depablo:
I know what you are saying and really surprised you know some fleet engineers, I thought these folk were a dying breed, but then again I suppose they have to be some out there somewhere. In my experience they have been taken over by Transport managers and accountants.
Have to say I prefer the in-house workshop rather than a dealer. There is arguments for and against both operations but quality is lacking in the dealerships (my opinion only).
In your in-house workshop you had a fleet engineer and a few good guys who maintained the fleet, it was a close knit community and everyone policed each other and the Fleet engineer usually checked the vehicles himself on a regular basis. Gone are the days of removing truck bodies and painting chassis before tests.
The retail dealership is a money making concern, it is likely they have many mechanics checking vehicles, some of these folk are just not interested and actively body swerve faults. Spring eye bushes are a typical example whether they have autolube or not, some of these folk come to work worse the wear for drink, not so much drunk but hungover and simply not interested.
The truck industry will in the future have to participate in random drug and alchohol testing. Other industries do it already and reap the benefit of having a fresh workforce, however you cannot force anyone to repair something if they are not interested. When was the last time you saw a service manager down a pit checking someones work?
At my previous company, there remains a proper fleet engineer, and who resolutely resists so much as a computer in his office - the maintenance schedule is on a card index in the workshop manager’s office, so that he can walk in and assess any exceptions within seconds. And we’re talking a 100+ international vehicle fleet with corresponding trailers too.
Vehicles leased from the manufacturer were pulled in randomly after service and done again in-house to check the dealer performance.
There are still such people out there but you’re right: I think that they are a slowly dying breed, encouraged also by the rise of leasing/contract hire deals and a view that a workshop doesn’t offer value for money. Sounds good on paper until you have to trail 20 miles to a dealership to get, say, a side marker light fixed, or a dodgy suzie or a slashed curtain.
Not to mention that there are far fewer self-sufficient drivers out there than there used to be too, and who could sort themselves out with little jobs.
Of course, the vehicles themselves have become so complex too, that many jobs can’t actually be carried out on-house without specialised diagnostic equipment, which is both expensive and restricted to a single marque.
This then leads to some fitters becoming just that: a sealed unit comes neatly packaged and is fitted. Ask some of them to fettle a Gardner engine (if they’ve heard of it!) and they might go off sick!