Dirt is Costly

[TeamCaffee]

This comment was taken out of the Transport Topics September 30th issue. Both Bob and I thought the comment was a very good one:

In times like these when the economy and budgets are tight, often one of the first steps toward cutting costs is reducing or eliminating equipment-washing programs. There are important
factors to contemplate before doing that.
For example, soil and debris buildup on mechanical components insulates heat-sensitive components and shortens their life; promotes electrical shorts and vehicle fires; creates acids that erode finishes, base materials and electric components; accelerates wear and abrasion and shortens lubrication life.
Effects on your equipments’ paint and metal finish may include a breakdown in the chemical structure of paint surfaces, reducing paint life; promote scratches and scuffing because of the abrasive effect; and require more frequent refinishing — potentially doubling the price.
Cutting back on or reducing equipment washing also encourages more frequent Department of Transportation inspections — which can impede timely deliveries, reduces your employees’ pride in workmanship, means assigned tasks require additional time, promotes dirt and dust contamination of equipment, and reduces the ability to effectively diagnose mechanical issues. It also creates higher maintenance costs, discourages third-party repair facilities from working on your fleet, affects the quality of preventive maintenance inspections, and affects your ability to hire competent drivers and technicians.
And that’s just within your shop. Your customers’ perception of you also can change to a poor one, since your fleet is your billboard and primary form of advertising. It can even have a negative effect on your negotiating ability, mean poor overall perception of your fleet in the community and have a negative effect on pricing.
Dirty equipment can affect your ability to recruit good drivers, imparting an “I don’t care” attitude throughout the driver ranks. It can foster an unsafe working environment, reduce
the quality of communication between operations and maintenance, and create additional employee turnover.
All this can reduce the value of your assets — reducing return on capital — causing negative vehicle residual value — affecting customer confidence and contributing to a higher variable cost structure.
Finally, dirty equipment has an effect on safety. Why?
• Dirty light fixtures provide less headlight range and tail/brake/running light brightness. Less headlight range, even a few percent less, means it’s harder to see road debris and other conditions. The resulting tire damage and suspension wear mean a slightly higher accident risk.
• Dirty windshields lessen the ability to see and react to road conditions, and there’s more glass wear when wipers are used to clear the dirt, leading to wiper burn and distorted views.
• Dirt and grease buildup on steps, frame rails and grab handles increase the chances of slip-and-fall accidents.
• Dirt and grease buildups also can interfere with proper operation of hitches and doors, leading to accidents and injuries.
Can you put a quantifiable figure on what it costs if you do not have an effective equipment wash program? The answer is “yes.” Taking into account what a wash program will cost the organization, not having one will increase your equipment costs a minimum of 25%. The key is to have such a program and manage as you do other aspects of the business.
Michael Buck
President
MCG Fleet Management Consulting
St. Simons, Ga.

 

[layoutshooter]

Good report. The weather this time of year can make it difficult to keep a truck clean. We do, however, make it a point to keep mirrors, windows and all lights clean. We try to get our truck washed more in the winter than in the summer.

 

[LDB]

I use the provided sponge/squeegee and wash the headlights every time I buy fuel, the taillights most times, even if I don't do any other parts. In bad rain and especially snow conditions that may only last for a mile or two but at least I have fresh dirt rather than stale dirt.

 

[layoutshooter]

Don't forget to clean your chicken and marker lights that you can reach. Being seen by others is very important.

 

[Wingnut]

Wipe your lenses with RAIN X and it'll help tremendously to keep the dirt & ice off them. Makes for easier clean up also.

 

[chefdennis]

And my windsheild washer pump went out today.............. Gm dealer tommorow.....

 

[moose]

Very Good point Bob .
yet ,
well ,
this is a lose lose situation .
washing your truck in winter time will results in :

pushing the grease out of king pins , drive shafts ,Ext .
pushing water and detergents into electrical wireings , hornets and connectors .
washing the truck is a main way of getting water into the rear Differential , and any other place that have a breaver in the drive train , as well as drive shafts .those water in winter time will freeze up , which then results in drive train failure .
those water can break up the concrete our roads built of , and will break up the truck when freeze .

O'h yah .
truck paint can hold really well .and will not be affected by the salt and sand.
it is the metal underneath that will malt away .
if you need a prof for that just go to Minnesota .
take Hwy 61 south of the 494 , to Innovation rd S/W.
just before the 3M plant , to your left , there in a test field , for 3M car and roadside signs paints .
some of those plates have being hanging there for over 50 years , and are being sprayed on with anything the DOT (and the aviation industry) can come up with .
quite an interesting site .

i also like to know , where that Michael Buck came up with this statement :
"not having one will increase your equipment costs a minimum of 25%."
(or did he never buy a tire ,a starter or an AC compressor...)

luckily , we own the trucks we drive , for the most parts , and can use our common seance when it comes to maintenance (like washing the truck just before the PM,and draining the rear dif. from water),unlike the big fleets where common seance is not so common .

still is , something to think about .
thanks for bringing it up.

