From Left: Anuar with Koh Chin Huat & Ng Boon Yew of Gardenia Bakeries (KL) Sdn Bhd, & Fong Kah Yeow (Tan Chong Industrial Equipment)
Unlike in 2016, Team Malaysia did not win the overall title of ‘Best In Class’ in the 2017 UD Trucks Extra Mile Challenge (UDEMC) Global Final held in early November in its headquarters and factory in Japan, but we did walk away with the award for best Pre-Drive Inspection, one of the categories that determine the overall winner, in the Quester heavy-duty truck class. The other class of trucks was the Quon, which is available in mature markets.
For today’s fleet owners, maintaining efficiency of operations is vital to keeping costs low and staying competitive. Thus, the pre-drive inspection is a crucial factor in making sure the truck is safe and operational in order to avoid unplanned stops due to breakdowns, and reduce fuel consumption. Meticulous pre-drive inspections also help reduce the risk of accident because of parts failure, which also will cause delay and increase costs. Hence, an increase in downtime and an inefficient truck will spell losses for the company.
According to Mr Koh Chin Huat, CEO of Gardenia Bakeries, even though its trucks run every day, the company has a policy of resting its truck drivers after 8 hours of driving (within that time, truck drivers can also make stops to rest). This ensures its drivers are well-rested so that its goods are safely delivered to their destinations.
As with any business, profit is important so this is the benchmark that UD Trucks uses in this challenge. At the start of the UDEMC, all drivers are given a set ‘revenue’ that will be affected by the effectiveness of the pre-drive inspection, fuel efficiency and safe driving. The driver with the least costs incurred i.e. most revenue (or most profit) left is judged the overall winner.
The UDEMC isn’t just a matter of pitting drivers from different countries against each other but is organized by UD Trucks in the hopes of empowering fleet owners and truck drivers to find and learn ways to improve their operations and competency, from each other as well as from the judges, and instill a sense of professionalism into the trucking line. This is the essence of the company’s “Gemba Spirit” which is the professional, passionate and dependable spirit at the heart of UD Trucks, to serve its customers well.
Meanwhile, Kishi Nobuhiko, Senior VP of Brand, Communication and Products, emphasized the importance of the One UD in expanding the UDEMC. “One UD means that we work as an extended family bringing together people with diverse skills and expertise from different organizations, including UD colleagues and partners around the world, with the shared determination to go the extra mile for our customers.”
“Following this ambition, we plan to increase the number of markets where we can hold the local competition stages leading to the global final competition, and to continue expanding the competition and welcoming new participating markets and customers,” he added.
South Africa was crowned the ‘Overall Winner’ title in the Quester class in this year’s UDEMC. Category winners are:
- Pre-Drive Inspection: Team Malaysia
- Driving Skill: Team Thailand
- Fuel Efficiency: Team Indonesia
UD Trucks was formerly Nissan Diesel and has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volvo Group (not to be confused with Volvo Cars) since 2007. In Malaysia, Tan Chong Industrial Equipment Sdn Bhd (TCIE) is the sole distributor of UD Trucks.
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Keyword: Malaysia Wins Pre-Drive Inspection Event In 2017 UD Trucks Extra Mile Challenge Global Final