Maintenance Best Practices III
Digital Days Welcome to the paperless shop
+ Virtual Training Damage Controls Fuel Savers
Brought to you by the editors of Newcom Trucking Group, in partnership with Chevron
In this issue
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PERFORMANCE
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Digital Days Shed the paper plans, and manage your shop with software
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Reality Check
Damage Control
Virtual and augmented reality could help mitigate technician shortage, enhance productivity
Digital strategies to keep the lid on collision costs
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Fuel Savers The best fuel-saving options will depend on your operation
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Welcome to Maintenance Best Practices III *As compared to previous generation HDMO product test limits.
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Today’s fleet maintenance activities are driven by a wide array of information. The notes submitted on a Schedule 1 inspection report can point to the specific repairs needed to ensure a truck returns to service. Each new component or equipment model adds to the required library of training materials. And this is on top of the purchase orders and invoices that guide the underlying business decisions. Collectively, it’s all placing an increasing reliance on digital platforms. In this edition of Best Practices III – produced in a partnership with Chevron – we are exploring shop management in a digital age, the promise of augmented reality in service bays, and the way information can guide everything from safety strategies to better fuel economy. Because we know, in a modern shop, information may be the most powerful tool of all. – John G. Smith, Editorial Director, Newcom Trucking and Supply Chain Group
Maintenance Best Practices III is a special supplement published by Newcom Media on behalf of Imperial Oil. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher.
© 2019 Chevron Canada Limited. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property owned by Chevron Intellectual Property LLC or their respective owners.
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MAINTENANCE BEST PRACTICES 3
Digital Days
SHED THE PAPER PLANS, AND MANAGE YOUR SHOP WITH SOFTWARE BY ERIC BERARD
Transport Nalaco was clearly in a growth mode. About two years ago it had expanded to 75 power units, almost triple its previous size. But the success was breeding a new sort of challenge – a lack of visibility into maintenance activities. It quickly became clear that the Saint-Hyacinthe, Que. fleet was outgrowing the paper-based system used to manage the tasks. “Just the follow-up on kilometers traveled per week and preventive maintenance such as greasing or oil drains had become a source of headaches,” says Steve Dillaire, general manager of Nalaco’s parent company, Jefo Logistique. The decision to embrace maintenance 4 MAINTENANCE BEST PRACTICES
software immediately made it easier to trace activities, he said. Savings emerged through parts orders and warranty claims alike. Technicians no longer need to rely on the dealer to confirm if a part is under warranty. The new computerized system will even notify technicians that a specific component’s warranty is about to expire, and that any major repair should be performed before the fleet has to pay for it out of pocket. The information transparency that allows such preventive actions begins the moment equipment is purchased, too. “When a new truck comes in, we enter all the warranty information for different major components in the system,” Dillaire explains.
Shedding the paper
Aggregating the information
Renaldo Adler, industry principal for asset maintenance at Trimble Transportation, thinks that “paper really generates a backlog of work.” Look no further than those who try to map out their plans using massive sheets of paper taped onto the wall. “They pull that piece of paper off at the end of the day and then rewrite it for the following day,” Adler says. And the more a business relies on manual data entry, the more likely it will face the challenges of human error and lost time. “Software research tools make it much easier and quicker to track information compared to going over numerous paper files,” says Guillaume Laliberté, sales manager of DataDis, a maintenance management software company headquartered in Quebec City, with a satellite office in Toronto and a new one to open in Florida. Trimble’s Adler couldn’t agree more, and sees another benefit to eliminating paper files. “Some shops have file cabinets with every repair order from 1942 that they worked on,” he says, referring to the space that could be assigned to other uses. The same volume of inspection reports, work orders, and warranty documents could fit on a single hard drive, and easily be backed up on a remote server to ensure the information is protected from fire or water damage. The digital approach also gives technicians access to complete vehicle service histories no matter where the work is performed, Adler says. Tracking such details using paper documents would be no small task. Rather than flipping through piles of paper, a technician might decide it’s quicker to perform a small maintenance task like a $50 oil change rather than confirming whether the work was recently performed, DataDis’ Laliberte says. The small, avoidable maintenance expenses like these can add up over time.
