DDC-EMC-ADV-0034-0917. Specifications are subject to change without notice. Detroit Diesel Corporation is registered to ISO 9001:2008. Copyright Š 2018 Detroit Diesel Corporation. All rights reserved. Detroit™ is a brand of Detroit Diesel Corporation, a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America LLC, a Daimler company.
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LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
DOT opens 2018 UCR payment, registration process after delay
F
leets and independent owner-operators now are able to complete the annual federal registration process for 2018 and pay their annual fees following a roughly 90-day delay in this year’s process. The Unified Carrier Registration board also reduced the fees carriers will pay to register with the U.S. Department of Transportation, cutting 2018’s fees by 9.1 percent across the board. Fees will climb slightly for 2019 but will remain 4.6 percent lower than 2017 fees, according to the final rule published Jan. 5 in the Federal Register. All carriers operating in interstate trucking are required to register and pay an annual registration fee. Brokers, private carriers and freight forwarders also are required to register and pay. UCR fees for fleets and independent owner-operators The three-month delay will climb slightly for 2019 but will remain 4.6 percent lower than 2017 fees. in the opening of the 2018 registration process came following legal questions that were raised by a DOT proposal issued in September that announced the lower fees and bumped the registration date to Nov. 1, 2017. Registration typically begins Oct. 1 each year and runs through Dec. 31. The UCR board faced a lawsuit from the Small Business in Transportation Coalition, which claimed the board violated federal open meeting laws by failing to give proper notice about a meeting held to decide the new fee structure and the 2018 registration period. Though a court agreed that the board failed to provide proper public notice, it upheld the decisions made at the meeting. Separately, the state of Texas sought to block the changes due to a disagreement with the UCR board over revenue sharing. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles claims the board has shorted it more than $33 million in owed revenue since 2007 — about $3 million a year. DOT was able to proceed with last month’s final rule Scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit ccjdigital.com/news/subscribe-to-newsdespite Texas’ claims. The letters to sign up for the CCJ Daily Report, state will have to pursue a daily e-mail newsletter filled with news, another avenue to rectify the analysis, blogs and market condition articles. issue, DOT said. – Matt Cole 10
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Ag group seeks cargo securement exemption
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he American Trucking Associations’ Agricultural and
Food Transporters Conference last month requested an exemption from cargo securement regulations for certain agricultural commodities to allow what it says are safer securement methods. AFTC states in its exemption application that there are no commodity-specific tiedown rules for agricultural commodities transported in wood and plastic boxes and large fiberglass tubs, or for hay, straw and cotton bales grouped into large singular units, forcing haulers to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s general cargo securement requirements. The group says California agricultural haulers have been operating under an exemption granted by the California Highway Patrol that allows alternate securement methods because FMCSA’s general requirements “resulted in a less secure agricultural commodity cargo securement environment.” AFTC is proposing alternate securement methods for boxes, bins and tubs during transportation from the field or storage to the first point of processing and the return of empty containers to those locations. If granted, the exemption would apply to truckers nationwide.
– Matt Cole
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JOURNAL NEWS
INBRIEF 2/18 • President Trump last month signed into law the No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act that permanently disqualifies anyone convicted of a human trafficking violation involving a commercial vehicle from holding a commercial driver’s license. Trump also signed into law its sister bill, the Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act, which establishes a human trafficking prevention coordinator within the U.S. Department of Transportation; boosts outreach, education and reporting protocol within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; and provides funds to CDL schools for antitrafficking education.
ROTELLA ROUNDUP
The 411on10W-30 By Dan Arcy, Shell Lubricants
Many fleets are switching to 10W-30 engine oils from traditional 15W-40 oils. The reason is fuel economy. Thinner viscosities mean the engine doesn’t have to work as hard and uses less fuel. Think of it like swimming through honey vs. water. Honey is thicker than water, so more energy is used to move through it. The same goes for an engine’s moving parts. A 15W-40 oil requires more energy to move through it whereas 10W-30 oil produces less drag on your engine.
• President Trump last month signed into law the Jobs for Our Heroes Act that makes it easier for active-duty military, reservists and veterans to obtain commercial driver’s licenses by allowing them to use VA medical examiners to obtain their medical certificates. The law also allows current military members who have experience driving trucks in the service to apply for an exemption from the CDL skills test and, in some cases, the knowledge test. • U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, announced that he would not seek re-election this year.
But can a 10W-30 protect as well as a 15W- 40? You bet. It comes down to quality additives and composition of base oil. In fact, Shell ROTELLA® T5 10W-30 can protect as well or better than industry-standard 15W-40 oils. Give it a shot in your fleet.
• Truck drivers and other transportation and material moving occupations accounted for more than a quarter of all work-related fatalities in the United States in 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were 1,388 fatal injuries in transportation occupations in 2016, a 7 percent increase over the 1,301 fatalities in 2015, BLS reports. Motor vehicle operators accounted for 1,012 of the 1,388 transportation fatalities.
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• The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission’s 6 percent toll hike for both E-ZPass and cash customers went into effect Jan. 7, the 10th consecutive year tolls have been increased. The most common toll for a Class 8 truck increased from $23.60 to $25.01 for E-ZPass and from $33.10 to $35.08 for cash. The annual increases of 3 to 6 percent for the Turnpike are expected to continue through 2044.
Comments, questions or ideas? Email us at RotellaRoundup@JWT.com
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• The Iowa and Kansas Departments of Transportation both launched their portions of a truck parking information
| february 2018 6/15/17 1:49 PM
management system along the Interstate 80 corridor. The project is part of an eightstate initiative that will provide truckers will real-time in-cab information on parking availability at public rest areas and private truck stops along the interstate. • XPO Logistics (CCJ Top 250, No. 4) drivers in Albany, N.Y., filed for Teamsters representation with Local 294. The 34 drivers at the former Con-way Freight location seek to join XPO freight workers in Laredo, Texas; Vernon, Calif.; Miami; Aurora, Ill.; King of Prussia, Pa.; and Trenton, N.J., and warehouse workers in North Haven, Conn., who already have joined the union. • Smokey Point Distributing, an Arlington, Wash.-based Daseke (CCJ Top 250, No. 37) company that hauls high-value and oneof-a-kind parts, assemblies and machinery for the aerospace industry, announced that Olympia, Wash.-based dedicated glass hauler Belmont Enterprises has joined its company. SPD said Belmont will complement its current glass customer base and increase the Daseke organization’s overall glass-hauling capabilities. • ContainerPort Group Inc. and ASF Transportation Group announced a merger to form an expanded 1,300-power unit ContainerPort Group fleet providing intermodal drayage service to most major markets east of the Rocky Mountains. ASF – comprised of ASF Intermodal, ASF Truckload, ASF Brokerage and Middle Bay Transportation – brings nearly 600 independent contractors specializing in intermodal drayage, depot, truckload and brokerage operations. Michael Smith, ASF founder and president, will serve as president of the combined entity. • Dart Network (CCJ Top 250, No. 58) announced that James Langley was promoted to president of three of its companies: Dart Holding Co., Highway Sales and Logistics. Donald G. Oren, chairman, will remain active as chief executive officer of the various companies for Eagan, Minn.based Dart, with Langley reporting to him. • Jim Johnston, president, chief executive officer and founding member of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, died last month. Johnston was 78 and was diagnosed with lung cancer more than a year ago. Todd Spencer, the association’s executive vice president, will serve as acting president and CEO until an election is held in April. OOIDA established a memorial webpage for Johnston at https://www.ooida.com/JimJohnston/.
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JOURNAL NEWS
DOT plans to survey truck drivers on personal commute times, miles
T Forward-facing dashcams can detect improper lane departures and following distances, which can be signs of driver fatigue.
he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last month announced its intention to survey drivers about the time they spend commuting in their personal vehicles, seeking to determine how
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often truckers’ commutes to their driving jobs exceed 2½ hours. The agency says it intends to study the ramifications of “excessive commuting on safety and driver fatigue” after the survey’s completion. FMCSA has asked the White House Office of Management and Budget to grant its request to proceed with the survey. The agency aims to have at least 500 participating drivers, divided equally among truck drivers and bus drivers. The FAST Act highway law enacted in 2015 directed FMCSA to perform the research. The agency plans to seek feedback on drivers’ work history, commuting times, transportation mode, work schedules, rest periods and breaks, annual miles driven and demographic information. A high-profile crash on the New Jersey Turnpike in 2014, which killed comedian James McNair and severely injured actor Tracy Morgan, shed light on the potential for long commutes by truckers to undermine their hours-ofservice limits. Truck driver Kevin Roper, who allegedly fell asleep at the wheel before rearending Morgan’s Mercedes Sprinter Van in June 2014, had commuted 800 miles from Georgia to Delaware the morning before beginning his on-duty driving period for Walmart’s private fleet. Roper reportedly had slept only four hours in the 33 hours prior to the crash. However, he was within his official hours-of-service limits at the time of the accident. In its request to OMB to proceed with the study, FMCSA says long commutes can “compromise off-duty time” and “lead to excessive fatigue while on duty, creating safety concerns.” Long commutes also can adversely impact drivers’ health, the agency contends. – James Jaillet
| february 2018 10/27/17 9:00 AM AM 12/1/17 9:52
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JOURNAL NEWS
Drivers’ info safe after medical examiner registry hack
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he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration last month said that a hack of the online tool drivers use to find medical examiners for U.S. Department of Transportation physicals was the cause behind the site’s outage. However, no data within the system, such as information on drivers, appeared to had been compromised, the agency said. “There was no evidence of exposure of the personal information of drivers, medical examiners or motor carrier operators,” the agency said about the hack of the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners. The registry’s website went down in mid-December. However, examiners still can conduct exams of drivers and issue DOT-required medical certificates. FMCSA instructed examiners to maintain results of physicals until the system was operational again, at which time they could upload exam results. “The Department determined from its initial investigation that there had been unauthorized access to the system,” FMCSA said. “The incident remains under investigation, and the Department is working diligently to restore all impacted services to full functionality as soon as practicable.” The registry was instituted in 2014 and requires driv-
ers to use a DOT-certified examiner within the registry to receive their physicals and medical certifications. Examiners are required by a separate rule to upload the results of such physicals to FMCSA the same day. – James Jaillet
Drivers are required to use a DOT-certified examiner within the registry to receive their physicals and medical certifications.
