STEVENSVILLE, Md. — Fleet operators ranked safety, controlling costs and minimizing downtime as the top three most important areas of their business in a new market research study conducted by vehicle lift provider Stertil-Koni.
The company’s “Fleet Performance 2012” study, released last October and conducted online, was designed to help the fleet and transit industries identify and better analyze the latest developments in the sector. Participation was anonymous and included transportation professionals in commercial, municipal and military fleet-related activities.
Other factors that were ranked as “very important” to fleet and transit operations were productivity (85 percent), followed by employee training (74 percent) and spare parts availability (70 percent). Though a bit lower, environmental friendliness (53 percent) and energy efficiency (51 percent) were still prominently ranked in the list.
Stertil-Koni President Jean DellAmore said the company’s research shows from a macro standpoint that preventative maintenance programs are virtually universal.
“That’s a genuine plus in terms of vehicle durability and safety,” he said.
As far as lift usage, of these survey participants, Stertil-Koni’s research found that about 77 percent currently use vehicle lifts in their fleet maintenance operations, and about 51 percent of these are mobile column lifts. Second to mobile column lifts are in-ground piston lifts (18 percent), four-post lifts (15 percent), two-post lifts (13 percent) and platform lifts (3 percent).
“Of particular interest to our industry is the fact that while more than one-half of all participants (58 percent) report that their vehicle lifts are third-party certified, nearly one-third (31 percent) simply are not certain,” noted DellAmore. “That is potentially a major area of both concern and opportunity, particularly given the premium that respondents place on safety.”