Digitizing the information from drivers can generate savings for operations teams as well as those in the shop, Dillaire says. Before shifting to a paperless systems, Nalaco drivers who had trouble with a tractor or trailer might bypass managers and take their issue straight to a mechanic. That made it difficult to identify systemic problems. “Now he needs to enter any issue on his tablet,” Dillaire says. The underlying information systems can generate reports based on kilometers traveled or any other measure – delivering an accurate look at the true cost per kilometer. Since all mechanical issues are electronically entered into the system as they arise, they are properly planned for the moment a truck enters the service bay, rather than waiting for a driver to remember at the last minute that something else needed to be addressed. “You could have had scheduled a truck for a four-hour time slot based on the paper reports you had from a driver, and it would end up requiring to stay two days in the shop,” Dillaire says. Such unscheduled downtime could negatively affect dispatching and customer service as well. “Surprise management” is another area where fleet maintenance software can help through improved flexibility and accuracy. If a technician discovers that a wheel bearing is leaking while performing a simple replacement of friction material, it’s much easier to update a work order with an electronic tool rather than preparing a completely new paper work order or writing new details over an existing document. “Just like in F1 racing, trucks eventually have to make pit stops, but you want these stops to be optimized so that the trucks get back on the road as quickly as possible, where they generate revenue,” Laliberté says, referring to the accuracy of automation. “When the truck arrives at the shop for routine maintenance, the technician will have a
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While people tend to resist change, implementing maintenance management software can be pretty painless compared to a couple of years ago. complete listing of everything that has to be done on that unit.” The aggregated information can help identify routes that cause more failures, establish standard repair times (SRTs), and show that additional training may be required for a technician who tends to lag behind his peers. And technicians who are particularly quick at certain types of jobs can be assigned to the roles as a repair specialist. “The service writer gets a real-time view of what’s going on in the shop, without having to walk around and check on everybody,” Adler says. An added advantage is that the data makes it possible to focus on a piece of equipment’s reliability metrics rather than going with “gut feelings” about particular brands or model years. The process can even help to track down the root cause of a problem, whether it involves a shortcoming in equipment or a driver who needs additional training, says Nalaco’s Dillaire.
Preparing your staff While people tend to resist change, implementing maintenance management software can be pretty painless compared to a couple of years ago, Adler says. “Those guys, they go to the ATM machine to get out money, they go to the airport and get on planes, so interacting with a computer is not as a
big challenge as it used to be.” According to him, the technology could even help attract new, younger workers to modern shops. “They want to work with the latest technology. They want to be moving forward.” Preparing for the transition is still necessary, though. “Our watchword to customers is always to prepare their staff,” DataDis’ sales manager says, referring to parts clerks and technicians alike. The solutions need to be user-friendly to gain acceptance. And the training programs will be embraced more quickly when trainers use data coming from the fleet’s actual vehicles, suppliers or parts inventories, Laliberté adds. Familiarizing technicians with Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards (VMRS) codes developed by the American Trucking Associations can help as well, Adler suggests. “Everything [part or component] has a number that identifies what it is, for instance that it’s a brake shoe. That’s where the technicians need to become a little more familiar from a coding standpoint.” The largest players in the trucking industry are all working on some type of system, the Trimble representative says. But he knows that many smaller fleets continue to rely on paper and white boards. “If you’re not doing it now, you’re behind,” Adler says. “Very behind.” MAINTENANCE BEST PRACTICES 5
Reality Check VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY COULD HELP MITIGATE TECHNICIAN SHORTAGE, ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY BY ERIC BERARD
Perception and reality can be more closely aligned than you think. When the general public perceives the work of a diesel mechanic as a lowtech job, that feeds into the reality of an ongoing shortage of people willing to adopt the career path. “You have to overcome that perception,” says Matthew Johnston, division head for commercial solutions at 6 MAINTENANCE BEST PRACTICES
Design Interactive, a company developing augmented reality solutions for training purposes and daily operations. Virtual and augmented reality systems offer tools to support that very goal – educating employees and attracting a new generation of workers that shops desperately need. Virtual reality (VR) offers a way to “immerse” a trainee in an artificial
world, safely replicating a given environment to prompt reactions and analyze the results. Think of a truck simulator or goggles that plunge you on a virtual street, complete with animated traffic and stop lights. That technology is already used for truck drivers, and it could be applied to mechanics and technicians as well.