Top five most congested U.S. cities include three in California
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os Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle and San Jose are the top five most traffic-congested U.S. cities, according to TomTom Telematics research. The congestion in these cities costs local businesses and trucking fleets $1.7 billion per year or $7.71 million daily in productivity, according to 2016 TomTom data. The nation’s average cost per day from congestion is significantly lower than in these top five cities at $1.55 million per day, based on 2016 data from California, New York and Washington. Los Angeles by itself accounts for $1.3 billion in lost productivity per year, according to TomTom. The company also said trucking companies and local businesses lose more than 241 million hours per year due to congestion in these five cities. “Overcoming the congestion challenge and recapturing these lost hours is a major challenge for fleet operators,” said Torsten Grunzig, director of sales for TomTom Telematics North America. “Traffic congestion increases the probability of a driver becoming stuck on the road, wasting billable time, burning fuel, increasing emissions and potentially disappointing customers.” – CCJ Staff
| february 2018 1/8/18 10:08 AM
JOURNAL NEWS OOIDA argues a 2015 FMCSA rule altered sleep apnea screening protocol and sidestepped the formal rulemaking process in doing so.
OOIDA, DOT square off over sleep apnea provision
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ttorneys for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association last month argued in court that the U.S. Department of Transportation illegally altered sleep apnea screening guidelines for truck drivers. OOIDA’s lawyers say DOT slipped a partially apnearelated appendix into a broader rule after the public comment period had ended. OOIDA also claims the sleep apnea provision within the rule violates a statute established in 2013 when Congress passed a law forbidding the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from instituting formal sleep apnea testing and treatment guidelines without using the rulemaking process, which requires a public notice and comment period. DOT, whose lawyers also gave oral arguments Nov. 15 to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in Omaha, Neb., refuted OOIDA’s claims. The appendix did not change the protocol that medical examiners use to determine whether to refer drivers for sleep apnea screening, said DOT attorney Sushma Soni. The rule only moved the questions regarding respiratory and sleep disorders on the form that medical examiners use during DOT physicals, Soni argued. Paul Cullen Jr., representing OOIDA in the case, told the court that FMCSA added the sleep apnea provision to the final rule, but that no such provision was included in the proposed rule, meaning OOIDA and others had no opportunity to file comments on the sleep apnea appendix. The rule’s appendix on sleep apnea states that “if the medical examiner detects a respiratory dysfunction that in any way is likely to interfere with the driver’s ability to safely control and drive a commercial motor vehicle, the driver must be referred to a specialist for further evaluation and therapy.” The court has not said when it will issue a ruling in the case. FMCSA last year withdrew a rulemaking intended to institute hard and fast sleep apnea screening criteria, which would have provided greater clarity to medical examiners and drivers about the screening process, which as of now is left mostly up to the discretion of medical examiners. – James Jaillet
Fresh evidence delays autonomous vehicle tech trial
T
he trial in a lawsuit between Silicon Valley companies Uber and Alphabet, Google’s parent company, involving trade secrets and patents behind autonomous vehicle technology was delayed until Feb. 5. The U.S. Department of Justice also announced it is pursuing a criminal investigation against Uber over the accusations made against the company. U.S. District Judge William Alsup on Dec. 1 ordered the delay after the court determined that Uber failed to disclose evidence related to the lawsuit. The trial was set to begin Dec. 4 but was delayed after it was discovered that Uber allegedly hid letters, emails and settlement agreement documents from the court and lawyers for Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary involved in the case. At the center of the case is engineer Anthony Levandowski, a longtime Waymo engineer who left in early 2016 to found Otto, which then billed itself as a small startup aiming to develop automated cars and a system to retrofit existing trucks with autonomous capabilities. Uber in August 2016 announced it was acquiring Otto for nearly $700 million. Waymo claims Uber secretly founded Otto and colluded with Levandowski to download 14,000 confidential documents from Waymo’s systems. Uber denies the claims, arguing its self-driving technologies are “fundamentally different” than Waymo’s and that it stole only one schematic. Uber later shuttered Otto, bringing the self-driving division under the Uber brand name. The federal court overseeing the case issued an injunction against Uber in May, ordering it to turn over any files allegedly stolen from Waymo and discontinue using them in developing its selfdriving technologies. – James Jaillet
Otto, now part of Uber’s self-driving tech division, completed two successful on-highway tests last year of its autonomous retrofit system. commercial carrier journal
| february 2018 17
JOURNAL NEWS
Los Angeles sues fleets it says misclassified drivers
T
he city government of Los Angeles last month filed a lawsuit against three Southern California-based trucking companies, claiming the fleets wrongly classified hundreds of drivers as independent contractors instead of company
employees. All three fleets – CMI Transportation, K&R Transportation and Cal Cartage Transportation Express – operate as California Cartage Co. divisions. Los Angeles city attorney Mike Feuer said the companies intentionally mis-
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classified the drivers “to avoid obligations to pay employee benefits” such as insurance, worker’s compensation, minimum wage and the reimbursement of drivers’ business-related expenses. Feuer said the city is seeking restitution payments for the drivers. A spokesperson for California Cartage said the company is not commenting on the lawsuit. The three companies also are facing lawsuits filed last year from drivers themselves. Driver misclassification claims have bubbled up across the country in recent years, but Southern California ports are a hotbed for such disputes. Courts mostly have sided with drivers in such cases, awarding them back wages for benefits deemed unpaid. Regarding Los Angeles’ lawsuit, the carriers “exert near complete control over their drivers’ assignments and details of their work — the most significant factor in determining if a worker is an independent contractor or an employee under California law,” the city said. A bill was filed in the U.S. House last year to examine the issue of driver classification practices by port carriers, but the legislation has seen no action since its introduction. Another bill in Congress, introduced in 2015, would impose stiff penalties for carriers that incorrectly classify drivers as independent contractors. It also has seen no action since being filed. – James Jaillet
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In addition to lawsuits filed in recent years, drivers have initiated work stoppages and strikes to protest their classification as independent contractors.
| february 2018 1/8/18 8:21 AM
PRODUCT REVIEWS, OEM & SUPPLIER NEWS AND EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT TRENDS
BY JASON CANNON
Trucking is cool now Tesla’s presence adds pop to a dependable, boring industry
E
-commerce. Vehicle automation. Uber. Electric trucks. At one time or another, each one has been crowned trucking’s great “disruptor,” a word thrown around so frequently to describe an innovation that it wouldn’t bother me to see it banished from the English language entirely. Each of these shifts (or new technologies, or anything else you want to call them other than disruptor) is important with potential to benefit the industry, but electric trucks have shaken things up like few others. Most folks know what I do for a living, but it’s rare that any of them ever ask about my day. Things changed when I got back from the Tesla Semi launch in November. It’s like I was a returning war hero. The truck, and my experience there, was all anyone wanted to know about. Trucking was suddenly cool to a group of people who wouldn’t know a Peterbilt from Peter Jennings. I even banked a few “cool points” from my 13-year-old daughter who understands as much about the trucking industry as I do about her taste in music. Tesla is the cool kid that, save for Burt Reynolds, trucking has never had. When PepsiCo announced in December its reservation of 100 Tesla Semis, it made BIGGEST DISRUPTOR: Electric trucks have shaken the ground like few others. PR PROBLEM: Practical, functional trucking has needed more pop and sizzle. VIABLE PARTNER: Tech companies are drawn by electrification’s emergence.
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my local Birmingham, Ala.-based TV news broadcast. New Yorkbased PepsiCo ordering 100 trucks from a California-based manufacturer got airtime in Alabama. The previous week, Memphis, Tenn.-based Summit Truck Group inked a deal with JNJ Express for 500 International tractors. Beyond the industry’s trade news outlets, not a word was mentioned elsewhere. JNJ Express hauls in Alabama, and its International LT order was five times larger than PepsiCo’s, but it got zero seconds of airtime in Alabama – where you won’t find a Tesla dealership – because it’s not as cool. Trucking always has had a public relations problem. It’s too practical and functional. It’s needed more pop and sizzle. More cool kids. It’s needed a tractor that partially sells itself based on its 0-60 mph time because that’s a level of cool the world understands, even though it’s a level of absurd that only trucking understands. More eyes are now on trucking, and it finally doesn’t have anything to do with electronic logs or campaigns aimed at stripping back regulations.
