The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has published their annual An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking report. The report provides accurate and actionable insights into operational costs in the for-hire trucking industry and its public and private sector partners. Using real world data from motor carriers, owner operators and federal sources found the cost of trucking in 2021 increased to its highest level in 15 years. Further maintenance is the largest vehicle-based contributor to marginal costs 9% of total average marginal cost.
According to ATRI, these costs had “the largest-ever annual spike” and represents the second-fastest growing cost center only behind fuel. Two of the potential causes of this increase are a focus on maintenance to offset declines in equipment purchases and a trend toward more complex equipment being more expensive to repair. So how can trucking and transportation firms address these rising costs and specifically how could XRMentor™ help?
Increase First Time Fix Rates with Self-Guided Procedures On-Demand
An increased focus on maintenance and more complex equipment both point to the need to fix the equipment correctly the first time. Low first-time fix rates result in comebacks and higher labor and parts costs as well as idle equipment. One way to raise first time fix rates is to arm technicians with how-to procedures on demand. Technicians that require assistance will inevitably see support. This may mean searching an internal web application seeking information from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or even finding a how-to video on YouTube. The problem with YouTube is that the how-to’s are not curated for accuracy by your firm. But, if that is what they seek, why not arm them with your own version. XRMentor™’s self guided procedures let you create step by step guides for how you want the repair down. You can add how-to videos to each step, or even just share a video for the entire procedure. This way it can be curated to your organization’s needs without compromising YouTube video inconsistencies. With AR training these procedures are available anytime on any device. You can access them on the iOS or Android app or through Windows at the XRMentor™ website.
Address Spikes in Cost with Training at Scale with ClassroomXR™
Tracking operational costs will inevitably reveal spikes associated with particular trouble codes. Some firms may be able to regionalize spikes in costs to specific facilities or uncover a nationwide trend. Which suggests a rapid response is needed to contain those costs. This response could include training to address potential non-compliance to standard procedures. However, training an entire workforce via sending seasoned technicians to a centralized training event is costly. Resulting in low throughput and the process is extremely time consuming. Too late, too expensive to address a growing problem. ClassroomXR™, an instructor-led training feature, which allows a single expert to demonstrate a hands on procedure to a remote audience at scale. Imagine your trusted expert live streaming how to service a brake to hundreds of technicians at once. ClassroomXR™ enables the instructor to share a first person perspective, so the class will see exactly what the expert sees. Further, the instructor can connect to external webcams and share their screen so they can provide the best possible view to the remote audience. Finally, they can leverage AR visuals of parts can be referenced hands free as the expert demonstrates the repair.
Return Equipment to Service Quicker with Remote Video Collaboration
Training at scale is great, but an effective training program should result in compliance to the procedure. Inevitably a tech may require assistance and on-site mentorship, while extremely valuable, is hard to provide these days while maintaining productivity. XRMentor™’s remote video collaboration allows a remote expert to see exactly what the technician sees. The tech whether they share their video from a phone, tablet or even a headset, can interact one on one with the expert to not only get the repair done correctly, but get the equipment on the road quicker.
These three features of XRMentor™ work individually but are best used in combination. To rapidly inform or train a large workforce, ClassroomXR™ enables hands on demonstration at scale. In addition to providing self-guided procedures that can be distributed at a click of a button. Lastly, experts and remote techs can collaborate using the remote collaboration feature to make sure the tech understands the procedure or gets the job done right the first time.
For a demonstration of XRMentor™ or to discuss how it can help your firm lower your repair and maintenance costs please contact Matt Johnston at matthew@designinteractive.net.
