Tell him again. Doing it yourself doesn't help. Be firm. Does he think of you as a co-worker and not a manager?
Mechanic won’t use oil I’ve chosen
- Thread starter Spike555
- Start date
A diesel coach that spends 80% of its time on the freeway isn't exactly the same thing as a gas 5.4 Ford truck.
Anything can last 20 years in a salty, cold fleet environment if you replace the truck in parts three times over, sure.
Ours didn’t spend anytime on a freeway, all single lane driving. over 3 million miles on them with original engines and gearbox’s and axels.
Regardless, comparing a medium duty Isuzu/Cummins/Detroit/Volvo/Mitsubishi/Cat whatever diesel/trans axle combination to a 5.4 Ford truck is borderline ridiculous.
Fleet vehicles in fleet usage. Maintenance by mechanics who want the fleet to last and owners that will spend the money on the correct periodic maintenance is the key.
The biggest variable in fleets is drivers not vehicles.
Driven 7 days a week. 360 days a year.
The body and chassis are built to last 20 years. That is the expected service life, just like a air plane, built to used 24/7, last 20+ years and easy to repair and maintain.
A engine can be swapped out in a day.
Transmission in a day.
Rear axle in a day.
i can replace brake pads on all for corners in an hour.
These are Ford 7.3L Godzilla engines, with a couple Ford V10’s.
That’s part of my dilemma. Tell him again and make him do it and over pay for cheap batteries That will be bad again in a year.
Or do it myself, pay the same price as him and buy AMG batteries that will last at least twice as long.
Which makes the most sense financially?
Ok, well that is probably better, but still no comparison to a medium duty diesel.
I know this is a different situation, but before I got hurt and had to go on disability I was a supervisor for a crew on commercial construction. They either did the work that was assigned to them or they found other employment. If they didn't want to do the work I didn't do it for them I got someone else who would do the work. I knew the qualifications of my employees, they were paid accordingly and assigned work according to their qualifications. The younger inexperienced were usually paired with older experienced workers so they could learn from them and get increases to their pay. There were no time clocks to punch but it if they were late or late returning from lunch their pay was docked 1/2 hour and if it became a habit after being warned about it they were replaced. If I needed someone to stay and do something last minute at quitting time I'd ask for a volunteer. If it took 5 minutes to do the job they were paid at least 1/2 an hour overtime. They knew exactly what I expected and I ran into very few problems.
Job types and condition vary greatly - however the current job market favours the job seeker, not the employer - if you're using one guy to maintain a fleet that's in operation 24/7 then you can't just dump them and "get another one" - you need to plan it and use what you've got until the plan can be completed.
There is little comparison here for just another drone on a site, it's essentially one guy that's needed 24/7.
There is little comparison here for just another drone on a site, it's essentially one guy that's needed 24/7.
Speakihg of records for resale purposes, I'm assuming there basically were no records when this fleet was bought since this same shop was doing the maintenaince on the fleet when it was sold to the current company - ??.
If your company is leasing the building that this fleet maintanence guy is using, why couldn't you just tell him you're done with him, hire some other people to work in your leased building? If they the lease isn't in his name, then what allows him to stay there beside you?
They're paying for the guys lease, this info is in the previous posts by the OP.
I know ... but who's name is the lease in?
It’s 2 guys, but yes, they are on call M-F, show up at the terminal in the morning on those days, then go to the shop.
But you are 100% correct, we cannot just replace him tomorrow. We need to find a new building for the shop and a new mechanic And helper.
Correct, basically no records. The mechanic has none, the old owner has them but has yet been able to produce them. Meaning he does not have them.
Because we need him, it is not easy to just find a new building in a town you’re not familiar with as well find a mechanic and helper to work on the fleet of 20+ trucks.
I understand what you’re saying, but have you tried to find employees right now? The choices are almost zero.
So when you say "find a new building" I take it the lease of the current building is in his name and your company just pays for the lease directly to him (?). In other words, your company is not on the lease. If it was, it would be a no-brainer.