The companies say the agreement will accelerate their development of safety technologies designed for electric commercial trucks.
WANT MORE EQUIPMENT NEWS? Scan the barcode to sign up for the CCJ Equipment Weekly e-mail newsletter or go to www.goo.gl/Ph9JK.
It’s cool to be here now. The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is one of the world’s foremost technology shows where companies such as Samsung, Amazon and Spotify all make major news. This year, Kenworth, Peterbilt and Ryder joined them on the CES showroom floor, rubbing elbows with some of the biggest names in the tech game. The mystique eventually will wear off Tesla and the group of emerging trucking tech upstarts, and they each will be just another trucking OEM trying to deliver a product alongside the legacy group of truck makers that has built them for generations – the old not-socool group that is content to let the whippersnappers wear themselves out reinventing the technology wheel. But Tesla brings a lot to the table, namely the companies Trucking needed a tractor such as Tesla’s that want to be associated with Semi that partially sells itself based on its 0-60 mph time because that’s a level of it. While the legacy Class 8 cool the world understands. OEMs have similar partnerships as those Tesla now is developing, there is a cottage industry of companies devoted to following Tesla around. They will bring new seats to the table, and these battery and electric technology companies now are looking at the trucking industry in a different light. They want to be here because it’s cutting-edge, and it’s trendy – CES trendy. Drawn by electrification’s emergence onto the highway, many universities have trials underway exploring improvements in battery density and chemistry. That means even more new players are pulling seats up to the table – players who see things and solve problems differently. They don’t have to rely on passenger car companies to validate their technologies. Trucking is now a viable partner, and it’s cool to be associated with it now. JASON CANNON is Equipment Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail jcannon@randallreilly.com or call (205) 248-1175.
Wabco acquires stake in Nikola
T
rucking OEM newcomer Nikola Motor Co. in late December received a $10 million investment from Wabco Holdings Inc. Wabco received a 1 percent equity stake in Nikola, which expects to begin testing trucks with fleets later this year and launch full production in 2021. Jacques Esculier, Wabco chairman and chief executive officer, said the investment allows his company to be at the forefront of developing technology as vehicles become increasingly connected. Nikola founder and CEO Trevor Milton said Wabco will be a vital business partner that enables autonomous driving, electronic braking and stability control. – Jason Cannon
Meritor invests in EV tech company
M
eritor announced a strategic investment in TransPower, a provider of electrification technologies for commercial vehicles, including integrated drive systems, full electric truck products and energy-storage subsystems. Jay Craig, Meritor president and chief executive officer, said the investment will help his company accelerate introduction of its flexible electric-axle platform for various drivetrain configurations, including full electric, hybrid, single and tandem axles. TransPower also retrofits its electric-drive systems into existing vehicle platforms, said Michael Simon, the California-based company’s president and CEO. – Jason Cannon
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GM see largest year ever for commercial deliveries
G
eneral Motors is coming off a banner 2017 – a year in which the company’s commercial and government deliveries reached their highest levels in nine years. At 296,000 units, 2017 marked the first year that GM commercial and government deliveries have been greater than daily rental deliveries in the last quarter-century. Based on Polk registration data through October, GM gained more commercial and government market share last year than any other automaker, and the segment now is the largest component of GM’s fleet deliveries. “We’ve grown our commercial business 11 percent this past year in a market that may be up slightly to flat,” said Ed Peper, U.S. vice president for GM Fleet. “We’ve gained 1.5 share points.” Peper said sales of Chevy’s reintroduced cabovers have been “progressive” as customers increasingly realize GM has re-entered the segment. Last year, GM sold a record 948,909 pickups in the United States, more than any other automaker for the fourth consecutive year. At GMC, more than half of Sierra HD customers opted for the premium Denali models; deliveries set a monthly and full-year record, with penetration approaching 40 percent in December and 30 percent for the year. Full-
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year Denali deliveries were about 140,000 units. Much of the growth in GM’s pickup segment has been driven by the truck’s steel bed construction. “The fact we’ve got a combination of great fuel economy and great payload is solid for customers,” Peper said. The company also has seen growth in its commercial van segment. Full-size vans in the fleet segment climbed 12 percent, with retail up 11 percent. Chevy’s Express cargo van is the only body-on-frame left on the market. “There are some people who don’t prefer the European style,” Peper said. – Jason Cannon
With its Express cargo van, Chevy has steered away from the European exterior style incorporated by other OEMs.
| february 2018 1/9/18 1:55 PM
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INBRIEF
Thor preps electric ET-One tractor
• Daimler Trucks North America recalled about 230 model-year 2018 Freightliner Cascadia trucks because a shift lock bolt in their Detroit automatic transmissions could seize, preventing the transmission from shifting out of gear range 7 through 12. • More than 400,000 Freightliner and Western Star trucks are being recalled due to a defect that could cause their brake lights not to work following repeated hard brake applications. DTNA said about 436,100 model-year 2008-18 Freightliner Cascadia and Western Star 4700, 4900, 5700 and 6900 trucks manufactured between March 27, 2007, and Oct. 30, 2017, are affected. • DTNA recalled about 24,860 model-year 2002-17 Freightliner and Western Star tractors equipped with Kidde plastic-handle or push-button“Pindicator”fire extinguishers. Daimler also recalled about 3,000 model-year 2018 Freightliner and Western Star models equipped with brake caliper mounting bolts that are not torqued properly, which could make the calipers detach and cause the brakes not to work. • East Manufacturing recalled nearly 90 model-year 2016-18 Frame Dump trailers built with a pintle hook or brackets for installing one. East said cracks could develop in the crossmember connected to the pintle hook and possibly lead to a failure that would affect vehicle handling. • Paccar’s 12-speed automated transmission and right-hand column-mounted shifter now is standard on Kenworth’s T680 on-highway tractor when spec’d for linehaul and regional applications, completing the T680’s transition to Paccar’s proprietary powertrain – engine, transmission and tandem rear axle – engineered to maximize efficiency and driveability.
I
n Norse mythology – and the Marvel Universe – Thor is the hammer-wielding god of thunder and lightning. In the modern-day real world, Thor may become the first commercially available electric Class 8 truck. Dakota Semler and Gio Sordoni cofounded their Los Angeles-based electric truck startup, Thor Trucks, in 2016 and hope to have their ET-One electric tractor available for sale by 2019. Semler and Sordoni call the electric truck the “Holy Grail of transportation.” The company said its ET-One prototype is powered by up to 800-kWh modular battery packs and features a 300-mile range when fully loaded to 80,000 pounds, while its TM4 motor – used in a variety of heavy-duty applications, including buses – puts out 5,000 lb.-ft. of torque that can be customized based on need. Thor built the ET-One on a Navistar chassis in order to get a demonstrator vehicle on the road quickly. Once the model enters production, the chassis will be designed in-house with a base sticker price of $150,000. “We are in the business of building a product, then selling it whole,” said Sordoni, who also serves as the company’s chief operating officer. He said Thor’s battery design “is different in its layout and cooling process
to most electric batteries” and is more energy-dense than any other on the market – so much so that it is competitive on a short-haul basis with diesel engines in terms of energy efficiency and cost. Sordoni said that with contemporaries such as Tesla and Nikola Motor Co. targeting the long-haul segment, Thor is content with developing a tractor for regional purposes. “Thor’s vision is to address the short- and medium-haul market,” he said. By targeting customers who return to base daily, Thor will rely on fleet-level charging capabilities rather than attempting to string together a network of roadside charging stations. “Most of the folks we’re speaking to in the regional market, less than 300 miles, return to base and would install chargers at their site,” Sordoni said. Thor plans to partner with charging infrastructure companies in the future. “It’s also worth noting the batteries on the ET-One are swappable,” he said. “When approaching over-the-road applications in the future, there are a few ways Thor would approach that problem. One could be partnerships with existing charging infrastructure companies. Another could be pursuing more of a swapping strategy, which would also make a lot of sense for us.” – Jason Cannon
• Peterbilt Motors Co. announced that Bendix’s ADB22X rear air disc brakes now are available on its Model 579 tractor. The Bendix front air disc brakes were standard on the Model 579 when it was introduced in 2012 to help reduce stopping distance and increase driver safety. • Kenworth’s T270 and T370 medium-duty trucks now are available with Dana Spicer’s S140 series of single-reduction single-drive axles ranging from 16,000- to 21,000-pound gross axle weight ratings. Also available is the Bendix Wingman Fusion driver assistance system that integrates radar, a camera and the truck's brakes.
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commercial carrier journal
| february 2018
Thor Trucks’ ET-One tractor is a 5,000-lb.-ft.-torque machine that features a 300-mile range when fully loaded and a base sticker price of $150,000.
TODAY’S FLEETS REQUIRE SMART TRANSMISSIONS. Introducing IntelliConnectTM Remote Diagnostics by Eaton, a powerful connected solution that uses the data being collected by your telematics provider to ensure your Eaton Cummins automated transmissions are performing at their optimal capability. As a fleet manager, you’re inundated with data. What you need is actionable information. That’s where IntelliConnect comes in. IntelliConnect monitors the vehicle’s fault codes, determines the ones that impact the driveline and ranks them by severity. Then we analyze the data, provide an easy to understand fault code action plan, and make it accessible through multiple channels. You decide next steps based on the fault code action plan. No other remote diagnostic service offers the combination of transmission expertise, easy to understand fault code analysis, and customizable delivery of the action plan. And it’s just one way we’re innovating Intelligent Power management. Learn more at www.eaton.com/intelliconnect
©2018 Eaton Corporation.
