July 2008, Work Truck - Feature
How to Select & Specify Service Bodes
By Joe Bohn
User Input is Key to Decision-Making
With all the considerations required for proper spec’ing — ranging from how much operators need to carry, in what kind of locality and terrain, and any special handling and storage requirements — end-user input is really key to making the right decisions.
Large fleets, including Kinder Morgan and BP Products North America, typically rely on meetings with department heads for their input. Kinder Morgan, with its fleet of approximately 3,600 light- and medium-duty trucks, has an annual fleet council meeting in which "we bring in key people and ask what’s working and not working," as well as discussing special requirements, says John Drozd, fleet manager in Lakewood, Colo.
The company also holds yearly specifications reviews with its Des Plaines, Ill,-based fleet management company Wheels Inc. and its Bensenville, Ill., -based upfitter Auto Truck Group. During these meetings, "All three of us look at the specs," said Drozd. "We ask a lot of questions and they provide a lot of input. It’s a very effective relationship."
Similarly, BP Products North America fleet officials "talk to the folks in the field every year," including approximately 40-50 team leads of trucks for feedback and potential changes in requirements, said Joe Smolar, the company’s fleet services manager in Warrenville, Ill.
"In my terminology, ‘end user’ is the specific department and sometimes the vehicle operator," adds the director of another large Southern fleet. "We carry a lot of fittings and plumbing supplies and need a good understanding of the end-user’s inventory and size. This determines how deep or large the compartments should be, whether they work in daylight or darkness and need lights in the compartments of the service bodies, and whether they need emergency lighting on the outside."
This fleet group takes particular care in researching operational requirements on service bodies with top-mounted cranes due to the critical nature of the specifications, including lift, weight capacity, and other data relating to the geometry.
Safety and productivity go hand-in-hand in selecting and spec’ing body requirements. In spec’ing service bodies, place a priority on driver safety and ergonomics.
Problems in Gauging Body Impact
One of the biggest problems ARI encounters is fleet operators underestimating the weight of a service body’s impact in determining payload and gross vehicle rating.
"They take a service body, which is relatively heavy, and treat it as a pickup truck. You have to find out exactly what’s in there, the type of tooling, and how the truck will be used," Duford says.
With a crane application, for example, the body itself needs reinforcement, so the crane won’t twist on the body during operation.
On a lighter-duty body, this may mean adding an additional leaf spring on the right rear axle. On medium-duties with larger/longer bodies, it may require adding manual or hydraulic outriggers to stabilize the truck on the ground.
Safety and Productivity Concerns While Spec’ing
Safety and productivity go hand-in-hand in selecting and spec’ing body requirements.
"There will always be some compromises driven by both cost and usability," says Johnson. And, even though fleet officials will never be able to eliminate all safety concerns, they should be able to show a "good faith" effort to do so, he adds.
In spec’ing service bodies, BP Products North America fleet officials, for example, place a priority on driver safety and ergonomics, says Smolar.
Aside from larger considerations, such as suspension of the upfit to make sure there are no problems with the added weight, safety influences other variables in the company’s specs. Examples include the length of drawers, number of shelves, and compartments in the upfit.
The company also seeks to minimize bending and lifting while placing equipment to prevent back and knee injuries. It also uses bed slides or platforms that slide out of the rear of the truck, where needed, to bring equipment to operators. This minimizes the need to climb in and out of the truck, Smolar adds.
Within the past year, Rhino Linings and other spray-on bed liners have also become increasingly popular with fleets due to the product’s safety and protective benefits.
While helping prevent rust and damage from tools thrown around, these products also improve traction and help prevent sliding on wet or slippery surfaces.
The liners are used throughout the inside of the cargo area on service bodies with some fleets covering the surfaces of bumpers to help prevent slippage, Wheels’ Decker notes.
Writing Out Spec Requirements
"Unless you’re buying a completed unit out of stock, you should always use some form of a written specification to define your requirements," advises NTEA’s Johnson.
He cautions against letting a vendor provide a sales order and saying, "This is the specification that we will be using.
"When you use a sales order as a specification, you leave yourself open to changed orders and increased costs," Johnson adds.
A written specification, when properly used, defines the fleet manager’s requirements; serves as a basis for written quotations and all quality and conformance inspections; and is the controlling document for the resolution of any disputes that may arise between the fleet manager and the vendor.
Vendors always issue sales orders; however, that’s a vendor document, and it can be interpreted however the vendor wants. The key, says Johnson, is to make sure the order references the fleet’s specifications as the controlling document.
NTEA’s Web site, NTEA.com, provides a list of distributor member companies that specialize in truck upfitting. Those with a rectangular "MVP" (Member Verification Program) logo, have provided documentation to NTEA stating they comply with various minimum safety, quality assurance, and completed chassis requirements. They must also have certified technicians, such as welders and electricians, in their employ and meet minimum insurance requirements.
Most truck equipment upfitters are reputable companies. In fact, their long-term survival depends on the maintenance of a reputation for quality service.
Unfortunately, a few vendors still may seek to take advantage of a fleet by building a first unit, for example, in such a way that the fleet official is forced to change it — thereby potentially incurring changed order charges.
Having a well-written customer supplied specification as the controlling document gives the customer the final word if any differences in the interpretation of the vehicle order arise.
A written specification, when properly used, defines the fleet manager’s requirements; serves as a basis for written quotations and all quality and conformance inspections; and is the controlling document for the resolution of any disputes that may arise between the fleet manager and the vendor.
Johnson also advises to be specific regarding performance requirements and critical dimensional minimums, and to provide clear and concise details as to the required layout of the unit. However, he cautions against fleet managers making themselves "the design engineer."
"Tell the vendor what you want, but don’t tell them how to do it," Johnson says. "If you tell the vendor how to design or how to engineer a product, you’re taking on a lot of the liability for product safety and performance." In the same context, he advises allowing vendors flexibility when possible.
As a final caution, Johnson advises against incorporating a feature unique to a single vendor unless absolutely necessary. He noted instances in which a vendor’s sales representative has volunteered to help write a fleet’s specifications, doing it in such a way as to gain an advantage over competitors. That might include spec’ing a minor proprietary feature, unique to that vendor.
"Every other vendor that quotes on that upfit will have to take an exception. The company that helped write the spec knows that, and it will drive the price up," says Johnson.
"There’s nothing wrong with allowing a sales rep to help you write the spec. But, after you’re done, take out any proprietary features in the spec, which only that upfitter can provide," he adds.
Specs should also include all of a fleet manager’s miscellaneous requirements as well as reference existing industry and government standards, whenever applicable (Department of Transportation, American National Standards Institute, Society of Automotive Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, etc.).