Tips For Starting a Truck Maintenance Facility

A truck maintenance facility’s design involves many choices, but a few crucial ones can have the most effect on the layout and overall look of the room. These aspects, which are less important than aesthetics and other criteria, include the facility’s design, dimensions, facilities, and equipment. This is because it’s crucial to ensure the facility is built so trucks can enter and exit it safely and effectively. In addition, your entire business will run more smoothly with operationally adequate facilities.

1. Types of trucks

Finding out what kinds of trucks you are working on is the first step in constructing a truck maintenance facility.

The kind of truck you choose is essential because you need to know precisely what repair you will perform at the facility. The length of the bays, the space between walls and other barriers like storage racks, and any additional equipment like truck lifts, great tools, or toolboxes that may be required will all depend on the sorts of trucks that will be used.

Typically, a repair facility will come across various trucks, such as transfer trailers, semi-tractors, automated trucks, roll-off trucks, front loaders, side loaders, and rear loaders. Depending on what you will do in the shop, each has various equipment needs, permits, and maintenance requirements.

The engineering team may be sure they have a complete understanding of the utilization of the shop by taking the time to specify the number and kind of trucks that will enter the facility. By doing this, problems like mechanics needing more space around or above the truck to carry out necessary repairs can be avoided.

Operators should decide whether the shop will have a wash bay or work areas for container repair after determining the sorts of vehicles being serviced by the facility. 

2. Types of maintenance and repair

The sort of maintenance the facility will handle, such as preventative maintenance (PM), bodywork, large engine repairs or swap outs, cab replacements, etc., should be identified next.

The size of spaces, the kind of compartments, and the types and quantities of equipment needed to complete the work will all vary significantly depending on the level of maintenance. For example, a truck maintenance centre such as BharatBenz Truck will need a space for fluid changes, tyre and brake maintenance, and other small tasks that keep the vehicle working safely every day. The usual tools, fluid distribution throughout the shop, truck lifts, a PM pit with designated bays, and other PM-related equipment would be needed for this work.

If you start to do a lot of bodywork, replace or repair the engine, it requires many things. For instance, more powerful tools are needed, including an overhead crane, welder plugs, lighting, and much more bay space so that “project trucks” can be stored inside for extended periods.

These bays would be allocated for trucks of this type because they frequently sit idle inside the shop for days or weeks while mechanics do their daily tasks. Additionally, you will need to set aside room for the fabrication and sheet metal tools required for the complex repairs.

3. Quantities Of Trucks and Hours Of Operation

The number of vehicles you will be working on each day and the facility’s operating hours are the third and last things to consider.

According to a general industry rule of thumb, one servicing bay can be needed for every 10 to 15 trucks you will be working on in the facility. While that is a solid starting point, the previously listed considerations will also influence the number of bays you require. You can decide what is practical for your company to benefit from working with your design firm.

The age of your vehicle, the fuel they use, and the operating hours are other variables that may impact the bay numbers. Since trucks are typically used from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., most shop technicians undertake truck maintenance in the morning and afternoons. Therefore, the number of bays you want will depend on the trucks you have and the demands of your service schedule. Using an expert design team who is familiar with these facilities can help you sort through the information and decide what will work best for your vehicle and operations.

4. What kind of fuel do they use?

The fuelling of automobiles makes up the fourth factor. Even though this might not be a typical shop design challenge, it can have significant implications, particularly in light of the industry’s emphasis on electronic vehicles.

As a result, how much maintenance you must perform on your vehicles may depend on the age of your vehicle. Older vehicles typically have higher maintenance requirements, which would increase the number of spaces you require. In addition, diesel trucks require slightly different fluids than CNG trucks depending on the task at hand. They can also need an exhaust extraction system or various kinds of air exchange.

CNG has substantially greater effects on the facility’s design due to the numerous mechanical system requirements that must be considered. Examples include usage restrictions put on equipment that cause flames, such as natural gas-fired heaters, overhead door actuators, welders, and electrical piping that must be two feet below the roof line and above the floor.

Although CNG has been a popular option for the past 20 years, electric vehicles will take over in the near future. The full effects of all-electric trucks are still being studied. Still, as more companies begin to use them, we may expect reduced Emissions. However, that will also require different maintenance due to the various motors.

Maintenance facilities should be ready to be efficient electrical service when there are more electric vehicles on the road due to the demand to charge the batteries of these trucks. In addition, as facility operators gain more knowledge about the plugs, power pulls, programming, and software necessary for the charging systems, this will assist prevent the need for sizable infrastructure investment and enable ongoing system enhancements and adjustments.

Conclusion

These five suggestions are simply the tip of the iceberg when designing a truck maintenance facility. Choosing a design and construction team you can trust can significantly impact the site’s layout and how well it runs in the short and long terms, even though there are a lot of elements to consider when planning a facility.