INBRIEF • DTNA announced enhancements to its Express WriteUp mobile application that allows service advisers at Freightliner and Western Star dealerships to create repair orders with a mobile device: digital interview forms for collecting information on typical service issues such as air conditioning and overheating, photograph uploading to include in the RO, and digital signature capturing. • Navistar International Corp. and FleetUp announced a partnership to create a comprehensive vehicle diagnostics and preventive maintenance system by integrating FleetUp’s electronic logging device and fleet management service technology with Navistar’s OnCommand Connection program, an open architecture diagnostics system, providing fleet managers with access to information from all vehicles by leveraging FleetUp’s telematics technology for real-time data analysis of vehicle performance. • Peterbilt announced that its one millionth vehicle rolled off the assembly line at its manufacturing facility in Denton, Texas. The Model 567 Heritage will be awarded to the winner of the company's“SuperFan”contest during a ceremony at the Mid-America Trucking Show in March in Louisville, Ky. Peterbilt received 1,200 contest entries. • Cummins Westport’s L9N and B6.7N natural gas engines both received U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board certifications for 2018. Both engines meet CARB’s optional Low NOx standards and 2017 EPA greenhouse gas emissions requirements. • Meritor launched the first products under its new Mach value brand that includes about 2,000 part numbers for the company’s driveline, drive axle and transmission offerings, including U-joints, gears, shafts, bearings, seals, repair kits and hardware for a variety of commercial vehicle applications. • Volvo Trucks is acquiring 49 acres from Pulaski County, Va., adjacent to its new 36,000-square-foot Volvo Trucks Customer Center and 1.1-mile Customer Experience Track in Dublin, Va. The purchase will allow the truck OEM to extend the track, which currently features on-highway and off-road areas. Also signed was a lease-to-purchase agreement for an additional 221 acres for future use.
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commercial carrier journal
Peloton touts truck platooning in Michigan, Florida demonstrations
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eloton Technology recently gave live platooning demonstrations on Interstate 96 in Novi, Mich., west of Lansing, and on the Florida Turnpike. The Michigan demonstration featured a pair of Peloton-equipped Volvo VNL670 Class 8 trucks platooning at about 65 feet and allowed participants to experience how semi-automated and connected vehicle technologies, including vehicle-to-vehicle communications, assist drivers in a real-world setting. “The demonstration showed key Michigan leaders the safety, efficiency and mobility benefits that this technology provides to fleets and the public,” said Steve Boyd, Peloton cofounder and vice president of external affairs. “We look forward to our ongoing work with the State of Michigan and industry partners across the region as we bring driver-assistive truck platooning into commercial deployment.” The Dec. 1 demonstration occurred in collaboration with the Michigan Department of Transportation, Michigan State Police and Michigan Economic Development Corp. Peloton said it is on track to deploy its system commercially during 2018. “Many companies in Michigan’s automotive industry are playing a key role in the development of connected and automated vehicle technologies like platooning,” said Kirk Steudle, MDOT director. During Florida’s Driver-Assistive Truck Platooning Pilot Project, two Peloton-equipped VNL670s traveled more than one thousand miles on the Florida Turnpike. The demonstration was held in collaboration with the Florida DOT, Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Boyd said the two drivers in the
| february 2018
The Dec. 1 live demonstration in Novi, Mich., featured a pair of Peloton-equipped Volvo VNL670 Class 8 trucks platooning at about 65 feet.
Dec. 26 demonstration benefited from connected safety systems and enhanced driver-to-driver communications while achieving high levels of aerodynamic fuel savings. “The demonstrations were very successful, and we look forward to working with the Florida transportation agencies, the Florida Trucking Association, major fleets and others as we bring this safety and efficiency technology to the Sunshine State,” he said. Tom Byron, assistant secretary of strategic development for the Florida DOT, said vehicle platooning’s economic, environmental and mobility benefits offer a competitive advantage for the state. “We welcome this and other opportunities to test connected vehicle systems and other advanced transportation concepts that will improve roadway safety and bring new economic opportunities to the region,” Byron said. Peloton’s system is designed to allow drivers to form two-truck platoons and provide a wireless communications link between their active safety systems, enabling pairs of trucks to coordinate their speeds and maintain a safe, aerodynamic following distance. The Peloton system limits platooning to multilane divided limited-access highways. – Jason Cannon and Aaron Huff
TEST DRIVE: EATON ENDURANT 12-SPEED TRANSMISSION
Purpose-built Lightweight Endurant was born to be automated BY JASON CANNON
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ollowing three years of development and barely 90 days after Eaton and Cummins announced a formal joint powertrain partnership, Eaton’s Endurant 12-speed automated transmission was born in September. The first “purpose-built” heavy-duty automated transmission on the market, Endurant and its torque ratings of up to 1,850 lb.-ft. will be matched with the Cummins X15 engine rated up to 510 hp in some on-highway Paccar tractors. Automated manual transmissions are bred from a manual gearbox. Even though the process of shifting is automated, the shift pattern isn’t changed, says Matt Erdmann, Eaton’s manager of program management. With a true automated transmission such as the Endurant, many conventional design restraints are removed, Erdmann says. Endurant features linear shift rails – a departure from the standard sideways-shift pattern required of manual transmissions and AMTs. “There is no ‘across’ in the pattern,” Erdmann says. “You would have to have about three arms to try and shift this manually.” Linear shift rails also help optimize the design for speed and reliability since there’s no wasted sideways motion. Endurant weighs only 105 pounds – a byproduct of the fact the 12-speed was designed from the ground up as an automated transmission. AMTs still feature many manual components, and to automate a manual transmission, you have to add more features to it. Endurant removes the manual pieces, which allowed designers to work around the unit’s function rather than its components. The transmission unit also is slim, but
the benefits of a redesign aren’t isolated to weight and size. The gearbox features an internal electrical system routing for wires and connectors that minimizes exposure and corrosion. There’s little hanging on the outside of the transmission, which improves overall reliability. Eaton field-tested Endurant for more than 2 million equivalent miles. For about 40 miles, I was handed the keys to a 2016 Kenworth that originally rolled off the assembly line with an UltraShift installed. That soon was removed, and that tractor became an Endurant validation truck with more than 40,000 miles logged by the time I jumped into the seat. I’ve previously driven the Paccar version of this transmission. Developed in conjunction with Eaton, the Paccar Transmission is as smooth of a 12-speed as you can get with an MX engine. The Endurant version is available in Kenworth and Peterbilt tractors spec’d with the Cummins X15 engine. Other than some Paccar MX vs. Cummins optimization fine-tuning, the two units are identical. Like the Paccar variant, the Endurant’s shifter sits on the steering column and is integrated with the engine brake. At highway speeds, Eaton’s new 12-speed performs at levels you’d expect from the company, with added features you may not expect otherwise. From stop, the transmission nimbly skips through gears to bring the truck up to speed before settling into a sequential shift pattern at about ninth gear. A grade sensor inside the transmission judges the terrain and senses the tractor’s power needs, aiding in the shift decision-making process and boosting overall efficiency. At low speeds, Endurant’s Urge to
Eaton expects Endurant to become its go-to gearbox in line-haul applications as manual transmissions lose their grip as the preferred method of changing gears.
Move feature allows the truck to creep forward or in reverse without having to feather the accelerator or brake pedal. Urge to Move features four forward speeds that can be selected manually to adjust speeds under heavy traffic conditions. Reverse gets two speeds that also can be selected manually. It’s powerful, too: Parked on a 15-percent grade, I launched my 70,000-grosspound tractor using only Urge to Move while letting the Hill Start Assist feature prevent me from rolling backward, and it crested the hill easily. In reverse, Urge to Move makes backing and coupling safer by not requiring accelerator input. On the open road, Endurant’s 18.8:1 ratio offers a good low-end ratio for fine control at low speeds, and its overdrive ratio provides a good cruise at highway speeds. The 12-speed unit also offers smaller steps for a quicker and smoother shift versus a 10-speed model. On Endurant, Eaton has stretched oil drain intervals to 750,000 miles, about 50 percent longer than its UltraShift Plus. The new unit needs about half as much fluid, and a pressure sensor indicates when the fluid is low and prompts the driver to stop before the unit burns up. Capable down to 1,000 rpm with downshifts happening as low as 850 rpm, Endurant strikes a balance between efficiency and power and does so with faster and smoother shifts.
