Minimizer says it has implemented the Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standard system for its product, which aids repair facilities improve maintenance management for their customers or their own fleets by providing a way to extract consistent data from repair orders.
The Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standard, or VMRS, is a trucking business system that describes parts and maintenance activities using numbers instead of words. Minimizer says fleets are more likely to avoid costly mistakes and communication errors by utilizing the VMRS coding system for inventory management.
Originally designed as a universal translator for communicating from the shop floor to purchasing agents, VMRS use has spread to parts and service providers.
“The VMRS system is going to radically help our shop, distributors and end users manage inventory properly. It brings us into a new age of inventory management,” says Steve Hansen, National Accounts Manager at Minimizer.
VMRS was unveiled in 1970 by the Technology and Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Association. In 2000 the system was updated to a version streamlined for today’s computerized systems. VMRS is steadily gaining industry wide acceptance.
Linking the VMRS information to repairs performed allows the user to analyze what types of repairs they are performing, what type and manufacturer unit is being repaired, the parts that were used in the repair, detail of what was performed on the repair, what are repairs costing, and a lot of other valuable information. That information can help managers measure technician productivity, control parts inventory, improve the effectiveness of a preventive maintenance program and make budget decisions.
