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(b) Every 25,000 miles mechanics do the same things that
is inspection of vehicles, the following:­
Replace oils (engine oil, and replace fillers,
alternator belts, far belts) inspect the lights and
change bulbs and in general make any repairs necessary.
Apart from that there are general maintenance work done by
the five mechanics this include minor repairs of trucks body, and
tankers. Major repairs in case of accident are done through
outside agents and manufacturers. Agents in this case GMC, or is
the case of tankers it is done by American Trucks which is a state
certified companies for welding of tank bodies. All vehicles under
warranty are handled by the agents who sold the tractors, trucks or
tankers.
In addition to that the tyre replacement is done within the
workshop. There is
one man inclarge of changing of tyres. Tyres
are inspected by a tyre man who estimates the thickness of the
tyre and then recommends when they should be changed. They do not
depend on the drivers' reports otherwise unnecessary changes are
made. The tyres are senf for retreading after thickness falls to
a specific depth.
Although the mechanics have to work hard there must be a lot
of faith on drivers' reports. It is therefore very important that
drivers are trained to know how to inspect the vehicles and report
as soon as possible any errors before leaving on any journey.
I spent in the garage about one week, assisting the mechanics
in all types of repairs. Our start was at vehicle checking, then
later on we went on to check engines, and participated in an over­
haul of the engine.
The sho)p does not stock a large inventory of parts as they
are for only one type of vehicles namely GMC trucks. I spent
quite some time leariing the methods for reporting accidents,
mechanics reports of faults and then actually all the paper work
in the shop and the basis for their designs.