Decisiv Webinar Focuses on the Importance and Value of Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards for Fleets and Service Providers

/EINPresswire.com/ -- GLEN ALLEN, VA--(Marketwired - February 09, 2016) - Decisiv, Inc., the leading provider of Service Relationship Management (SRM) solutions for commercial assets announced today its highly informative webinar -- VMRS: The Numbers that Drive Profitability and Uptime -- had more than 250 truck fleet and service provider registered participants. The event featured a series of presentations on the importance and value of VMRS, the Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards developed by the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) of American Trucking Associations.

"At our annual Maintenance Summit, fleets and service providers revealed starkly different viewpoints and completely opposite priorities when it comes to VMRS," said Michael Riemer, VP Product & Channel Marketing at Decisiv. "For fleets, the standardized coding convention was ranked number one in a survey about priorities but for providers it was last on a list of 14 items. That wide disparity between how fleets and service providers perceive the importance and value of VMRS was the reason for the Webinar.

"VMRS is much more than just nine digits used to describe components," Riemer explained. "Today, it can also describe assets, service events, reasons for repairs and work accomplished. VMRS includes codes that identify the 4C's -- Complaint, Cause, Correction and Component -- to provide a very detailed picture that can be used throughout a service supply ecosystem. The true power of VMRS is that it eliminates confusion in the service management process."

Riemer went on to illustrate how VMRS can be used by fleets to define and code preventive maintenance events. Additionally, he detailed a VMRS SWOT Analysis that took place during the Decisiv Maintenance Summit outlining the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats associated with the standards.

Jack Poster, VMRS Services Manager at the Technology & Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Associations provided background on VMRS, illustrating how TMC, as the custodian of VMRS since 1997, continues to ensure that the coding convention is current and responsive to changing industry needs and technologies. There are now more than 31,000 components and over 9,100 manufacturers and suppliers with VMRS codes.

In 2015, Poster reported, 758 new VMRS codes were added to the database and new codes are added on a weekly basis. Among the most recent additions to VMRS are new codes for components, asset types, reason for repair, reasons for having a vehicle towed, work accomplished and indirect labor. The process for requesting new VMRS codes is simple and free. Just send your requirements, description and any diagrams, and Poster and the VMRS Codes Committee at TMC will quickly review and ratify or provide feedback.

TMC is also offering a Certified VMRS Specialist Program that enables fleet managers to showcase their skill using the coding convention. To date, there are 126 Certified VMRS Specialists who have competed a certification process consisting of multiple choice and essay question testing.

Poster also dispelled some common myths about VMRS, noting that it is not computer software. It's a coding convention that is NOT only for fleets but in fact it can be implemented in any business related to equipment parts and repairs, and by anyone in a service supply chain.

Steven Saltzgiver, Senior Associate & Consultant at Mercury Associates, said VMRS should be looked at as a proactive management tool. "In a time of a growing technician shortage," he told webinar attendees, "it can help analyze accountability and productivity, and evaluate, benchmark and compare operational metrics across technicians, shops and outside providers. VMRS facilitates communication, reducing confusion and frustration, and reduces process waste while strengthening shop optimization and continuous improvement. It's the one language everyone understands.

"Technicians have hand tools; VMRS is your management tool," Saltzgiver stated. "Equipment is becoming more complex and so is data. VMRS can reduce that complexity, make data more useable and help eliminate paralysis by analysis. It enhances the ability to triage and prioritize shop workload so you manage repairs, not let repairs manage you.

Also speaking at the Decisiv VMRS webinar was Paul Moszak, Vice President & GM for the Truck Group at MOTOR Information Systems and the current chairman of TMC's VMRS Codes Committee. MOTOR's FleetCross application, he noted, utilizes VMRS codes throughout the labor time guide, which is also available via a Data as a Service (DaaS) offering.

MOTOR also offers a project-based service to data cleanse and apply VMRS codes. "PartSaver combats catalog bloat," Moszak explained. "By adding VMRS codes it validates parts information to assist with future ordering and inventory management so procurement departments have a better opportunity to shop for better pricing. By VMRS coding parts used, you gain reporting capabilities based on part type regardless of the actual part number. Streamlining parts management with VMRS saves as much as 15% in transaction time and saves 20% of total inventory costs."

Webinar attendees also had an opportunity to have panelists answer questions. Asked what can be done to accelerate adoption by service providers, Steven Saltzgiver said that fleets need to make a good case or demand VMRS. "Using VMRS generally requires changes to existing systems and processes where there may be added costs," he related. "Changes will occur when fleet managers articulate the case for change and demand that suppliers comply if they want their business."

"You need to hold suppliers accountable," agreed Paul Moszak. "Put in your parts agreements that VMRS coding will be used. Keep asking because suppliers are listening."

"A lack of commitment by everyone, including fleets, OEMs, dealers and service providers, to use VMRS will continue to limit its effectiveness," said Michael Riemer. "It is clear from the high level of interest in the Decisiv webinar -- VMRS: The Numbers that Drive Profitability and Uptime -- that fleet managers and service providers not only have a lot to gain but are also willing to invest the time and effort needed to understand the value of using VMRS codes."

All webinar participants received a recording, speaker contact information and copies of presentations. For a copy of the Decisiv Whitepaper: Using VMRS Codes to Unlock Fleet Profitability visit http://offers.decisiv.com/vmrscodes.

About Decisiv, Inc.

Founded in 2001 and based in Glen Allen, Virginia, Decisiv is the world's leading provider of Service Relationship Management (SRM) solutions for commercial assets in trucking and transportation, coach, construction, power generation, and other on- and off-highway, heavy-duty equipment markets. Decisiv's cloud-based software, mobile applications and services enable enterprises, government entities, leasing and rental companies and service providers to more effectively manage, monitor and report on service and repair event interactions independent of asset type, service provider or device. In the North American market, 1,200 fleets with 500,000 assets and more than 3,000 service providers and thousands of roadside service and tow providers are using the Decisiv SRM platform to perform more than 350,000 inspections and manage over 2 million service events per year. For additional information, visit www.decisiv.com.