (2007) believes that proper equipment maintenance prevents major costly repairs, it also reduce downtime as well ensure safety in the operation of the fleet. When it comes to giving advice regarding brake pads, Paul Zangari is on the top of the list. In his article Friction without Noise, Zangari (2007 ) notes that the Big Three is not only reminiscent of Detroit, but also of three most common areas of customer complaint relating to brake pad installations. Again, we have another topic relating to safety when it comes to braking system since this is a major factor in vehicular accidents. From all these articles written by experts, it can be easily deduced that numerous accidents can really be prevented. If a vehicle owner would be conscientious in taking care of the vehicle by doing routine check, then everything would turn out fine. Less incidents of vehicular accidents, car collision, and traffic accidents would increase the safety of both pedestrians and drivers. Going back to my thesis, loss of property and lives could be averted by preventative maintenance.

Conclusion

Preventative maintenance plays a large role in ensuring safety of both driver and pedestrians. In the same manner, it prevents unplanned expenses when vehicles are given the right kind of care. This could be easily done by visually inspecting your vehicle from time to time or calling for the assistance of a car expert who can do a complete check of the status of the vehicle. While for some people this may mean front-end costs, yet the benefits that will be reaped are for the long-run. The good examples were taken from simple incidents encountered by mechanic Peter Meier. It would be also helpful if an owner would consider changes in weather as a factor in preventative maintenance .

Preparing the vehicle for winter is a good idea as well as running down a checklist for preventative maintenance. On a larger scale, a case study was presented to emphasize the benefits to cost of preventative maintenance. The Eaton American group exemplifies how good routine inspection can bring down costs on an enterprise level. The government through legislation can formulate policies that will better the conditions of the driving public. Due to competitiveness in the global economy, cars can become cheaper thereby accessible to most people especially in less developed countries. However, the implications of this would mean more accidents due to increased traffic and mobility of people. In the United States, the passing of the Highway safety Act of 1996 was a good start since it mandated vehicle inspection in most states. At the same time, it supplemented preventative maintenance since vehicle owners will be compelled to take care of their vehicle. Although many critics see the law as having many loopholes, it still has instituted procedures that can be developed as the years pass by. Preventative maintenance of vehicle is a must, not an option. The costs that will be prevented and the lives that can be saved minimizing accidents are worth the penny and the effort to maintain a vehicle. It is not only a legal responsibility but a moral one as well.

ANNOTATED BIBILIOGRAPHY

Mastering the Maintenance Process: Thermography Saves Eaton Group US$250,000 per Year. African Review of Business and Technology, Vol. 42, May 2006. Abstract: The article clearly depicts the savings that American Eaton gained from adopting thermography technique in the implementation of its preventative maintenance policy. The article did not mention statistical but only procedures that were employed by the maintenance technicians in reporting plus financial figures that graphically portray the savings.

Are your Vehicles Ready for Winter? By Hollis,Allen. Reeves Journal: Plumbing,Heating,Cooling. Vol 87. Issue 11 pp. 70-70. November 2007. Abstract: The article offers step-by-step instruction for routine maintenance of a company's vehicle fleet during the winter season.

Causes and Deterrents of Transportation Accidents: An Analysis by Mode. By Loeb, P. Wayne T., Zlatoper, T. 224 pgs. 1994. Abstract: The writers conducted an inquisitive investigation on probable cause accidents in all modes of transportation. The main focus of the paper is the public's attitude towards the deregulation of the safety policies of developed countries. The study summarized the determining factors that can be applied to various transportation modes.

Effect of commercial vehicle systematic preventive maintenance on specific causes of accidents. Final report. McDole, T.L. ,O.Day J. Highway Safety Research Institute, Ann Arbor, Mich. 1975. Abstract: The writers were commissioned by the Highway Safety Research Institute to conduct an investigatory report that will establish the link between highway safety and preventative maintenance.

All in a Day's Work. MotorAge . Meier, Peter F. vol127.Issue 3 p.16-20. March 2008. Abstract: The author described how he handled several technical problems in a Jeep Wrangler, in which the owner initially requested for a routine oil change. He believes that a complete visual inspection should be included in any technician's code of ethics because it would be a breach of confidence to allow any vehicle with to go out of the shop with an identifiable defect. Other problems detected in the Jeep included low air pressure in the right rear tire, a split valve stem, worn-out front brake linings, and malfunction in the signal/brake light system.

Policy Ineffectiveness or Offsetting Behavior? Analysis of Vehicle Safety Inspections. By Poitras Marc, Sutter, Daniel R. Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 68. 2002. Abstract: The writer made a comprehensive analysis of panel data that consists of 733 observations for the time period of 1953-1967. The main focus of the analysis is to synthesize the data and relate it to the role of public policy in preventative maintenance. The study concluded that utilizing vehicle inspection is a poor method for the achievement of policy goals.

Friction Without Noise. By Zangari,Paul. MotorAge. Vol 126. Issue 3 .pp.84-86. 2007. Abstract: The article offers tips in dealing with customer complaints relating to brake pad installations. According to Bendix Brake Answerman Jay Buckley, noise and incorrect pedal fleet are the top two complaints arising from routine disk brake servicing. The key steps for delivering a successful pad replacement are presented. It is said that pad selection solely based on customer's driving habits and tolerance for wheel dust may get one into trouble.