commercial carrier journal
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february 2018
27
in focus: TRAILER AERODYNAMICS
Upfit strategies, impacts can vary BY JASON CANNON
W
hile much effort has been made to improve the aerodynamics of heavy trucks over the years, the same hardly can be said for the trailer. While the improved airflow coming off the tractor has a positive impact on the box behind it, the responsibility of improving trailer drag has fallen largely on upfits and add-ons such as skirts, tails and fairings. The three areas on a trailer where aerodynamic drag is the greatest are the front above the tractor’s air dam, the bogie and the negative pressure pocket behind the doors. But the strategies used to attack those three areas can vary, as can their impacts on efficiency and overall effectiveness. “Generally speaking, if you have one thing, and then you add another thing, it’s not always a ‘1+1=2’ all the time,” said Josh Butler, FlowBelow president. “Two things that affect the same spot aren’t necessarily going to be additive,” said Steve Ingham, SmartTruck chief executive officer. Redirect or deflect Ingham said there are two basic ways to improve aerodynamics – redirect airflow, or deflect it – because there’s not much you can do with air after it hits a moving vehicle. “The challenge of deflecting air is that it creates forces that have to be overcome,” Ingham said. “The drag created by the structure to support the deflection is usually bigger than the benefit of the deflection.” FlowBelow’s tractor AeroKit works with the trailer by filling the gap between the truck’s drive axles. The kit’s rear panel, which is flared outward, helps the air jump the gap between the last fairing and the trailer skirt. “It also helps to pull out the underbody flow of the truck,” Butler said. “You’re trying to get that air out and get it to go around the skirt. Most importantly, it prevents [air] from going under the skirts.” According to the North American Council for Freight Efficiency’s Annual FleetFuel Study, trailer skirts have soared in popularity since 2008, with deployment of the devices reaching more than 80 percent over a six-year period. Skirts reduce aerodynamic drag under the trailer where air hits the rear axles by streamlining and guiding air around the sides and to the back of the trailer. Trailer tails, another familiar add-on, create a vacuum and suck the air around the trailer’s rear corners before air 28
commercial carrier journal
| february 2018
Trailer skirts have soared in popularity since 2008, with deployment of the devices reaching more than 80 percent over a six-year period, according to NACFE.
can be forced into the low-pressure pocket that causes rear drag. Tails also provide perks beyond aerodynamics, said Prashanth Kamath, leader of Stemco’s Innovative Tire & Mileage Solutions segment. “It also goes a long way to increasing safety, stability and visibility,” he said. “It does a lot to streamline airflow and makes for a smoother drive, leading to lower driver fatigue.” Making a choice For fleets struggling to decide between tails and skirts, choosing the industry’s most popular aero add-on is a logical first step, Kamath said. “If you’ve got nothing, go with a skirt,” he said. “If you have a skirt, go with a tail. If you have a tail, go with an auto-deployment device [for the tail].” SmartTruck’s TopKit is shaped like airplane wings and mounted to the trailer top and sides. It works similar to a tail by compressing, accelerating and redirecting airflow around the trailer’s rear corner. “By pushing that flow around those corners, it fills that low-pressure pocket more effectively and lessens the amount of low pressure that is pulling on those doors,” Ingham said. Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shelved plans to include trailer efficiency in its Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas regulations that would have required all trailers to use some combination of efficiency technologies, which could have included aero upfits and low-rolling-resistance tires, among other options.
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n PA R T N E R S O L U T I O N S / N AT I O N A L C A R R I E R E X C H A N G E
Driving profits
NCX offers free fleet management system
S
ince its launch, the National Carrier Exchange has continually added more features to its free platform. Today, NCX provides free tracking, electronic dispatch, scheduling, operations, reports and invoicing to carriers across North and South America. Now, they have included a line of fully telematic electronic logging devices to the mix — with no recurring monthly fee. What’s more, they are giving up to 50,000 ELDs to the small fleets that need them most. Upcoming features to NCX include GPS-Certified IFTA Fuel Tax Reports, free remote engine diagnostics and a maintenance history log system for their ELD users via their Engine Insights platform. In this article, we revisit NCX to take a deeper look at their free platform and its many benefits. Darrell Benvenuto, co-founder and CEO of NCX, says the company was founded to help emerging trucking companies become more profitable despite daunting odds. Almost 85 percent of all new trucking companies wind up bankrupt within their first two years of operation, Benvenuto says. “We wanted to make a difference by putting a set of powerful, free tools in the hands of these new trucking companies and help them become more efficient. We wanted to level the playing field — to give them a chance to compete professionally with long-established companies by offering their dispatchers total location awareness of their fleet, dramatically reduced numbers of check calls, live tracking numbers, professional-looking invoices and much more,” Benvenuto says. “We wanted to help small trucking companies survive – and even thrive – in an ever-more challenging environment.” Working closely with its users, NCX has added free driver scheduling, income reports and driver profiles. Carriers using NCX say they have reduced their call volume by at least 50 percent in their first week of use. By putting that now-free phone time into sales calls, they have achieved better capacity utilization and revenue. Darrell Benvenuto answers your questions about NCX:
Q
One of the most timeconsuming tasks of dispatch is driver check calls. How does NCX create scheduling and load efficiencies?
A
The electronic dispatch portion of NCX’s platform is a great timesaving tool for fleet dispatchers when it comes to check calls. Because drivers directly receive all of the instructions for
their loads – pickup numbers, purchase order numbers, appointment details, loading dock details, hours of operation, temperatures, even where barriers need to be set up in reefers – drivers don’t
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have any questions left unanswered. The time they would otherwise spend copying that information down over the phone is saved. Arriving at any location, the information is always right at their fingertips. By switching to electronic dispatching, dispatchers using NCX can manage up to five times the number of trucks than they can just using the phone – with less effort. What’s more, by issuing their customers free NCX tracking numbers, carriers don’t have to field calls from customers constantly checking on the status of their loads. That’s more time saved – which can go into making sales calls.
Q
How can NCX help carriers and dispatchers better manage their fleets?
A
NCX provides – free of charge – full-featured fleet management, including a dispatcher dashboard, live location awareness and haul status updates, driver performance analysis, electronic dispatch, a driver job calendar, a full invoicing/accounting/ chart-of-accounts system, instant delivery confirmation, bill of lading transmission and much more. NCX lets managers and dispatchers see the location and status of their entire fleet, moving on a live map display. The 24/7/365 availability of the NCX system allows carriers and their customers to access data, locate trucks and do business at all hours, not just when their offices are open. Something that surprises people is that NCX is not some giant, all-or-
nothing program. Rather, we built it as a set of flexible, convenient tools. Because it was built in this way, it allows smaller freight companies (all the way down to single owner-operators) to use just some, or all, of the features of the platform. As smaller carriers grow, all of these other powerful features are there for them to use once they’re ready. For example, while the greatest value from NCX’s fleet management system is gained by carriers running multiple trucks, NCX recognizes that not everyone needs invoicing, or even electronic dispatch. When you’re an owner-operator, and it’s all riding on your shoulders, quite often you are the dispatcher. But when you grow and get that second truck, all those features of NCX are there for you. When you begin hiring drivers and transform into a fleet operator, NCX is still with you. Its features help you stay on top of your business and manage your cash flow and customers. And it’s still free. NCX is currently available across the entire hemisphere, from the top of Alaska on down through Canada, the United States, Mexico and South America, all the way to the southernmost tip of Chile. No matter where you run trucks, NCX has you covered. The NCX mobile app and web app currently supports English, Spanish
NCX key features • Cuts call volume by over 50% • Total fleet awareness • Free tracking numbers • Live moment-by-moment tracking • Driver scheduling • Electronic dispatch • Easy invoicing and reporting
NCX Dispatch Map
and Portuguese, but we will continue to add more languages.
Q A
What ELD solutions do you offer?
NCX has a full-featured, telematic ELD. Nearly every dollar of the purchase price goes into the device in terms of value. As a result, it’s a very powerful and capable device when you compare it side-by-side with the competition. For example, full telematics is included as an option via a SIM card. It also isn’t limited to just the four to six GPS satellites you can “see” in the sky at any time, but instead tracks up to 72 GNSS Channels across three different satellite systems at the same time (GPS, Galileo and GLONASS). What this means is that even in areas such as cities, canyons and hilly terrain, where portions of the sky are obstructed, there are more satellites “visible” in the remaining area of the sky for the NCX ELD to monitor than if it was limited to just GPS satellites. The NCX ELD also comes with an amplified GNSS antenna, which can add up to 50 decibels of signal gain to satellite signals. What this does is take faint satellite signals and boost them to where they can still be used. This results in greatly increased reliability when it
n PA R T N E R S O L U T I O N S / N AT I O N A L C A R R I E R E X C H A N G E
Owner: Becky Thelen Hofer Company: Hofer Ag Logistics LLC Location: Huron, South Dakota Business: Livestock and refrigerated transport in the lower 48 states “NCX has allowed us to streamline our back-office management and paperwork flow. It has also eliminated many distractions for drivers. We are able to communicate all necessary information to our drivers through the app and do not have to have customers or brokers distracting them with check calls.”
comes to position fixes, across all kinds of terrain and situations. The NCX ELD also has a six-axis accelerometer, so it can detect and analyze vehicle motion even when there are no satellite signals available at all, such as in tunnels. The ELD includes an internal reserve power supply as well, to ensure smooth data saving and shutdown in the event of power loss. But beyond all of these technical features, the biggest benefit of the NCX ELD for most of its users is financial – because there is no recurring monthly cost to operate the NCX ELD. Unlike other devices that come with costly monthly fees, NCX does not charge a fee and, in addition, you have full access to NCX's free fleet management platform. In short, not only do NCX ELDs pay for themselves, but the larger a fleet you have, the more money you save each month using NCX ELDs over ones with monthly fees.
Q A
What are the fees involved in using the NCX platform?
Q A
How do owner-operators fit into the system?
There aren’t any fees to use the platform to manage your fleets and loads. If you want to use NCX to manage your business, track your trucks, schedule and dispatch your loads, issue tracking numbers, create and send invoices, handle your ELDs, it’s free and will remain free.
