Black leather belt with buckle in brushed steel, in the shape of a Scania R-Series front grill.

Thanks to the new Scania Webshop, it has become easier than ever to purchase cool and practical garments and accessories from Scania. Send in your order before December 13 to be sure your Christmas gifts arrive on time.

Have you had difficulties finding practical garments for your professional life? Are you eager to get that awesome Scania belt your colleague wears, but haven’t had time to visit your local store? Relax. The entire offering of merchandise from Scania is now available at the Scania web shop.

“We have noticed a demand for our branded products from drivers that do not always have easy access to a shop,” says Sophie Haftor, Head of Branding Products. “We want to make the driver’s everyday life easier not only by offering functional and good looking professional garments, but also by offering these in our Scania Webshops.”

Until now, Scania’s Webshop has been available in a few selected countries, from now on the entire offering is also available for all other markets within the European Union where Scania is present.

Links to local Scania Webshop´s as well as to the EU Scania Webshop can be found via the corporate website:

www.scania.com/webshop

With the Scania vehicle population growing, it is becoming more and more important to boost the capacity of the sales and service organisation. One element of this is Scania’s continuous improvement efforts.

Scania’s efforts to bring about continuous improvements in its production network have attracted great attention outside the company. Many Swedish manufacturing firms, but also service sector companies, local governments and organisations have visited the workshop floor in Södertälje to let their representatives be inspired by the philosophy known as the Scania Production System (SPS).

Internally, Scania has begun implementing the same structured way of working at its 1,600 service points around the world. The resulting Scania Retail System (SRS) is aimed at improving customer benefit and satisfaction by boosting efficiency in the service organisation.

Continuous improvements
The Scania dealership at Kungens Kurva in Huddinge, strategically located on the E4/E20 European highway just south of Stockholm, is one of the service points that have begun to implement this change. After only a year or so, the results are encouraging.

“We have gained a much better overview of our work situation. As a result, we are less stressed and find ourselves in crisis mode less often,” says Camilla Dewoon, Stockholm regional manager of Scania-Bilar.

Her region has 270 employees and 12 service points in Greater Stockholm, from Norrtälje in the north and Enköping in the west to Södertälje in the south.

SRS efforts permeate all operations. One example of improvements is opening up the workshop environment so that work processes flow better. For instance, while performing one particular type of service, studies showed that a technician walks 3.5 kilometres and climbs down into the lube pit 14 times. Moving the most frequently used tools and parts closer improves the service technician’s working environment while freeing up more billable hours.

Camilla Dewoon, Stockholm regional manager of Scania-Bilar, can show good results from the new working method.

Faster deliveries
Another example: When Scania Value visits Kungens Kurva, Inga Kodu and Johan Höjer of the sales department are busy reviewing the delivery plan for new vehicles. They can easily track where in the chain between order placement and final delivery each vehicle is.

“By using a board where everyone can see and act on any disruptions in the flow, in the space of one year we have shortened lead times for how long a completed vehicle is parked on our premises from seven to four days. We also clearly see if the dealerships in our region need to help each other out to meet delivery deadlines,” says Dewoon. “Shortening lead times at all levels improves capital efficiency in our company.”

The most important element of SRS is employee participation.

“Everyone should feel they can question ingrained working methods and that they enjoy both confidence and responsibility at their workplace. In this way, employees become active participants in our improvement efforts – and managers become coaches instead of someone who just issues orders,” Dewoon concludes.

Same philosophy as at production units

• The Scania Retail System (SRS) rests on the same philosophy as the Scania Production System.
• SRS is based on all employees assuming responsibility for identifying faults or deviations that can be remedied.
• Communication is vital: many departments hold brief daily meetings. SRS also encourages dialogue between occupational groups.
• One basic concept is to “industrialise processes” by viewing operations as flows, identifying whether waste of time and resources can be eliminated at any stage.
• In recent years, Scania has had a corporate SRS Office that backs up the various markets in their SRS efforts. From a number of “role model” facilities in Europe and South America, the new working method will spread throughout the service network, including independent dealerships.