 

[TeamCaffee]

You have a paint failure before you have a metal failure which is what allows the salt and moisture to get to the metal. The automotive industry isn't going to use anything that costs more than it's worth to them. So using a premium paint at the factory isn't going to happen. Read the owners manual on paint care. Using a good wax will help prevent paint degradation thus helping prevent the under paint rusting. As you say Moose use common sense when washing your truck. Summer or Winter, pressure washers can wash grease away from grease points. If you use a good synthetic grease this problem will be minimized.

 

[greg334]

Yes… sure…

Effects on your equipments’ paint and metal finish may include a breakdown in the chemical structure of paint surfaces, reducing paint life; promote scratches and scuffing because of the abrasive effect; and require more frequent refinishing — potentially doubling the price.

Paint Failure?

This guy hasn’t done his homework but assumes this is the 1950’s paint technology.

Paint doesn’t fail, there are other factors involved, adhesion to the surface below is the biggest problem that is facing any vehicle owner, the second is clear coat failure which is very common on GM and Chyrsler cars of the 80’s and 90’s – some fords too.

Most of the issues we faces are not due to the factory paint jobs but the repairs and the sh*tty ones at that.

But to briefly change the subject;

• Dirty windshields lessen the ability to see and react to road conditions, and there’s more glass wear when wipers are used to clear the dirt, leading to wiper burn and distorted views.
• Dirt and grease buildup on steps, frame rails and grab handles increase the chances of slip-and-fall accidents.

• Dirt and grease buildups also can interfere with proper operation of hitches and doors, leading to accidents and injuries.

This is all part of the job, and any driver who let’s things get out of hand to have grease and dirt on the steps should not be driving.

You have a paint failure before you have a metal failure which is what allows the salt and moisture to get to the metal.

Not true.

A lot of the problems that I have seen have to do how repairs and damage to the part where handled, the part was not properly prepped when repainted. But I have yet seen a painted surface from the factory give way to normal wear on a truck so far. The other side of this is that many items are exposed to air/moisture/liquids that have no paint on the side of exposure, fuel tanks come to mind. They rust through because of a number of factors – quality of metal, type of metal and a lack of a sealant inside the tank.

The automotive industry isn't going to use anything that costs more than it's worth to them. So using a premium paint at the factory isn't going to happen.

Actually that is as far from the truth as it can get.

The paint used in manufacturing trucks, not cars, is really good quality paint. What you have on your truck may even exceed the quality of paint that is put on Cadillac vehicles. The depth and quality of the application of paint does exceed that of the domestic auto manufacturers much of the time.

It is not the days of Duco where Ford and others just sprays and sanded but it is a closely watched process where quality control is king. The paint, in fact the paint on my truck is an epoxy solvent based paint made by DuPont and the wear of this paint for a ten year old truck is great when you actually see the problems. I have chipping which is related to the adhesion of the stripping that was put in the truck and improperly removed. I have chalking which is caused by the use of acid in the washing process and I have various chips and wear but these are related to the use of the truck – all of which is not a failure of the paint. By the way for those who have a caulking problem, a good rubbing compound followed by a hand applied wax job (not a blue beacon special) will improve things for you a lot.

Read the owners manual on paint care. Using a good wax will help prevent paint degradation thus helping prevent the under paint rusting.

Yes a good wax does wonders but it will not seal scratches as one would expect. The best solution for a scratch is to repair it properly.

As you say Moose use common sense when washing your truck. Summer or Winter, pressure washers can wash grease away from grease points. If you use a good synthetic grease this problem will be minimized.

I understand what Moose is saying but the problem is how you clean your truck, many people don’t do a surface wash with low pressure first to get rid of the dirt and grim and salt followed by a high pressure rinse but use high pressure wash which actually causes the scratches and nicks in the paint and the issue Moose is talking about. The last time I had this cleaned, they didn’t spray the underside like I wanted them to but again I never had to deal with an issue of water in the rear axle either.

The other thing that should be asked is that how many of you actually wipe the grease away from the grease nipple and the boot after you grease it?

Not many I bet and the real issue using high pressure spray is the damage to the boot, seals and parts that it causes, not the water in the grease or washing the grease away. The grease has to be kept clean, which is one reason why we grease our lube points, to push out the old dirty grease. Having synthetic grease makes no difference; a hot high pressure spray will remove that as much as it will remove any petroleum based grease.

On last thing …

Many people seem to make them think that the flaking “paint” on some of the parts of the truck is paint failure. In fact it isn’t even paint but Powder Coating. Many of the bumpers, frame brackets and box/lift gate parts are powder coated which over time leads to an adhesion failure or rust forming under the surface much of the time – hence the flaking. This is a big PROBLEM with a lot of things that get dinged with chips or scratched up.

 

[guido4475]

And my windsheild washer pump went out today.............. Gm dealer tommorow.....

Why not just go to Napa or some auto parts store and get one to put on? Many stores stock the same thing you otherwise would pay so much for at the dealer.