Fleet Speak: Open Lines of Communication

By: Greg Franklin, Director of Fleet and Facilities

As spring operations kick into high gear and winter reconditioning is wrapping up, our fleet teams are shifting their focus to support the branches through ongoing training, maintenance and repair. For this to be successful, it is imperative to keep the lines of communication open between field and shop operations. There are multiple opportunities on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis for field personnel to let the shop team know how we can best support them:

• Each shop manager should be meeting one-on-one with their branch manager, sitting in during field manager meetings, and attending staff meetings on a weekly basis. During this time, the shop managers have an opportunity to provide feedback about equipment, review repair listings, discuss safety challenges and equipment abuse, and hear from the branch about opportunities that exist with regard to scheduling or equipment downtime.
• In addition to these planned meetings, shop personnel are available daily during pad maintenance, circle checks, and the stretch-and-flex.
• Shop personnel perform A.M. inspections every month, providing further opportunity to connect and discuss potential vehicle and equipment needs.

Pictured right: Shop mechanic Jeff Baggett and branch manager Thor Grenier from our Mableton maintenance branch meet to discuss equipment repairs.

While each of our branches has different personalities, at the end of the day our goal is the same: we strive to have the best fleet and top-quality service in our industry, and continue to improve efficiency out in the field. So, let us know how we can help you! If a piece of equipment is broken, a truck or a trailer needs a bulb or you need help on the pad… let us know. Help us, help you!