ORLANDO, FL. Michelin Americas Truck Tires hosted a press conference this morning at the annual American Trucking Associations Management Conference & Exhibition here in Orlando, FL to announce the launch of an expanded version of its ONCall emergency road service (ERS). Version 2.0, which will be available starting in January of 2014, adds mechanical and towing services to its current tire service offering.
With its new mechanical breakdown services, customers of ONCall 2.0 can receive coverage for roadside repair for improved CSA compliance to include lights, brakes, suspension work, jump starts, fuel delivery and lockouts. Diesel technicians are also available 24/7 to help identify potential issues and work with drivers to determine the most cost effective solution. Michelin National Accounts will also have access to a simplified billing process through centralized invoicing.
Under the new towing service, Michelin will arrange transportation of a Class 5 to Class 8 truck to the customer’s location of choice. In the event of truck abandonment, ONCall 2.0 will provide secured storage and cleaning options.
“Michelin’s emergency road service is now more than tires,” said Vic Koelsch, chief operating officer, Michelin Americas Truck Tires Division, during his presentation. “Michelin ONCall 2.0 brings fleets peace of mind by providing consistent service, event transparency, and accountability for all breakdowns. Every maintenance manager would like to be onsite at every breakdown event to manage it properly. ONCall 2.0’s innovative tracking and reporting features allow the service manager to be there virtually and optimize their vehicle uptime.”
Two other services, FIXPIX and LIVETRACK, are designed to give fleet managers visibility of their remote assets. LIVETRACK allows managers to follow every breakdown with real-time dispatch screen views and estimated roll times. Fleets can also access the Event Viewer for post-event reporting with case-specific details of mechanical, towing and tire service calls.
FIXPIX provides photos of serviced tires and the work orders, which can only be taken at the breakdown site. These can be viewed online on a computer or on a mobile device. FIXPIX is intended to deliver an extra measure of trust and accountability to tire ERS service, ensuring assets are managed correctly. This service is available at Michelin Commercial Service Network and other participating dealers.
The original tire breakdown service (ONCall version 1.0) will continue as part of version 2.0 with Commercial Service Network dealers stocking key tire sizes 24/7. The service has multi-language support and a dealer locator app. ERS online dashboard reports allow fleets to access state of the art information, including events by servicing dealer and tire downtime metrics.
According to Koelsch, fleets do not have to be running Michelin tires to use these comprehensive breakdown services, “but we obviously would like them to use our tires, too.”
For operations adding natural gas vehicles to their fleets, he also noted that no special provisions have been made at this point to deal with natural gas-powered trucks, but if there is a need for help with a natural gas vehicle, ONCall technicians will try to lend a hand or identify other sources for emergency support .