Read more in the shareholder magazine Scania Value.

Scania has decided to boost its parts distribution capacity. The central warehouse in Europe will be extended and an entirely new parts warehouse will be constructed in South America. A total of SEK 400 million will be invested in these facilities, which will go into service during the first quarter of 2013.

“This investment is being made so that we can continue to ensure high availability of parts for the growing number of Scania vehicles on the road. Good parts availability at service workshops is of great importance for our customers’ profitability,” says Jan Andries Oldenkamp, Head of Scania Parts Logistics.

Scania’s central warehouse in Opglabbeek, Belgium, was inaugurated in 1993 and since 2007 has served as the parts distribution hub for the company’s 1,000 or so European dealerships and to the regional warehouses that supply Scania dealerships in the rest of the world. The existing facility will be supplemented with a new 36,500 square metre building.

In South America, Scania’s parts supply occurs via a facility located near the company’s production unit inSão Paulo. This operation will be moved to the municipality of Vinhedo in the Campinas region, which has developed into a logistics centre for road and air transport services. The new 16,000 square metre building will represent a 60 percent increase in capacity.

Concurrently with the expansion of capacity in Europe and South America, Scania is investing in strengthening its regional parts distribution in the rest of the world. In late 2011, for example, Scania established a regional warehouse in Singapore.

For further information, please contact Hans-Åke Danielsson, Press Manager, tel. +46 8 553 856 62.

Scania’s field workshops go where customers go, helping to improve uptime in isolated areas.

Scania has developed field workshops as a flexible alternative to permanent structures. These container solutions are an ideal option for customers who don’t have easy access to regular service workshops.

The field workshop solution is mobile, can be quickly installed and is cheaper than a permanent workshop. It is also flexible and easy to adapt to local business and operational needs.

Ideal startup solution

It is an ideal startup solution in new markets but is equally handy in mature markets, for example during refurbishments.

“It’s essentially a plug-and-play solution,” says Markku Markkanen, Project Manager, Scania Real Estate Services.

Scania OFF-road event, mobile field workshop in Barcelona, Spain.

“The workshop, tools, compressor and other features are all fixed to the container, but customers have to arrange access to water, electricity and sewage.”

Customers also need to ensure that local building regulations are met, along with site preparation, insurance and other external factors.

The container workshop is a two-bay solution where four trucks can be serviced at one time.

Combined to meet specific needs

There are eight modules – workshop, parts, office, lubrication, ablution, accommodation, kitchen and environmental (for sorting waste). These can be combined to meet the specific needs of individual customers.

Field workshops have already been put to the test in a number of locations, including Thailand, India, Estonia and Iraq, and are targeted for new projects in Australia, Brazil, Russia and elsewhere.

“Demand for this type of solution is especially high in the mining and forestry segments,” says Markkanen. “Customers can concentrate on their core business, while we take care of servicing and providing them with more uptime.”

Melinda Tairi takes her talents to the track, the mat and the workshop in Australia.

25-year-old Melinda Tairi recently qualified as a diesel technician after a three-and-a-half year apprenticeship with a Scania branch in Melbourne’s outer suburbs. She is also a Nissan GT-R enthusiast with a string of track days behind her.

Tairi also practices Muay Thai (Thai boxing). She recently celebrated her qualification as a fully fledged technician by jetting off to Thailand for a three-week Muay Thai training camp.

“There aren’t many females competing in this sport in Australia,” she says. “I am keen to enhance my skills and fitness to hopefully compete one day. I’m hoping to return for more training in Thailand soon.”

Of course, she has to squeeze in her training, which she does three to five days a week at Westside Martial Arts in Melbourne in addition to her full-time job as a Scania diesel technician.

“It doesn’t feel like work”

Melinda Tairi at work.

Tairi says she has been very happy at the Scania Laverton Branch, west of Melbourne, and enjoys rebuilding engines most of all.

“Compared with car engines, truck parts are bigger and heavier, but I find it easier working on trucks than cars,” she says. “There is better engine bay access, and we have cranes to help lift the heavy components.