Virtual tools in real world Several trucking-related businesses have already found uses for virtual reality. At a recent truck show, Chevron was using virtual reality goggles to demonstrate the role that lubricants play in truck engines. Philippe Marcil, a bodywork teacher at a Montreal area technical school, also uses virtual reality goggles from a company known as SimSpray when making presentations to simulate vehicle paint jobs and attract youth to a career in bodywork. Each time, the virtual reality kit is a hit with the audience, Marcil says. Meanwhile, Volvo Trucks uses virtual reality-based learning during its worldwide technician’s competition called VISTA. And it proves to be one of the most popular technologies among the technicians, says Jan Strandhede, Volvo media relations director in Sweden. “This was a new type of experience and a different challenge than they were used to. It also gave them a concrete example of how new technologies like virtual reality can be used in training,” Strandhede says. Volvo dealers and techs could have access to virtual reality tools sooner than later. The company sees it as a “possibility to create a more interactive, true-tolife, and inspiring self studies out in the workshops,” he adds. “Virtual reality is typically used in situations where you want to give people an opportunity to practice stuff, to handle the hands-on part of it, or pretend they are actually doing something,” says Mark Murrell, president of CarriersEdge, an Ontario-based training company. In contrast, augmented reality (AR) is more of a “see-through” approach, in which training material like videos and diagrams are superimposed over a view Sponsored by Chevron
of objects in real environments, Johnston explains. Kenworth has been experimenting with augmented reality on a small scale at its Chillicothe assembly plant in Ohio, using Microsoft’s HoloLens system. And Peterbilt is working on an augmented reality solution called “AR Tech” to optimize technicians’ understanding of complex truck systems, as if they x-rayed the vehicle. Technicians at Renault Trucks – part of the Volvo Group – are already working with augmented reality in the United Kingdom. The Optiview system they use allows technicians to tap hands-free into various corporate resources such as videos and manuals as they work on vehicles. Voice command is also part of the package. A potential benefit of augmented reality could involve students troubleshooting the root cause of uneven tire wear, Johnston explains. Instead of having 20 real tires with 20 different wear patterns hanging on a wall, the information could be displayed in the learners’ headsets. The content would go to the students rather than requiring students to go to the content. Similar scenarios could be used to show different types of corrosion or cracks on a brake pad. Multiply that by all the different parts on a tractor and you have an idea of the multiple learning scenarios that can be created without trainees actually needing to access physical parts, Johnston says. “That’s the math that I think people need to do.” While some of this may sound like science fiction, these new approaches are already providing benefits in shops near you. As an example, Penske Truck Leasing recently performed its millionth voice-directed preventive maintenance inspection. The method is both paperless and enhances productivity. The company is now contemplating augmented reality as a next step for attracting technicians and customers alike, says Mike Hasinec, vice-president of maintenance at Penske Truck Leasing. He feels augmented reality would be a good fit with other Penske technologies Sponsored by Chevron
such as the how-to videos the business produces in house, attaching the material to a repair order so that technicians could view the information while completing a repair, Hasinec says. The technician would only need to click the “how-to” icon on a tablet to access the video rather than asking a colleague for the correct procedure. The information is also thought to be appealing to a younger generation of workers that is already familiar with multitasking. “Today’s learners may have two or three different input streams happening all at once. They may have an audio track going and they’re watching a video that’s got captions turned on, and they’re sort of scanning some document at the same time. That’s a normal experience for them,” Murrell says.
Bridging the shortage The new technologies could also accelerate learning curves as well – something that will be particularly important as shops search for a new generation of technicians to replace retiring baby boomers. “We know we have to speed up our process to get these younger folks that are coming into the industry trained, so that they can become proficient in a much more condensed period of time,” Hasinec says.
