Low Price Parts: Exposing the True Cost :

Brake failure is every driver’s worst nightmare and an all too common occurrence. At best it means costly downtime and maintenance but at worst it could put lives and livelihoods at risk. Serious accidents are unfortunately a daily occurrence on UK road network. If the worse were to happen and the cause found to be directly attributable to the fitment of non-approved or non- OE parts then new corporate manslaughter legislation passed in 2007 could make the company directors or senior managers liable to criminal prosecution. Liability can also pass down through the supply chain, leaving anyone who supplied inadequate parts equally exposed. Even if the operator chooses to ignore this risk an economic justification can be made for planned maintenance and the use of approved parts.

At a time when the focus of all business is cost reduction it is tempting to save money by increasing the service intervals and choosing the cheaper option when buying replacement parts. However, this often proves to be a false economy. For a fleet operator, whether running a couple of vehicles or an entire fleet of several hundred, it is the actual ‘cost of ownership’ that should be the deciding factor. Only then can a fully informed view be taken.

Taking the cheaper option on the face of it would seem to save money but by going a little deeper into the life span of the replacement part can show that using a higher quality product actually improves profitability in the long term. Using cheaper parts can often be at the expense of other components, adding to their wear and leading to premature failure. Taking the example of brake friction, cheaper pads are often made of inferior materials that wear more rapidly and therefore offer a significantly reduced life span. They can increase wear on the discs leading to the need to replace the disc earlier than might be expected when compared to a more cost effective replacement pad. Ultimately it comes down to the products life- time- value that can be measured in terms of ‘cost of ownership’.

Any look at the expense of running the vehicle needs to consider the fixed costs that arise from just owning the vehicle, for example its road tax. As well as the variable costs that come from using it, such as the fuel bill. Since any commercial vehicle is only earning money when it is on the road, optimising the time it is in use is critical to the business. However, at the same time services are crucial in maintaining the vehicle safety and maximising its useful life.

In a recent survey conducted into the cost structure associated with running a 40-tonne truck and trailer combination taken over an average distance of 100,000 kilometres the survey found that the cost of spare parts represents only 4% of the total cost of running the vehicle.

Taking the brake parts example, the actual percentage of the total running cost of the vehicle represents 0.2% of the total running cost. Therefore, making the decision to use a set of cheaper brake pads makes only a very marginal change in the overall operating costs. Conversely, using a higher quality brake pad optimises the service life of the brake system avoiding unplanned downtime. By reducing downtime the survey found that a fleet operator was able to make real savings that were calculated to be as much as 65%.

An inadequately maintained brake system with an inappropriate non-approved brake pad fitted could add to the downtime experienced by the operator. In fact the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) tests have shown that the two most common causes of vehicle test failure are the lights and brakes. This is despite the awareness amongst operators that the brake system is a safety critical component. Over a quarter of all trailers presented at VOSA test facilities fail on brake performance. Any test failure is immediately increasing the cost of ownership calculation by adding to downtime and upping the unplanned maintenance costs.

TMD Friction recently undertook a live test that took a low priced competitors pads and compared its maximum service life to a Textar OE pad with T7400 material. In order to begin the comparison the fitters found that the accessory kit supplied with the low cost pads was incorrect and therefore an additional fitting kit had to be purchased and fitted. In comparison, the Textar pads are supplied with OE accessory and could be fitted first time.

During the test the low priced pads were found to have degraded and were removed after 68 days and just 17000 miles. Based on the test results however, the life expectancy of the low priced pads was calculated to be 453 days of normal operating, assuming that they retained their integrity. In contrast, the Textar product performed at consistent levels throughout the test period and was projected to last for 751 days in normal use. The test was conducted with two identical DAF 95 (6x2) tractor and trailer combinations owned and operated by Ramage Transport and used on similar routes and loads.

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For a commercial vehicle operator there are more than enough compelling reasons to continue to use genuine parts in their fleet especially where the parts are safety critical. As one operator commented who understood the concept “it’s not the price that counts, it’s the cost”.