Reflecting on her job, Tairi says: “The best thing about coming to work is that most days it doesn’t feel like work because I enjoy what I am doing and work with such good people.”

A role model

Just as there are few female GT-R enthusiasts and few female Muay Thai competitors, there are also very few female qualified diesel technicians in Australia, although at least one other female apprentice is on the Scania books in neighbouring New South Wales.

But with Tairi as a role model, there’s every chance Scania will be able to attract even more women to the company, although Muay Thai skills or GT-R track experience will not be mandatory.

Freezing cold and heavy storms are all in a day’s work for fishermen on the coast of Patagonia. Reliable engines are the key.

Argentina’s Atlantic coast spreads out along 4,725 kilometres of South America’s southeastern edge. The characteristics of the region allow for the prolific growth of numerous species of algae, fish, crustaceans and molluscs, so fishing is the major activity for many coastal communities.

The downside of the region is its isolation and extreme weather, especially in Patagonia. For example, in Puerto Deseado, one of the main harbours in the area, temperatures in June (the depth of winter in the southern hemisphere) range from around zero to about 8 degrees Celsius. The freezing cold, strong winds and isolation – Puerto Deseado is more than 2,000 kilometres from the Argentinean capital, Buenos Aires – keeps the population low. Currently Puerto Deseado has around 15,000 inhabitants.

“Those places [like Puerto Deseado] are where Scania has dealers and the competition doesn’t,” says Lucas Woinilowicz, of Scania Argentina’s Engine Sales Department. “We want to be where fishermen operate.”

100% efficient

One Puerto Deseado fishing company, Crustáceos del Sur SA, runs a boat equipped with two Scania auxiliary marine engines. “In addition to the savings on fuel that the Scania engines offer, the parts are always available, and we have service right here with responsible and helpful people,” says Nikolay Nikiforov, manager of the fishing company. “It’s 100 percent efficient.”

Local service and the reliability of Scania products are essential in remote locations and, of course, at sea, where there are no pits for repair work.

With the new Scania Remote Diagnostics service, a workshop can check on a vehicle’s status before it even arrives.

Scania Remote Diagnostics is available in trucks delivered after September 2012 that are fitted with Scania Communicator. The service enables the workshop to run diagnostics remotely to get a better impression of the status of a vehicle prior to seeing it. By identifying vehicle problems early on, workshop staff can prepare and plan for the servicing of a vehicle. This in turn minimises vehicle downtime, saving customers time and money.

Prior to the vehicle’s arrival at the workshop, the Scania service adviser downloads the vehicle’s status report to help with the planning of maintenance or repairs. Having a report helps identify where the problems are at an early stage. This ensures that the service workshop is ready with the right parts and people once the vehicle arrives.

Fully planned workshop visit

In one case, for example, remote diagnostics identified a defective horn connection and an intermittent fault in an ABS sensor. This early detection alerted the workshop about the potential need to have a new horn in stock in case the connection was beyond repair.

“The fact that we can communicate with the vehicles creates better benefits for Scania customers, and the driver can report malfunctions and events directly into the portal,” says Claes Åkerlund, Head of Srvice Concepts at Scania. “The workshop visit can be fully planned, parts can be ready for fitting, and service technicians with the right skills can be booked in advance. All in all, the time needed for maintenance is more predictable, and this helps the operator to maximise  the time the vehicle is earning money.”

A remote follow-up

Scania Assistance can also perform remote diagnostics on a vehicle that is encountering problems on the road. Critical information, such as fault codes, can be accessed to prepare the technician for the job before he goes out on the roadside call. This too helps get the vehicle up and running again quickly.

The service offers customers a remote follow-up a few days after the vehicle has been in the workshop. By accessing vehicle data remotely, the workshop can check that all problems have indeed been solved.  This eliminates the need for an additional workshop visit and assures the driver that all is well with the vehicle.

From steel to polymer and from bakelite to polyurethane, the materials used in trucks have changed dramatically over the past 50 years, with exciting changes ahead.

The materials that go in to making a modern truck are a far cry from those used in the 1960s.

