Maximum uptime and reliability for R Collard

Vehicle uptime at record levels following switch to genuine Volvo parts

WASTE-recycling specialists R Collard have completed a move to fitting genuine Volvo parts across their fleet of more than 100 Volvo trucks, which the company maintains in-house.

Roddy Taylor, transport director for R Collard, led the change in procurement after identifying that genuine Volvo parts could help increase uptime – replacing a company policy of sourcing non-genuine parts. 

‘Reliability is paramount for us; if a truck goes down, it can directly impact our ability to deliver a vital service to a customer, add to the running costs and result in poor driver utilization as well as potential recovery costs,’ explained Mr Taylor.  

‘We identified that certain non-genuine parts were failing a lot earlier than expected, leading to costly downtime and putting more pressure on our workshop. We began using genuine Volvo parts for certain key components and they performed incredibly well, leading to a noticeable uplift in reliability and performance. 

‘It sparked a process which has seen us steadily increase the mix of genuine Volvo parts we fit to our Volvos up to five years old; recently hitting 100% for the first time. Moving forwards, we wouldn’t accept anything less for our fleet.’

According to R Collard, the Volvo Trucks brand accounts for more than two-thirds of the company’s 138 heavy goods vehicles. The FORS Gold-accredited fleet includes a flagship Volvo FH16 750 8x4 heavy haulage tractor unit, 80-tonne FH tractor units, 32-tonne FMX 8x4 tippers and tipper grabs, 15-tonne FL 4x2 plant bodies and several FL 4x2 skip loaders.

All genuine Volvo parts are backed by 12-month warranty when fitted by the customer, or 24 months in an authorized Volvo workshop. All parts are tested rigorously and built to Volvo’s quality standards and continue to be available for at least 15 years after a model has ceased production.

R Collard currently source all their Volvo parts from local dealers Volvo Truck and Bus Centre South & East, based in Reading. 

‘Availability and first-time pick rates are excellent,’ said Mr Taylor. ‘We phone our orders in and the parts arrive on the next delivery – which is normally same day for most routine items ordered before 9am or next day if it’s coming from the main Volvo parts facility in Rugby. On occasions the dealer has even sent a third delivery on the same day to help us out. Nothing is too much trouble; the support we get is what you would expect from a main dealer.’