Are you utilizing fix before fail methods to decrease product downtime?

Are you proactively selling service contracts to assure that customers receive the lowest cost of vehicle ownership?

Are you initiating corrective action based on claim information in a timely manner?

Proactive solutions decrease response time and increase the effectiveness of delivering service to your customers. Narrowing the response window improves customer satisfaction and can significantly impact revenues by helping retain customers for life.

A key component of implementing proactive solutions lies in system integration and the ability to share information, empowering your entire service network. This integration helps to provide real-time visibility across the service network and uses SLM analytics to make informed decisions for driving improvements for increased effectiveness of the solutions. 4CS's blueprint for proactive solutions addresses key service-related opportunities, identifying the areas that will add the most value.

Responsive Maintenance
Repair Management helps illustrate some key aspects of a proactive approach to service.

There are four types of “fixes” to the problems that occur in products ranging from fixing after it breaks to fixing the root causes of the problems:

• Break-fix : Traditionally, maintenance has been done after failure has occurred causing downtime for customers. For example, using expert systems to diagnose or search previous cases histories in the knowledge base.
• Preventive : Anticipating the age at which components are likely to fail and replacing them or performing overhauls at predetermined times. For example, maintenance reminders are sent to customers based on the hour/mileage reading on the vehicle.
• Predictive : Condition based maintenance, which carefully monitors actual, current equipment condition, is always less expensive and more effective than fixed interval servicing, targets component replacements and overhauls throughout the life cycle of equipment. For example, using oil scan analysis to predict vehicle failures.
• Proactive : Unlike predictive/preventive maintenance, proactive maintenance commissions corrective actions aimed at failure root causes, not just symptoms. For example, doing failure analysis and root cause analysis in the warranty claims system.

It is estimated that reactive maintenance costs over six times more as compared to proactive maintenance. It is inevitable that future machinery will include on-board contaminant sensors for real-time proactive maintenance and condition control. Expert system software combined with strategically located sensors and transducers (e.g., pressure, temperature, vibration, viscosity, wear debris, and moisture) will provide comprehensive machine health monitoring for the most sophisticated future machine applications.

This service approach enables manufacturers and dealers to offer their customers a comprehensive solution that includes a mix of all these maintenance approaches.