Today’s vehicles are constructed using materials that provide significantly longer life, as well as increased strength and reduced weight. And more change is on the way, with strong and light new composite materials just around the corner, making use of renewable carbon fibre.

Perhaps the area where today’s trucks most resemble their forebears is the basic structure. Ingegerd Annergren, Head of Materials Technology within Scania’s Research and Development division, explains many cylinder blocks are still cast in grey iron. Load bearing components such as frames, beams and coachwork, meanwhile, are still generally produced from steel.

Then: Engine block Grey iron, Side mirror Chromed steel, Trim Steel, Muffler Steel, Fuel tank Steel, Steering wheel Bakelite, Gearbox Steel. Good for 400,000 km, weighed 300 kg, Sump Steel, and later aluminium, Bumper bar Steel

“But while we still make extensive use of steel, a lot has happened in terms of materials,” says  Annergren. “Today’s steels are significantly more durable and malleable, which means manufactured items don’t need to be as large as before. What’s more, the steel surface is treated in a completely different way today, with techniques that allow it to withstand a lot more stress. The steel is also galvanised and gets several layers of lacquer to protect it against corrosion.”

Lighter materials

Now. Side mirror Aluminium, steering wheel Polyurethane with an aluminium core. Future coachwork/cab Composite materials with carbon fibre. Future seats Composite material, moulded into a single unit. Future load-bearing frame in cab High strength steel carbon fibre. Muffler Rust resistant steel. Future cross- and side beams steel with additional integrated features, such as a built-in fuel tank Future wheels/rims Carbon fibre Fuel tank Aluminium, steel (for some demanding applications such as mining and construction) Gearbox Higher strength steel. Good for 1 million km, weighs 320 kg Engine block Grey iron/CGI Sump Glass-fibre reinforced plastic Under-run protection High strength steel (thin, minimizes weight) Bumper bar Polymer material Trim Polymer materials, moulded into one piece Future windscreen Glass with built-in functionality that allows it to act as a display screen

The trend within the passenger car segment for increasingly lighter materials – as well as new materials, such as composite materials using carbon fibre – is also being seen within heavy vehicles. But the motivation behind it is completely different.

“You have to remember that a truck is a machine that needs to be out on the roads making money,” says Annergren. “For this reason, the primary focus is on strength, fatigue, and length of life. A truck needs to be able to cope with heavy loads in a totally different way to a passenger car. But, obviously, even within the heavy vehicle segment, we’re continuing to slim down the materials to cap costs, reduce weight and to avoid using materials as ‘wastefully’ as we do today.

More high-strength steels

Scania envisions a future where an increasing range of materials will be used in vehicles. This involves diversification, which means using exactly the right material for the right application.

“We’ll see more high-strength steels in load-bearing structures in the chassis and cabin,” says  Annergren. “We’ll also see more polymers incorporating carbon fibre and other composite materials in load-bearing structures, cab elements and leaf springs, while new hybrid materials will make it possible to integrate several functions into the same element. We’re also looking at light metals such as aluminium for bus  mounts and parts, and magnesium for interior details such as table surfaces and mounts.”

Annergren continues, “Another trend is that materials will need to be functional in a different way as to today. This could mean surface treatments which divert heat away along the coachwork, windscreen glass upon which information can be projected, like a computer monitor, or load-bearing beams that contain pipes.”

With customers already on the ground, the process of establishing Scania in West Africa has gone rapidly. After only a year, transport operators from the Sahara Desert in northern Mali to the Republic of Congo’s tropical rainforests have access to a whole new range of possibilities.

When Scania West Africa was set up, it immediately had an established customer base and a significant fleet of vehicles to take care of – an unusual situation in new emerging markets. The 245 buses in the Ghanaian city of Accra’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system provided a secure base and this was supplemented by new bus orders and by truck customers, who for some years had privately imported Scania vehicles and welcomed the company with open arms.

Scania’s Workshop in Tema, north Accra.

