Iowa Mold Tooling Co. Inc. (IMT) helps fleet managers maximize equipment profitability with its enhanced ValuePlus Fleet Management software (VPFM). VPFM gives fleet managers the tools they need to analyze and improve the operating costs of their vehicles over time. VPFM is a GPS-enabled, web-based application, which increases the software's functionality and eliminates the need for manual data entry. Fleet managers can use ValuePlus Fleet Management to ensure their service trucks are operating at top efficiency because VPFM captures all the important cost and utilization data customers need to reduce operating expenses, maximize vehicle and equipment component utilization, and develop efficient replacement cycles.
"ValuePlus Fleet Management software strengthens our commitment to being our customers' field-service partner, ensuring that they are running the most profitable service fleet possible," says Steve Fairbanks, IMT president. "Our clients have told us they are concerned about how much money they were spending on their older service vehicles. We developed ValuePlus Fleet Management as a tool to help them guarantee they are getting the most value for their dollar."
VPFM can provide the concrete data to effectively address that issue. The software supplies users with truck utilization reports that include such statistics as how many hours the crane, compressor, welder, chassis and other components are operating; the truck's mileage; and how many hours the truck is on the road and using the PTO. These reports also include a breakdown of planned versus actual miles and hours.
Customers also receive notices of preventive maintenance (PM) schedules based on usage and can compare their trucks' performance to that of similar vehicles worldwide.
"The key to ValuePlus is that it doesn't treat every truck–or each component of the truck–the same," Fairbanks said. "ValuePlus monitors each vehicle separately–the chassis miles and the components' working hours–and then provides a PM program based on the individual truck's actual working conditions."
VPFM also has the capability to help dispatchers quickly decide which truck to send when a service call comes in. An equipment operator calls to request field service, and the IMT customer's dispatcher inputs the customer's address into VPFM. The software then flags the address on a map and uses real-time GPS data to show the locations of all service trucks, indicating which trucks are available and their distance from the customer. From memory, the VPFM system can recall a "cookie crumb" trail of the vehicle's route.
The GPS feature also allows the dispatcher to call up each truck's performance data and location on the spur of the moment. Drivers set their trucks to "free" or "busy," and the information takes the guesswork out of deciding which truck to send when a service call comes in.
About IMT:
Iowa Mold Tooling Co. Inc., an Oshkosh Corp. company, began in 1961 as a business providing new tread designs for recapping tires. The company has grown to become a manufacturer and supplier of service vehicles, cranes, hydraulic loaders and air compressors for tire, mining, construction, material handling and utility markets.
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