Besides, many other activity sectors are coveting the same pool of millennial workers. “We are competing with other industries, not even just in transportation,” says Holly Gerke, director of technical training at Penske Truck Leasing. That’s why the business deploys as much as technology as it can during career days, trade shows, or other venues where youth can be reached. “We need to find people who may not have known anything about the transportation industry,” Gerke says. “It is a differentiator in a tight employment market,” Murrell adds, referring to the value of displaying available technology. But could all the technical layers leave experienced technicians feeling overwhelmed? Design Interactive’s Johnston doesn’t think so. “Don’t underestimate your workforce,” is what he tells fleet managers when they ask the question. Older workers have still encountered and mastered many changing technologies over the years. These systems are merely the latest examples, and could help to convey the veterans’ knowledge to a new generation of worker. Fleets that do their homework and crunch the potential ROI might also be able to afford augmented reality tools today, he adds. MAINTENANCE BEST PRACTICES 7
Damage Control DIGITAL STRATEGIES TO KEEP THE LID ON COLLISION COSTS BY HARRY RUDOLFS
Collisions are expensive, but Adam Wolk, director of fleet maintenance for Challenger Motor Freight in Cambridge, Ont., thinks some of those costs can be mitigated by analyzing root causes. “At the end of the day we track and categorize every collision. Some collisions are difficult to prevent, like deer strikes or moose hits. But backing accidents are among the most common and almost always preventable,” he says. Indeed, Challenger pays particular attention to fixed object collisions, and that includes collecting data on the age of the driver, background, training and tenure with the company. “We want to know the demographic of the driver most likely to have a fixed object collision, and if there is any training that we 8 MAINTENANCE BEST PRACTICES
can offer to keep this from happening.” Drivers who engage in unproductive behavior might be asked to attend an upgrading seminar, but Wolk also posts the most recent incidents in a common area for all drivers to see. “Heightened awareness is what it’s about. We don’t include the name of the drivers because we don’t want to shame anyone,” said Wolk. “And we post the good stories like drivers that have achieved accident-free records. We also chart and incentivize the use of cruise control because fuel economy is key for us. “We do sometimes see spikes in damages, but often there seems to be no rhyme or reason. Damages usually increase in the winter months. One thing we are hearing about in the industry, though not at Challenger, is the issue
of trucks rolling away,” he says. “So we’re looking at installing an interior cab alarm that goes off if the driver’s door is opened and the parking brake isn’t set.” A simple accessory like fender mirrors can be the answer for an identified increase in backing and sideswipe incidents, too.
Safety training But fender mirrors are useless unless they are set up correctly. Kevin Brown, safety manager for Titanium Transportation Services in Bolton, Ont., explains: “Part of our orientation is to spend time with a driver and explain what those mirrors were designed to do. I take a jug of windshield washer and set it beside the steering tire, about a foot away. If you can’t see the jug, then those mirrors aren’t doing their job.” Collision avoidance and lane departure guidance systems are becoming more prevalent in the industry, too. Rick Geller, director of safety and risk management for SCM in Winnipeg, cites the case of a fleet owner unknowingly receiving a batch of new trucks that the dealer had bundled with the Bendix Wingman system. “The owner didn’t know his trucks had the system until his drivers told him. Ironically, that same company had been having problems with rear-end crashes,” said Geller. “After they started getting the new trucks, those crashes disappeared. But again, when those trucks miled out, the next batch of trucks didn’t have the Wingman system, and they started getting crashes again.” At Challenger, spec’ing the trucks with state-of-the-art collision avoidance systems only makes sense, according to Wolk. “Time and again data has shown that every driver, even the best drivers, have long moments of inattention. Unfortunately those moments, if they happen at the wrong time, can be catastrophic. Adding collision and lane departure systems adds that extra level of safety for our drivers.” However, Geller believes an over-reliance on technology is causing an uptick in sideswipe and tail-end collisions. “Drivers with blind-spot monitoring are using the light on the mirror to Sponsored by Chevron
tell them when to pull back into a lane, sometimes when it’s not safe. Rather than judging the distance for themselves, they start depending on the technology to tell them how to drive,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong,” Geller added. “I’m a big proponent of technology and automatic braking systems. We’ve had some horrible crashes on [Ontario Highway] 401 in the last few years that could have at least been minimized by one of these systems. But some carriers have it in their heads that they can use technology to make up for a lack of training or experience. But the real issue is, how much training are they giving the driver on the new systems? “Ideally, they should be given an opportunity to play with the device to show them what it will and won’t do – not just an online tutorial. My position is that the driver is the captain of the ship and the technologies are there to prevent egregious errors. I’m in favor of technology that helps the driver. We have to show them that we’re not trying to limit their abilities, but rather enhance them.”