“Normally when you establish a new company in another part of the world, it takes time before you have a rolling fleet and a sufficiently large number of vehicles to justify investing in workshops,” says Scania West Africa Managing Director Fredrik Morsing. “But without a workshop, you can’t sell vehicles. In this case we could lock in service contracts for many vehicles right from the beginning, with the potential to build up the service network behind it. This provided a flying start for Scania West Africa.”

Good potential

A year ago, Scania West Africa consisted of two people with an office in a hotel room. Today, Scania has a comprehensive organisation in the region, with about 30 employees, a head office, newly built workshop and training centre in Ghana, and emerging operations in about 5 markets in the region.

Domingo Worlanyo is Workshop Foreman in Tema.

“There are lots of truck customers here who want to expand their operations and who, with the market’s best service behind them, are now willing to take that step,” says Morsing. “There’s good potential and a major need for supporting vehicles with high quality and uptime in areas such as the transport of fuel, construction and mining equipment, long-distance buses, and engines for West African ports.”

Local skills important

Another important factor in Scania’s successful set-up in West Africa is the skills that have been brought into the organisation through local recruitment.

“Without all these professional staff members with their knowledge of how business is done how everything else works here in Ghana and West Africa, we would never be where we are today,” says Morsing.

Abena Afriyie Kwarkye works as a service advisor for Scania West Africa.

Having studied and worked in Sweden, Billy Amedro returned to his homeland to, from Accra, work for Scania’s BRT systems in West Africa.

“What motivated me to begin working for Scania in Ghana was the positive effect that I believe this new bus system will have for people in Accra,” he says. “I know many people who travel for hours every day to get to work. If this project that I’m now working on is successful, their travel time will be reduced and productivity will increase. I feel really happy about being able to be a part of this.”

Africa fast moving

Africa is a continent that’s rapidly moving forward and home to 11 of the world’s fastest growing economies. Scania’s plans for West Africa over the coming years include adding two new directly owned workshops in the oil and mining city of Takoradi and in Kumasi, which is a hub for Ghana’s gold mines. Scania’s West African network will be built by private dealer and partners in the neighbouring countries of Benin, Togo, Liberia, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire etc.

Isaac Buabin is one of the workshop technicians at Scania West Africa.

Scania is the only bus and truck manufacturer with its own operations in West Africa. The Scania-owned workshop in Accra is the most modern and the new benchmark for service in the region. This is also the location for a Regional Training Centre, the only training centre for service technicians in West Africa.

Scania and Ghana Police team up to combat counterfeit goods.

How can customers differentiate between pirated parts and genuine Scania articles? The sad truth is that most cannot and are being misled. To further aggravate the situation, they are often paying the same amount for a substandard – and in some cases outright dangerous – product.

David Roberts warns customers against buying counterfeit oil filters, which are often sold at the same price as Scania’s high quality original parts.

The markets of the Ghanaian capital Accra are overflowing with counterfeit products, which increasingly cause concern. Therefore, Scania recently teamed up with bearings manufacturer SKF and the Ghana Police Force to shed light on the growing problem. Hauliers and authority representatives witnessed a revealing exercise as Scania West Africa’s Service Manager David Roberts showed them three oil filter units, all nearly identical. “When I cut the tops off, the two counterfeit filters fell apart. Since they look almost exactly the same on the outside, you can’t tell the difference and customers are being ripped off.”

Buy parts from container shops

Scania established its own operations in West Africa three years ago but there have been plenty of older vehicles on roads. These owners have over the years relied on less scrupulous workshops for parts supplies. “They buy parts from container shops in markets that are manufactured in sheds or sweatshops somewhere in the world. What is most surprising is that the price difference with a genuine part can be as low as 1.50 euro. There is a misconception that Scania’s parts are expensive.”

By slicing a pirated filter Scania reveals the concealed poor quality.

Scania’s original parts are fully adapted for the vehicle and developed for high quality performance. Using counterfeit parts can, at best, lead to a disappointingly short lifespan and reduced performance, and, at worst, constitute a safety risk. “We will increase our efforts to inform customers about pirated products,” says Roberts. “This is a fake economy that must be combatted.”