The first four dealers to achieve the certification are: Vision Truck Center of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; Vanguard Truck Center of Phoenix, Arizona; Nextran Truck Center of Birmingham, Alabama; and Westfall O'Dell Truck Sales of Kansas City, Missouri. All four dealers were part of the Certified Uptime Center pilot program.
"It's important that our customers' trucks are on the road working earning money for them," said Stephen Roy, president of Mack Trucks North America. "Through our Mack Certified Uptime Centers, we've completely rethought our approach to how trucks are diagnosed and repaired, enabling us to get trucks serviced and back to the customer as quickly as possible."
The certification evaluates dealer service locations on 28 required process elements, ranging from shop organization to implementation of diagnostic tools. While many of the elements were already considered "best practices," Mack combined the elements under the Certified Uptime Centers effort to maximize their impact.
"We, along with other dealer groups, worked closely with Mack to gather proven ideas that help improve the service process for customers," said John Slotegraaf, dealer principal, Vision Truck Center. "In fact, many of the 28 process steps required for certification are tried-and-true methods that have been tested every day at the dealer level."
Completion of the certification process takes approximately eight weeks, and includes a final assessment to determine whether all Certified Uptime Center requirements have been met. Mack's Dealer Fixed Operations Managers conduct the assessments and assign the final certification.
Mack Certified Uptime Centers are the latest evolution of Mack's commitment to maximizing customer uptime. To qualify as a Certified Uptime Center, Mack dealer locations must demonstrate proficiency in new procedures designed to simplify and accelerate the service process.
In addition, Certified Uptime Centers must implement redesigned service bays focused on quick turnaround times. These "uptime bays" utilize Mack's vast array of uptime tools to rapidly diagnose customer issues. Trucks with repairs that require less than four hours are repaired immediately, rather than being shuffled to the back of the line, as with the typical "first come, first served" practice common in today's shops.
"Not only have our Certified Uptime Centers addressed the pace of the repair process, we've also taken steps to ensure our diagnoses are even more accurate," said David Pardue, Mack vice president, connected vehicle and contract services. "The combination of speed and accuracy has only been made possible through Mack's unparalleled collection of uptime tools."
Mack's uptime solutions, including
Mack® GuardDog® Connect telematics and the
Mack ASIST service management system, are fully integrated with the Mack Certified Uptime Centers' workflows. In addition, Mack's
recently announced integration of Truck Diagnostics System (TDS) and Mack ASIST also supports Mack Certified Uptime Centers, delivering faster, more efficient information sharing. All of Mack's uptime-focused personnel, including
Mack OneCall™ agents, are housed at the
Mack Uptime Center, located near Mack world headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Mack will continue to roll out Certified Uptime Center certifications to its dealer network throughout 2016, with a focus on major markets.
Dedicated to quality, reliability and total customer satisfaction, Mack Trucks, Inc., has provided its customers with innovative transportation solutions for more than a century. Today, Mack is one of North America's largest producers of heavy-duty trucks, and Mack
® trucks are sold and serviced through an extensive distribution network in more than 45 countries. Mack trucks and diesel engines sold in North America are assembled in the United States. Mack manufacturing locations are certified to the internationally recognized ISO 9001 standard for quality and ISO 14001 standard for environmental management systems. Mack is also a proud sponsor of Share the Road, an American Trucking Associations' public information campaign aimed at enhancing the safety of our nation's roadways.
Mack Trucks, Inc. is part of the Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. The Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. The Volvo Group, which employs about 100,000 people, has production facilities in 19 countries and sells its products in more than 190 markets. In 2014, the Volvo Group's sales amounted to about $38.2 billion. The Volvo Group is a publicly-held company headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and are traded OTC in the U.S.