That’s an excellent question, because when we say the words “fleet management,” a lot of owner-
operators lose interest, thinking that because they don’t own a fleet, NCX isn't something they need. But NCX can help. Owner-operators can use the NCX ELD alone, or with any of the other fleet management and dispatch functions of the platform, and there is no recurring monthly fee. The fleet management portion of NCX is optimized for use by one or more dispatchers who use the NCX web app on a computer, to monitor and dispatch one or more trucks whose drivers are running the NCX mobile app. So, think about it – for those owner-operators who have a family member filling the dispatcher role, NCX can be an amazingly useful tool to help increase their overall efficiency and at the same time, present a very professional face to customers, with clean, neatly generated invoices and free tracking numbers. For those owner-operators who are running solo, the fleet management, dispatch, tracking and invoicing tools provided by NCX require a few more steps to take advantage of, as they have to act as both driver and dispatcher in the system. However, later this year, we plan to launch a new NCX app optimized for solo owneroperators. The app will enable solo owneroperators to perform all the NCX functions they need the most, such as invoicing, issuing tracking numbers and interacting with their ELD, while hiding away the other sections (like fleet management) that they don’t need. Solo owner-operators don’t need to hesitate, though — they can use the current NCX platform and then migrate over to the new app when it’s available.
Q A
How do Drivers use NCX?
NCX was designed to be easy for drivers to use, making sure all load details, contact info and temperature settings are located in one handy place. The app has two parts: one for interacting with an NCX ELD, and the other for reviewing and interacting with loads that the dispatcher has assigned them to haul. During the pickup and delivery process, drivers simply press a button to send a haul status update. We even have automatic updates that get sent out, to smooth the process. For a pickup, a driver would tap a button to indicate when they’re en route, then again when checked in and picked up. For deliveries, those updates are "checked in" and "delivered." After delivering a load, the driver is prompted to capture copies of the proof of delivery — the signed bill of lading — using the built-in document scanner in the NCX app. The dispatcher (and anyone they shared a tracking number with for that load) instantly have access to the scanned documents. Then, they just proceed on to the next load. Because the drivers have all the necessary details on the load already in their hand, exactly as provided by their dispatcher, they rarely need to call in and ask for more information.
Q
Will this program make my dispatcher’s life easier and more productive?
A
By switching over to electronic dispatching instead of endless
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check calls, and issuing free tracking numbers on hauls to all of their customers, carriers using NCX report rapid call volume reductions of over 50 percent in the first few days of using the platform. Just think of what having half as many calls, half as many phones pressed to your head each day would mean. By having total location awareness on their entire fleet — literally able to watch all the trucks moving live, on a map — and being able to reach out to their frequent customers more often, dispatchers are more informed, getting more business and able to answer any questions as they occur.
Q
How can you offer these services at no cost? Will this change?
A
I know it sounds strange to see someone offering a free TMS, especially one with so many features and benefits. But there’s no bait-andswitch in the works. No "catch", no "gotcha". We don’t ever expect to charge a fee for any of our core services. Right now, NCX isn’t charging any money. We’ve developed this entire platform, our ELD and our other hardware products, and operate it for
the benefit of the trucking industry. Obviously, our bank account isn’t bottomless, and we plan to eventually generate revenue – we have to, or we would eventually run out of money – but we plan to do it in a win-win way for everyone. This year, we plan to provide a number of additional services which will bring some very big smiles to the faces of carriers using NCX, and at the same time, some much-needed extra padding in their wallets. When we get there, we’ll finally be generating some revenue, which will help us keep the lights on, pay the bills, keep making payroll for our programmers and continue adding and continuing adding useful features to NCX such as IFTA fuel tax reporting. But our mission won’t change. We’re here to help, first and foremost. We’re looking for partners, not victims. We want our users to continue to benefit from NCX for decades.
Q A
How complicated is the sign-up process?
It really couldn’t be easier. It takes about five minutes. Start by going to www.NationalCarrierExchange.com and clicking “SIGN UP.” Put in your
DOT number, name and email address. The system will pull all your data from the FMCSA, filling in all of the blanks. After that, you’ll be delivered to the main dispatch map and will be ready to start using NCX! First thing, just go to the help menu on the left, watch the dispatcher training video and start inviting all of your drivers to join your fleet. You’re off and running!
Q
What equipment is needed to operate the management system?
A
At a bare minimum, the dispatcher simply needs a desktop or laptop running a recent web browser (like Chrome) and an Internet connection. Each of their drivers needs an Android smart phone or an iPhone with a data plan.
Q
Where do you see the future of NCX’s role in the trucking industry?
A
Over time, I want NCX to become a pillar of the trucking industry; a valuable tool that everyone uses to run their business on, and recommends to anyone thinking of getting into trucking. As we continue to add features to NCX, we want it to help everyone be more efficient, make more money and be less burdened by tedious, repetitive tasks. We want to help stop the bankruptcies, to drag that almost-85 percent number down to single digits. We want to help small carriers grow from fewer than 10 trucks to more than 50 trucks. We want everyone to prosper and flourish, and we want to be there with them, by their side, helping them grow for many years to come.
Visit us at MATS 2018 NCX Invoice Tracking System
West Hall Booth 64140
technology
MAKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WORK FOR YOUR FLEET BY AARON HUFF
Blockchain brouhaha Will it extend or disrupt your business?
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lockchain is the latest buzzword in transportation and logistics. But how and when this “digital ledger” technology will make an impact remains to be seen. For carriers, perhaps its most anticipated benefit is to create smart contracts with their customers to have self-executing freight transactions. Blockchain will record the transactions and store their data across many computers in a peer-topeer network, said Jason Kerner, vice president of project44, a developer of connectivity platforms for shippers and carriers. The different blocks of information that can be included in a smart contract include order details, shipment status updates, proof of delivery and accessorial charges such as detention. Companies will use an application programming interface to transfer information to a blockchain. “The potential is clearly there, and although the industry isn’t completely certain how it will implement a technology like blockchain, it makes sense to start preparing for it,” said Kerner, who recommends that carriers start now by having a “modern technology infrastructure” that can transfer consistent normalized real-time data to a third party. Self-fulfilling contract TMW Systems started laying the groundwork for smart contracts one year ago by releasing its Engage.Bid DIGITAL LEDGER: How and product that carriers use when blockchain will make an to manage pricing and impact remains to be seen. bidding activities with SMART CONTRACTS: Carrishippers. ers and shippers can negotiate Tim Leonard, TMW’s self-executing transactions. chief information officer, FULL VISIBILITY: Data can be saw an opportunity stored across many computers to use blockchain to in a peer-to-peer network. integrate the Engage.Bid application with a tool from 10-4 Systems that shippers use to automate requests for pricing. TMW acquired 10-4 Systems last September. The Trimble Freight Cloud now is embedded in Engage.Bid for carriers and shippers to create smart contracts by choosing and negotiating data they wish to exchange in freight transac34
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tions. A blockchain can send shippers automatic notifications as a shipment progresses and recognize when a carrier delivers a load to trigger funds in escrow for payment. “If you do not have the data in a place where you understand it and can steward and manage it, (blockchain) won’t last,” Leonard says. Not quite ready? To be ready for prime time, blockchain technology has to clear the same hurdles that other protocols such as electronic data interchange and APIs already have overcome to exchange information between disparate systems in a network. As such, blockchain will not be replacing existing technologies anytime soon, said Cindi Hane, vice president of logistics product management for Elemica, which provides a business network tailored for supply chains in the manufacturing and chemical industries. Blockchain will be another layer of technologies that fleets and shippers already have in place, she said. Ongoing challenges of managing the network include ensuring that data is consistent for all parties and maintaining data quality, Hane said. Carriers and shippers will have to negotiate the meaning of data for a smart contract to work. “Blockchain is not going to fix the data interpretation problem,” she said. AARON HUFF is Senior Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail ahuff@ccjmagazine.com or call 385-225-9472.
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technology
INBRIEF • PeopleNet released Video Intelligence Mobile, a web-based companion app for its Video Intelligence offering that provides users immediate access to accident footage. Video Intelligence Mobile is compatible with both Android- and iOS-powered devices and fully integrates with the PeopleNet Fleet Manager, an online web portal for back-office communications and carrier fleet management functions, to provide 24/7 mobile access to the Video Intelligence platform.
and utilization of their vehicles and manage maintenance proactively. The CalAmp devices are engineered for simple installation, added customization and easy management. • Help Inc., the nonprofit provider of PrePass, announced that PrePass carriers operating in Oregon now can enroll and use their transponders in the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Green Light weigh station bypass system at 21 facilities statewide.
• U.S. Bank Voyager, a fueling and maintenance payment system for fleets, expanded its Channel Partner Program by adding Pinnacle Petroleum, a wholesale distributor of refined petroleum products and alternative fuels. The Pinnacle Petroleum Card, used by commercial and government fleet programs nationwide, now is accepted at more than 320,000 fuel and maintenance locations on the nationwide Voyager Network.
• Spireon announced that its FleetLocate trailer management system was selected by Auburndale, Fla.-based Comcar Industries (CCJ Top 250, No. 75) for installation on its entire fleet of dry and refrigerated vans and bulk, flatbed and chemical trailers across its four business units: CTL Transportation, CCC Transportation, MCT Transportation and CT Transportation. Comcar said FleetLocate will provide its customers with the exact real-time location of their loads, enhance cargo security and maintain cargo integrity from origin to destination.