Avoiding ‘analysis paralysis’ When it comes to monitoring driver behavior via telematics, Geller says that accessing too much information may lead to an over-abundance of collectible data, – what he calls analysis paralysis. “Fleet managers may be tracking too many data points and not know how to read them. From my perspective, carriers tend to rely too much on speeding notifications and hard braking. [But] it’s the hard lateral moves that they should be focusing attention on, those guys who are lane hopping,” he said. “In some instances, a hard braking incident can be a good thing.” Geller has also seen carriers increasing the over-speed threshold after receiving too many “nuisance” notifications. “Somebody has to deal with those reports, and they don’t have an infrastructure in place to manage it before they start getting them. If they get too many exception reports, the tendency is to adjust the threshold higher to lower the number of reports. There comes a time, from a liability standpoint, that you might as well just turn the thing off.” Sponsored by Chevron
A simple accessory like fender mirrors can be the answer for an identified increase in backing and sideswipe incidents.
Scott Creighton, director for risk services – transportation and logistics for Northbridge Insurance, says larger fleets are more apt to have a third party to help them interpret telematics data. “Most carriers start with the best of intentions. There is so much data and so many data points that you really need someone full time unless you have a telematics provider doing it for you.” Geller divides at-risk commercial drivers into three categories: “There is a certain segment of drivers who get into trouble because they don’t know, another segment that gets into trouble because they know everything [just ask them], and another group where complacency has set in.” In many cases, Geller thinks safety managers should be able to spot a problematic employee or contractor before he or she encounters difficulties. Years ago, Geller compiled a “crash-likelihood” profile that he says was almost 80% accurate in predicting which drivers were going to be involved in a collision in the next 12 months. He compiled stats on things like speeding, moving violations, and minor incidents. Items that should be red flags for safety managers who should be considering making an intervention. “Lord love this industry, but many carriers don’t do anything until something happens,” he said.
Behavior issues Northbridge’s Creighton suggests that his company is uniquely positioned to help carriers formulate a plan to address driver misbehavior. “We rely on a network of risk assessment consultants across the country assigned to specific fleets, to provide ongoing consultation based on the customer’s service plan,” he said. “They present our best practices profile based on some benchmarks we’ve come up with, and supply them with some of the areas they can improve on. We would say if a driver has had so many violations, you should probably do some intervention if you haven’t done so already. And this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t necessarily hire a highrisk driver. Just have a plan in place to monitor and have some interventions in place.” Creighton believes pulling abstracts and monitoring telematics are good strategies for safety managers. “But it is what you do with the data that is the important next step. “Refresher training courses should be offered every two years, and this should be more than just a classroom session or an online experience,” he said. “It’s important that they are able to get behind the wheel in the afternoon so that they can put into effect the things they learned that morning.” MAINTENANCE BEST PRACTICES 9
THE BEST FUEL-SAVING OPTIONS WILL DEPEND ON YOUR OPERATION BY JIM BRAY
Are products that purport to increase your fleet’s fuel mileage cases of better living through technology, or are they just more boondoggles that’ll suck the life out of your bottom line? Not surprisingly, the answer depends upon whom you ask. “There’s always some snake oil out there, some guys trying to sell stuff,” said Gene Orlick of Calgary’s Orlicks, Inc. One of the ways he looks to control fuel costs is to make sure the fleet equipment is current. “All my tractors are within two years old,” he says, “so we’re right up there in terms of all the engine technology, and I think that’s the best way for us, even with the trailers. They’re always increasing and improving aerodynamics one way or another. If you’re going to stick with old, 10- or 15-year-old trucks like 10 MAINTENANCE BEST PRACTICES
some guys do, because they just can’t afford a new one, they’re getting four miles per gallon (58.8 liters per 100 km). So what they don’t pay in payments they pay in fuel costs and downtime.”
