There aren’t many trucking companies willing to intentionally demolish a brand new, state-of-the art tractor-trailer. However, Ryder System, Inc., a provider of commercial fleet management, dedicated transportation, and supply chain solutions, recently did just that. The ultimate maintenance challenge, referred to by Ryder as “Project Rebirth,” was designed to showcase the skills of the company’s expert technician workforce.
The challenge: run a brand new 2015 model-year Volvo tractor through a gauntlet of destruction that included an exploding debris field, a destructive spike strip, and finally, the impact of a two-ton wrecking ball.
Following the vehicle’s demolition, it was towed to Ryder’s maintenance facility in Atlanta, Ga., where a team of 10 technicians from across the company’s North American network was assembled to repair it. Ryder then gave this team just 24 hours to complete the repair.
“If businesses are going to outsource fleet maintenance to Ryder, they need to be really confident about our ability to maintain and repair trucks, quickly and correctly the first time,” said Dennis Cooke, President, Global Fleet Management Solutions for Ryder. “Because our technicians work behind the scenes, there aren’t many opportunities for us to showcase their incredible knowledge and skill. These videos enable us to show the world in an exciting and compelling way the outstanding expertise of our technician workforce.
“While the kind of destruction shown in this video is extreme, it’s not that far from some of the excessive damage that has come through our shops over the past 80 years. Showing our technician team in action in a high-stakes challenge like this is a great way to highlight the kind of talent our customers have access to every day at any one of our 800 maintenance shops across North America.”
Ryder is an industry leader in commercial vehicle maintenance. The company:
- Maintains a fleet of more than 200,000 vehicles that travel approximately 6.5 billion miles each year;
- Has a shop network of more than 800 owned and operated locations;
- Employs more than 5,000 expert technicians;
- Performs more than 600,000 preventive maintenance inspections annually;
- Replaces more than 400,000 tires each year; and
- Uses approximately 3,000 diagnostic computers to service nearly all vehicle models and subsystems.
