Case Analysis & Practical Application Flashcards

A fleet manager receives a complaint that a recently PM-serviced vehicle pulls to the right when braking. What should the technician inspect first?

Answer: Brake caliper slide pins and caliper for sticking on the left front

Brake pull to the right indicates a left-side brake is not fully engaging, most commonly due to a seized caliper or contaminated brake pad on the left front.

A fleet of natural gas vehicles (CNG) is experiencing reduced range. The vehicles are not leaking gas. What is the most likely cause to investigate?

Answer: CNG tanks are not being filled to full rated pressure at the fueling station

CNG vehicles store fuel by pressure; if tanks are consistently under-filled due to compressor issues at the fueling station, effective range will be reduced proportionally.

A technician installs a used ECM from a salvage yard to repair a fleet vehicle. After installation, the vehicle starts but operates poorly and throws multiple unrelated fault codes. What is the most likely cause?

Answer: The replacement ECM requires programming/flashing to match the vehicle's VIN and immobilizer system

Modern ECMs must be programmed to the specific vehicle's VIN and paired with the immobilizer/security system; an unprogrammed or mismatched ECM will cause widespread driveability faults.

A fleet safety manager wants to compare accident rates fairly across drivers who operate vastly different mileage amounts. Which metric should be used?

Answer: Accidents per mile driven (or per 100,000 miles)

Accidents per mile driven normalizes for exposure, allowing a fair comparison between high-mileage and low-mileage drivers regardless of total trips or time in vehicle.

A fleet technician performs a compression test on a gasoline engine and finds one cylinder reading 60 PSI while all others are 165–170 PSI. A wet compression test brings the low cylinder up to 155 PSI. What does this result indicate?

Answer: Worn or stuck piston rings in that cylinder

When adding oil (wet test) raises compression significantly, the rings are the sealing problem because the oil temporarily seals the gap between the rings and the cylinder wall.

A fleet manager wants to benchmark his fleet's maintenance cost per mile against industry standards. Which organization publishes the most widely referenced benchmarking data for US fleet operations?

Answer: American Trucking Associations (ATA) or NAFA Fleet Management Association

NAFA Fleet Management Association and ATA publish widely used fleet benchmarking reports covering maintenance cost per mile, fuel cost, and lifecycle data for US fleets.

A shop foreman reviews work orders and finds that the same technician consistently takes 40% longer than the standard labor time on brake jobs. What is the most constructive management approach?

Answer: Observe the technician performing a brake job to identify inefficiencies and provide targeted training

Directly observing the technician and providing targeted training addresses the root cause of the productivity gap without punitive measures or masking the problem shop-wide.