• Trimble announced that CalAmp is supplying customized telematics tracking devices and systems management technology for its Field Service Management vehicle and asset monitoring products designed to allow fleet managers to locate and monitor the health
• Orbcomm, a provider of trailer telematics, announced that Morrilton, Ark.-based Wayne Smith Trucking, a hauler of paper products and dry goods, selected its GT 1100 self-powered solar-recharging technology to track and monitor its dry van trailers while moving or at
terminals. The devices have ruggedized, sealed and waterproof panels designed to deliver continuous power to rechargeable batteries. • EpicVue, a provider of in-cab satellite TV systems for the trucking industry, announced that West Point, Miss.-based Royal Trucking, a hauler of dry van, flatbed and specialized products, selected its entertainment package for installation in its entire 250-tractor fleet. • 3Gtms Inc., a provider of transportation management software, announced that Atlanta-based M&W Distribution Services Inc., a food-grade full-service third-party logistics provider, selected its 3G-TM TMS to support the growth of its managed transportation services and to manage all activity from planning and optimization through rate management, integration, execution and payment. • Paragon Software Systems, a provider of vehicle routing and scheduling optimization technologies, announced that Brampton Brick, a provider of brick and concrete stone manufacturing, implemented its fleXipod proof-of-delivery software to drive operational efficiency and improve customer service levels. Paragon said fleXipod will provide Brampton Brick with order status visibility across its fleet of 40 commercial vehicles.
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technology The course provides drivers with information on logging in and out of an ELD, different duty statuses, ELD responsibilities and reasons to keep a log.
ITI adds ELD training course to Pro-Tread curriculum
I
nstructional Technologies Inc., a provider of online training systems for the transportation industry, has created an “Introduction to Electronic Logging Devices” course that covers the basics of ELDs for drivers and allows carriers to customize the training to meet company-specific needs. “Understanding the basics of using ELDs is important for all drivers,” said Nathan Stahlman, ITI chief operating officer. Stahlman said the new course “helps ease the stress of using this new technology, saving drivers time and reducing frustration.” The course provides drivers with information on logging in and out of an ELD, different duty statuses, ELD responsibilities and reasons for keeping an electronic log. By using ITI’s Sentix platform for managing training, carriers can host ELD supplier training videos as Pro-Tread courses and add quizzes and sections about standard company operating procedures. ITI also offers two hours-of-service training programs that are updated as new rules and regulations go into effect. – Aaron Huff
Trucker Path adds Parking Prediction to app
T
rucker Path, a provider of mobile applications used by the trucking industry, added a Parking Prediction feature to its trip planning app. Parking Prediction compiles four years of data and more than one million monthly community-powered parking updates. With the updates, the feature provides users a percentage The Trucker Path of parking spots available at a Parking Prediction location during a given period app has more than of time. The percentage is ac270,000 total truck parking spots in its companied by a color coding of database. Red, indicating a range of time when parking is full at a location; Green, indicating when there are plenty of spots available; or Yellow, indicating when there are some spots available. Users of the crowd-sourced app have made over 25 million truck parking updates, which are displayed in real time to the rest of the community if there are spots available at over 11,000 locations, including over 6,000 truck stops, both chain and independently owned. The Trucker Path app has more than 270,000 total truck parking spots in its database. – Aaron Huff
Fairbanks Scales updates instrument for ground scales
F
airbanks Scales’ FB2550 instrument for ground scales is designed with faster processing power, an updated operating system and more memory. Up to five FB2550 instruments can be networked to share transactional data from up to eight scale platforms. An integrated web utility provides technicians with access to all menu options that include configuration and calibration functions using a connected laptop or tablet. Users of the FB2550 can email transactional data or trouble codes automatically to help improve access and provide faster response times. Daily transaction data can be exported automatically to a shared user-defined network folder, and load cell diagnostics data can be viewed, printed, exported and emailed. Also standard on the FB2550 is short- or long-platform Axlematic software designed to enable customers to secure axle weights with total vehicle weight to ensure compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation requirements. New IP camera interface capabilities round out the new features. – Aaron Huff 38
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Fairbanks Scales’ FB2550 instrument for ground scales is designed with faster processing power, an updated operating system and more memory.
IT’S CALLED THE WORK TRUCK SHOW
FOR A REASON
Why attend North The Work Truck Show 2018 crea America’s largest work truck event? ®
PRIMARY LOGO CONFIGURATIONS
Experience the latest information for fleets on:
Mitigating risk Staying relevant Improving fleetIndianapolis, productivity March 6–9, 2018 IN
Sessions begin March 6 Exhibit hall open March 7– 9 and efficiency Leveraging your equipment supply chain and peers
S
Note: The Green Truck Summit logo with tagline should only be used for print (not web), and only when the logo (in configuration or standalone) is 3 or more inches in length.
Visit worktruckshow.com/fleets for information on registration, educational sessions, exhibit hall and more.
March 6–9, 2018
Indiana Convention Center Indianapolis, IN WTS: NTEA 286, Black; GTS: NTEA 362, 356, 424, 368, Black; NTEA: 286, 40% B Sessions begin: March 6 Exhibit hall open: March 7–9
#worktrucks18 | info@ntea.com | 800-441-6832
technology
BlackBerry is back with Radar for asset, cargo monitoring
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lackBerry devices once were the most popular connectivity tools for business professionals. Many became skilled at tapping out emails using the miniature keyboards of their devices. Then in 2007, Apple came out with its iPhone, and others quickly jumped on the bandwagon to develop smartphones with full touchscreens, high-definition cameras and an ecosystem of apps. With this new wave of consumer technology, BlackBerry turned to opportunities in the burgeoning market of connected vehicles and transportation. BlackBerry’s QNX software division soon became the dominant software platform of infotainment systems, communications and autonomous vehicle platforms. The software today powers more than 60 million vehicles on the road. In the commercial vehicle space, BlackBerry was focused on fleet management technology and recently developed a management platform for trailers called BlackBerry Radar. BlackBerry Radar now is available through more than 2,800 heavy-duty truck dealerships across North America through an agreement with Pana-Pacific. “We decided to add BlackBerry Radar to our portfolio because we believe the near-real-time information it provides will empower our customers to make better business decisions and improve the overall performance of their transportation operations,” said John Trenberth, chief executive of Pana-Pacific. “We’re excited to partner with forward-thinking companies like Pana-Pacific who realize the value that technology and actionable data can provide to the transportation and logistics industry,” said Philip Poulidis, senior vice president and general manager of BlackBerry Radar. The latest BlackBerry Radar platform uses a self-contained device to capture location and status information about equipment and cargo. Its internal sensors capture GPS locations, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure and cargo and door status. Whereas cargo sensors of competing systems capture binary loaded/unloaded status, BlackBerry Radar uses infrared sensors that capture the percentage of load remaining in a trailer and the door’s open or closed status. The mobile device records location and sensor data in fiveminute increments, and the data record is transmitted wirelessly to the cloud-based system in intervals that preserve battery life and meet the information needs of fleets. BlackBerry Radar uses high-capacity lithium chloride bat40
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The BlackBerry Radar platform for trailer tracking uses a selfcontained unit with internal sensors. BlackBerry Radar captures location, temperature, humidity, barometric pressure and more in five-minute intervals.
teries that are not rechargeable, by design, to eliminate failure points of wired connections to an external power supply from the tractor or from solar panels. Poulidis said the batteries last more than three years if fleets configure BlackBerry Radar to transmit data in 15-minute intervals. Most fleets will be satisfied using two-hour transmission intervals, at which rate the batteries will last for eight years. With no wiring or external sensors, the product can be installed in less than 10 minutes, he says, and fleets can expect zero maintenance even in harsh environments such as extreme cold, heat, humidity and altitudes. Soon after announcing BlackBerry Radar, the company entered into a relationship with Fleet Complete, an in-cab fleet management technology supplier. The companies have paired their two systems to give motor carriers visibility of tractor and trailer assets. One benefit of using both systems is that fleets can give drivers visibility of trailer, chassis or container locations when dispatched to a yard to pick up their equipment. The trailer asset’s location will be made visible to the driver in Fleet Complete’s in-cab display, eliminating time spent searching in a yard. The partnership also enables new business models. Last March, Fleet Complete acquired BigRoad and in November announced BigRoad Freight, a load-matching platform that now is available within the BigRoad mobile app used by owneroperators and small carrier drivers. By using the app, drivers can find available loads from freight brokers and provide visibility of shipments and hours-of-service status. As more assets are equipped with Fleet Complete and BlackBerry Radar, the capabilities of BigRoad Freight grow as more assets can be made visible to shippers and freight brokers to offer loads, Poulidis says. – Aaron Huff
technology
in focus: WEIGH STATION BYPASS
Random inspections Data management helps fleets increase bypass opportunities BY AARON HUFF
T
he technology used in weigh station bypass programs is straightforward. A truck-mounted transponder or mobile device sends a signal to a reader at a weigh station, and a law enforcement application uses the signal to identify the carrier, allowing officials to determine whether or not to inspect the truck or let it pass by. While the technology works consistently, bypass programs are not uniform. Carriers may have a solid safety record but not be getting the green light as often as they believe they should. Changing scores Weigh stations and mobile inspection sites rely on the Inspection Selection System to determine pull-in rates. Since ISS scores are determined from a motor carrier’s safety data, the pull-in rates can fluctuate from month to month. In other cases, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration randomly assigns a high ISS score of 99 to a select group of carriers to put them in the high-inspection category. That’s because the agency has little to no data on these carriers, nearly all of which are small operators, so it does this in an effort to collect more information on them. Pull-in rates also vary by state. Currently, two companies offer inspection bypass programs: Help Inc. with its PrePass program, and Drivewyze with its PreClear program. Both list California and New York as the states with the highest pull-in rates. California pulls in every carrier with an ISS score of 75 or higher. New York uses the same pull-in rate for all vehicles, regardless of their ISS scores. Nearly all states that use the PrePass program have a random 5 percent pull-in rate for carriers that are qualified, regardless of their ISS score. Participating carriers get an automatic red light if they have been placed out of service by FMCSA. Steve Vaugh, national director of field operations for Help Inc., said other factors that will trigger a red light include not having current credentials for International Fuel Tax Agreement fuel taxes, International Registration Plan and state registration, hazardous materials and state-specific taxes. Drivewyze uses an app on its customers’ mobile technologies, including electronic logging devices, to connect the truck to its cloud-based PreClear inspection bypass program. States determine their own pull-in rates with PreClear by using public safety credential information on motor carriers. 42
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Drivewyze uses an app on its customers’ mobile devices to connect the truck to its cloud-based PreClear inspection bypass program.
