Volvo invest in high-spec service vans
Glynn Redshaw, national service manager for Volvo’s Construction Equipment Division (VCE), has the responsibility of ensuring his nationwide army of fully-trained mobile engineers have the equipment, parts and customer information at their fingertips each time a phone call comes in for service or breakdown assistance.
With 44 depot-based mobile engineers located at Stirling, Birtley, Warrington, Immingham, Birmingham, Treforest, Duxford and Woking, support is never more than a few hours from any Volvo machine. This philosophy is further reinforced by 25 home-based mobile engineers, two mobile welders, 13 specialist engineers covering electronics and hydraulics, plus a further 13 workshop engineers taking the total number of service staff to 121.
The latest batch of vans being delivered as part of VCE’s fleet replacement programme for their mobile engineers has been much more specifically tailored to the needs of plant and equipment needs. Mr Redshaw said: ‘In addition to the usual racking, tools and parts storage, each Ford Transit mk5 has a basic standard specification that we insist upon. That specification must include sat nav, hands-free phone kits, external work lights and power invertors.’
The latest power inversion kit being integrated to each van allows 12V and 24V battery charging and booster starting, plus a progressive power output system to drive welding equipment, drills, grinders and impact tools. The power inversion kit allows the keys to be removed from the ignition once the engine has been started and power generation takes place. Any attempt to steal the van will result in the engine automatically being stopped, resulting in total on-site security.
Each engineer is also equipped with a laptop computer with electronic parts books, plus service manuals, diagnostic equipment, Contronic readers and digital gauges.
Every phone call received by each depot is logged, the extent of the problem is assessed over the phone with the customer and Volvo then communicate each job directly to mobile engineers via hand-held PDAs, ensuring a faster response to breakdowns. A sophisticated fleet-tracking system means office staff can determine the location of any of their mobile engineers and allocate jobs according to their current position and availability.
With 44 depot-based mobile engineers located at Stirling, Birtley, Warrington, Immingham, Birmingham, Treforest, Duxford and Woking, support is never more than a few hours from any Volvo machine. This philosophy is further reinforced by 25 home-based mobile engineers, two mobile welders, 13 specialist engineers covering electronics and hydraulics, plus a further 13 workshop engineers taking the total number of service staff to 121.
The latest batch of vans being delivered as part of VCE’s fleet replacement programme for their mobile engineers has been much more specifically tailored to the needs of plant and equipment needs. Mr Redshaw said: ‘In addition to the usual racking, tools and parts storage, each Ford Transit mk5 has a basic standard specification that we insist upon. That specification must include sat nav, hands-free phone kits, external work lights and power invertors.’
The latest power inversion kit being integrated to each van allows 12V and 24V battery charging and booster starting, plus a progressive power output system to drive welding equipment, drills, grinders and impact tools. The power inversion kit allows the keys to be removed from the ignition once the engine has been started and power generation takes place. Any attempt to steal the van will result in the engine automatically being stopped, resulting in total on-site security.
Each engineer is also equipped with a laptop computer with electronic parts books, plus service manuals, diagnostic equipment, Contronic readers and digital gauges.
Every phone call received by each depot is logged, the extent of the problem is assessed over the phone with the customer and Volvo then communicate each job directly to mobile engineers via hand-held PDAs, ensuring a faster response to breakdowns. A sophisticated fleet-tracking system means office staff can determine the location of any of their mobile engineers and allocate jobs according to their current position and availability.