Saving with older equipment On the other hand, that’s exactly the strategy being considered by Kingsville, Ont.-based Pete and Annie’s Trucking. According to Dave Jackson, they’re looking at bringing older tractor technology back into the fleet. “The modern trucks have so many problems with the aftertreatment systems that we feel we would be better off with an older truck,” Jackson said. Pete and Annie’s Trucking has several five- and six-year-old trucks that are “just horrible.” “We’re better off either with something brand new or something 15 years
old. There’s no grey area any more.” That doesn’t mean Pete and Annie’s doesn’t have fuel-saving strategies. “We don’t use APUs but we do use bunk heaters,” Jackson said, noting that the more-complex auxiliary power units can face additional reliability and maintenance concerns. The company has also embraced trailer skirts and automatic tire inflation systems for its trailers. The fleet’s trucks have speed limiters as well, and “we encourage the use of cruise control.” They haven’t looked at trailer tails, however. “We don’t think they’re there yet,” he said. All the trailers that Orlick orders these days come with side skirts, though. Citing industry and government studies, he said they save fuel.
Single wide-based tires The same can be said for single widebase tires. “They’ve proved about an 8% difference, which is significant,” he said. “When you’re spending $700 to $800 a day on fuel, 8% is a lot.” Sponsored by Chevron
Orlick uses single tires on the converters between trailers. While he’s bullish on them, “the downside is that when you get a flat, you can’t go anywhere. You can’t nurse it in with another tire beside it.” Despite the fuel savings offered by the wide-base single tires, Orlick noted there’s currently a huge downside to them. “It took the Alberta government quite a while to get convinced [the tires] are a good thing to do,” he said. “Now they have, but the City of Calgary won’t let us run them at full weight. So although we can go down the highway, we can’t go through Calgary. It’s brutal.” Jackson reported that PA Trucking’s auto inflation system has definitely saved money, and not just in terms of fuel economy. “We had a trailer … that picked up a nail in the tire and [the driver] didn’t know it. But within a few minutes [the system] had pressurized the tire to the point where we could drive to a repair station instead of having to call somebody out for road service. It speeds up maintenance because we’ve got one gauge to check instead of checking eight tires individually.”
Matching ideas to operations How does the shop get up to speed with all the new stuff being brought on board, and how does a fleet owner know what fuel-saving device works and what’s just a dumb idea? “It’s rarely a dumb idea,” says Mike Roeth, executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency. “It might be misplaced, meaning it works in the south and not the north, or it works better on shorter runs than longer runs,” he said. “Yet to some people [it’s] either a winner or a loser, with nothing in between.” You also may have to wait for a technology to mature before it makes sense to exploit it yourself. Roeth cited low rolling-resistance tires as an example. “Some of the first [versions] were just a case of shaving off some tread depth,” he said, “which does get better fuel economy.” The problem was that the tires didn’t last. “Then they started creating tires with different materials and different design ... While that made the tires Sponsored by Chevron
more expensive, they could bridge that gap between better rolling resistance and longer tread life.” It was the same story with tire pressure monitoring systems. “In the early days, those systems were causing more air to leak out of the tires than they were really saving,” Roeth noted. Aerodynamic tweaks like trailer skirts and aero bumpers can also be problematic, but with newer generations it’s more a matter of where they’re being used. “If it gets really close to the road, it may work on [an highway] where the road’s good and there’s very little curbs to get over,” Roeth said. “But if you go where there’s a lot of snow and ice, or potholes, some of these bumpers and aerodynamics can get pretty close to the ground, and … there have been some that cracked and didn’t work well.” Terminals may also be infected by rock, gravel or warped asphalt that could damage the aero devices. “You can get into some pretty bad places where the aerodynamic devices are going to rub or scratch,” Roeth said. “If that’s the business you’re in, your fleet might want to think about deleting those devices when you buy.” The trick, he says, is figuring out what’s what – something his organization can help fleets and manufactures do via a broad collection of studies, reports and other resources available at www.nacfe.org. It’s indeed a balancing act, one in which the fleet owner has to tiptoe the line between the promise of fuel savings and any new expenses needed to achieve the savings. “If [ fleets get] a huge fuel economy gain but [the gain] caused maintenance costs to go up a little bit,” Roeth said, “fleets might buy in. But you have to make sure it doesn’t cause downtime or nobody will buy it.” In other words, the stuff has to work as advertised.
