Rotronics has been working with the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Services since December 2017. The workshop management team had, for some time, been looking for better ways to manage their battery maintenance within their workshop programme at their Gloucester workshop. The group previously did not have any form of effective battery management programme in place, apart from a simple battery tester.
They were aware that the Police workshop had been using a Midtronics battery tester as part of their workshop maintenance to identify faulty batteries and wanted to explore how this may help them better diagnose battery defects. Whilst the workshop had traditional 24v battery chargers in use, they did not form any part of a routine maintenance process or procedure and, as a result, balanced charging was not a consideration within their maintenance procedures. Battery warranty claims were not effective, with most claims not being accepted by their battery supplier.
Rotronics visits Gloucester Fire
In December 2017, the Rotronics team visited the Gloucester site, to demonstrate and provide an overview of the Rotronics Battery Management programme, equipment was left on trial to enable workshop staff to evaluate it and offer feedback as to how it was used. A follow-up visit was made in January 2018 and further training was given to the team. With extremely positive feedback, the trial continued, to enable extended usage of the equipment. In March 2018 the Rotronics team received the order to supply a full workshop programme supporting the team, including ROBIS, and they have been using the equipment as part of their everyday routine maintenance and feel they are getting real benefit from its use.
The Results
- Battery sets are receiving a regular “balanced charge”
- Defective batteries, that would have previously gone unnoticed, are being identified and replaced before a vehicle defect occurs.
- The warranty claims process is much more effective, with faulty batteries covered under warranty now being accepted and credited by their battery provider, through providing a printout of the faulty battery to support the claims process.
- A total of 11 batteries (at a cost of £1,760) have been successfully claimed to date, without the use of the Rotronics EXP1000FHD claims would have been lost.
105
Individual Vehicles Tested
23%
of all batteries required charging
10%
of those batteries required replacement
A total of 11 batteries (at a cost of £1,760) have been successfully claimed to date (July 2020), without the use of the Rotronics EXP1000FHD claims would have been lost.
The return on investment calculation will result in the equipment paying for itself, within the first six months of use. Workshop Supervisor Adam Fowles says “Our technicians think the equipment is fantastic and find it easy to use and integrate into our planned maintenance procedures. It’s really made a difference in helping us to identify and better manage battery defects within the fleet, so much so we have already secured 11 warranty claim credits, that would have been rejected if we hadn’t been using the tester”.