Gaining insights How do you figure all this out? “The best practice is to buy trucks with a committee, or at least have the maintenance person and the driver recruiting person involved,” Roeth said. “Fuel
“Quite often, the fastest way to identify or resolve a problem is to look to someone who’s already done it.” – Dave Jackson, Pete and Annie’s Trucking
people, maintenance people, the person responsible for driver recruiting and retention, having [them] involved in the decision on spec’ing is really important.” Or not. When Orlick plans his purchases, he trusts his judgement. “I do have input from others,” he said. “But I’ve been doing it for so long that I know what I want. You tend to understand what’s needed in terms of having the proper amount of power, the right transmission, the right rear ends so you can accomplish your fuel economy [goals] while still making proper power to pull.” As for how such things affect folks in the shop, Jackson noted that the internet can be a lifesaver. “Google has become probably the second most popular tool,” he said. “You can go online to find this or that, or for the best procedure for [handling a particular issue].” Using the internet can also let you stand on the shoulders of others. “Quite often, the fastest way to identify or resolve a problem is to look to someone who’s already done it,” Jackson said. While this can definitely be handy, “you’re always doing this with a grain of salt.” Between search engines, YouTube videos and the like, there’s plenty of free stuff out there. Just keep in mind that the particular information you might need may not be free. “The manufacturers offer their own software, which you have to pay a fee to be able to access,” Jackson said as an example. “It all depends on the situation and how old the technology is.” Regardless of how your fleet saves fuel, the best advice seems to involve ensuring that your eyes and the lines of communication are both wide open. MAINTENANCE BEST PRACTICES 11
NOR 23 HOURS OF DARKNESS NOR THE FAILED MISSIONS OF TRUCKERS’ PAST NOR ACTS OF GOD. . . SHALL STAY ME AND THESE CHAINED-UP WHEELS FROM REACHING THE FINAL OUTPOSTS OF THIS VAST FRONTIER. Lisa Kelly on History® Network’s Ice Road Truckers®
Delo® user since 2005
UNCOMMON JOBS REQUIRE UNCOMMON TOUGHNESS
Chevron Products are available from the following locations :
CHEVRON CANADA LIMITED 500-5th Ave. S.W. Calgary AB T2P 0L7 Toll Free: 1 (800) 822-5823 chevronlubricants.ca
CATALYS LUBRICANTS 7483 Progress Way Delta BC V4G 1E7 Toll Free: 1 (855) 946-4226 catalyslubricants.ca
NORTHERN METALIC SALES (GP) 9708-108 St. Grande Prairie AB T8V 4E2 Tel: (780) 539-9555 northernmetalic.com
UFA 4838 Richard Rd. S.W. Suite 700 Calgary AB T3E 6L1 Tel: (403) 570-4306 ufa.com
CHRIS PAGE & ASSOCIATES LTD 14435-124 Ave. Edmonton AB T5L 3B2 Tel: (780) 451-4373 chrispage.ca
RED-L DISTRIBUTORS LTD 9727-47 Ave. Edmonton AB T6E 5M7 Tel: (780) 437-2630 redl.com
49 NORTH LUBRICANTS 1429 Mountain Ave., Unit 2 Winnipeg MB R2X 2Y9 Tel: (204) 694-9100 Fax: (204) 775-0475 49northlubricants.com
CASE ’N DRUM OIL INC 3462 White Oak Road London ON N6E 2Z9 Toll Free: 1 (800) 265-7642 cndoil.ca
TRANSIT LUBRICANTS LTD 5 Hill St. Kitchener ON N2G 3X4 Tel: (519) 579-5330 transitpetroleum.com
R. P. OIL LTD 1111 Burns St. East Unit 3 Whitby ON L1N 6A6 Tel: (905) 666-2313 rpoil.com
MACEWEN PETROLEUM INC 18 Adelaide St. Maxville ON K0C 1T0 Toll Free: 1 (800) 267-7175 macewen.ca
CREVIER LUBRIFIANTS 2320, Rue de la Métropole Longueuil (QC) J4G 1E6 Tél : (450) 679-8866 crevier.ca
NORTH ATLANTIC REFINING LTD 29 Pippy Place St. John’s NL A1B 3X2 Tel: (709) 570-5624 northatlantic.ca
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