Going for green The only way for a carrier to improve its ISS score and get a higher bypass rate is to get more clean inspections on its record, said Brian Mofford, vice president of government experience for Drivewyze. To help increase the number of clean inspections, PrePass carriers can use Inform, the company’s free web-based intelligence tool, to identify patterns in their violations by location, Vaugh said. To help carriers receive more clean inspections and improve their odds for bypass opportunities down the road, Drivewyze is developing an application that will populate forms that law enforcement officials use to record Level 3 inspections, Mofford said. That’s because when trucks enter a weigh station, officers sometimes will check a few of the carrier’s credentials but not file an inspection report to save time if no violations are found. Drivewyze’s application will eliminate some data entry for officers, making it more likely they’ll complete a clean inspection report, which should help carriers improve their ISS scores, Mofford said. Blacklidge, a Gulfport, Miss.-based asphalt company with 20 trucks, has seen its bypass opportunities increase steadily since it started using Drivewyze about a year ago, said Paul Johnson, director of logistics. Drivewyze has 248 fixed and mobile locations in the 13 Southeast states where Blacklidge hauls asphalt products to customers. Both PrePass and Drivewyze say the monthly cost of their programs, on a per-truck basis, is reimbursed by the time and fuel savings of one or two bypass events for each truck.
INNOVATORS Load One developed a driver app to give employees and contractors a tool that no other carrier offers, says John Elliott, the company’s founder and CEO.
Load One app helps company’s drivers make the most of their planning decisions BY AARON HUFF
O
n Tuesday, Jan. 9, owner-operator Rick Downey had loaded in Portsmouth, N.H., and was headed south to Norfolk, Va., for a next-day delivery. Downey had been to Norfolk two times previously for Taylor, Mich.-based expedite carrier Load One. His own records show he waited between one to two days after unloading to receive his next dispatch. Layovers are common in the expedite business, says John Elliott, Load One’s founder and chief executive officer. The company is among the largest full-service transportation and logistics providers in the expedite segment with a fleet of 400 power units. About 80 percent of orders from customers have immediate service requirements. Expeditors are like an ambulance service, Elliott says, and this makes it nearly impossible to pre-plan loads for drivers. The standard dispatch practice is to call drivers who are closest to the available loads. If two or more drivers are in the same area, dispatch moves according to wait times — first driver in, first out. Until recently, drivers relied on experience and advice or “best guesses” from dispatchers to position themselves for the next load. Drivers typically go to the closest major city or the nearest truck stop, but guesswork and waiting “inherently builds up anxiety and frustration,” Downey says. Hours may turn into days, and “the squirrels in your mind start spinning, and you wonder ‘What is going on?’ ” Accelerating change Load One always is looking for ways to differentiate its services and innovate for customers and drivers, says Elliott. The company previously was recognized by CCJ
LOAD ONE Taylor, Mich. as an Innovator in 2012 for launching an online rewards program that improved driver engagement and retention. Since March 2017, the pace of technology development has accelerated after Load One contracted with App Nouveau Canada as its exclusive transportation technology consultant and developer. ANC was formed by developers with extensive experience in transportationrelated software and programming. Ed De Leon, chief executive, was a founder of the web-based Sylectus dispatch and transportation management system used by Load One and other expedite carriers. With deep knowledge of the Sylectus database, ANC programmers moved quickly to develop integrated applications. One of the first projects was Load One Track, a mobile app that gives customers total transparency of shipments. With the app, Load One’s shipper and third-party logistics customers can view real-time locations and ETAs and receive instant alerts for any potential delays caused by weather and other events. After launching the customer app, Load One rolled out its own driver app last December. The goal was to give employees and contractors a tool that no other carrier offers, Elliott says. Some features in the driver app such as instant two-way messaging, document scanning and access to payroll settlements are common in other apps developed by industry suppliers and carriers.
The expedite hauler’s mapping tool provides drivers with historical and real-time data on demand and capacity.
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Unique features of the Load One app include real-time weather and traffic and a single sign-on to the company’s driver training and rewards web portal. The stand-out feature – and the potential game-changer for drivers – is a mapping tool that provides Load One drivers with historical and real-time information on demand and capacity. With a few clicks and swipes, Load One drivers can determine where to optimally position themselves. With this newfound business intelligence, drivers can reduce wait times and increase productivity and earnings. Planning ahead Downey was handpicked to participate in testing Load One’s driver app before it was released to the fleet. On Jan. 9, before he had arrived in Norfolk, Downey used the app to decide where he would go after making the delivery. He used the mapping tool to see every shipment that Load One moved, brokered or turned down in the Norfolk area in the last two days, seven days and 30 days. Green pins on the map show locations of loads moved by Load One. Red pins represent missed opportunities — shipments that Load One brokered or turned down because a truck was not available. Dark blue pins show current locations of other Load One trucks. Drivers can limit their view to loads and trucks that match their equipment type. Downey has a tandem-axle 24-foot straight truck with a 22,000-pound load capacity. The app’s mapping tool allows “That uniquedrivers to limit ness alone their view to loads narrows the field and trucks that match their equipto promote productivity,” he says. ment type. 46
“I see exactly what I need to see.” Without this market intelligence, Downey would have gone to a truck stop 20 miles from Norfolk to wait. With the app, he saw this plan would have decreased his odds of getting a load. Instead, he planned to go 100 miles northeast to the Maryland border. At this strategic location, he would be available for loads in three areas where freight had been “popping,” he says. He felt confident that a call would come from dispatch before 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10. The workweek for Load One, or rather its payroll cutoff, ends on Monday. Downey believed he would pick up his next load on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning to deliver Friday or Saturday, which could give him time to complete another load by Monday. Downey predicts the app will help him increase his number of loads and revenue by 10 percent or more in 2018. Tying it together The demand and capacity information for the mapping tool comes from several databases. Load One developed its own consolidated “bid board” of time-sensitive shipments from private websites used by 3PLs and shippers in the automotive business. The bid board database has rate and capacity information that Load One dispatchers use to determine which loads to accept or turn down. Data from the bid board is displayed on the mapping tool in the driver app as red pins to show where Load One has missed opportunities due to not having trucks available. Load One also has a database of truck locations from carriers using the Sylectus TMS software and its protected load board. The locations of trucks are displayed on the mapping tool alongside booked and loads/bids missed by Load One to help drivers locate a good spot, Elliott says. The database of trucks from Sylectus users and Load One drivers is displayed live in the mapping tool. A driver that is 75 miles away from
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Memphis, Tenn., might see the market is red-hot based on the number of loads on the map. With the capacity icons, the driver may see that seven Load One trucks already are positioned there and decide to move 25 miles southwest of Nashville, where they will be number three in line for dispatch. Drivers also can view freight patterns by day of week by viewing loads over the last 30 days, seven days and two days. Before developing the app, “there was no way to tie all that together,” Elliott says. “Now these guys can map it.” An instant hit With the electronic logging device mandate in effect, drivers appreciate technology that helps them maximize time and money, says Elliott. The technology also has customer service benefits. As drivers reposition themselves to the best areas, Load One will be able to respond faster and better to their needs. And since Load One pays its company and owner-operator drivers a percentage of revenue for loads, “every time we win, (drivers) win.” Another benefit is that dispatchers will spend less time answering questions from drivers about where to position or reposition equipment and be able to focus on more important business. Drivers also can better manage their business and make decisions independently, which helps protect the contractor status. Since announcing the app to drivers, more than 70 percent were using it within a few weeks, says Elliott, who explains to drivers that being in the expedite business is similar to being in a casino: You never know when or where the next load will come from. “We are trying to build a system to help you count cards and increase your odds of legalized gambling,” he says. CCJ INNOVATORS profiles carriers and fleets that have found innovative ways to overcome trucking’s challenges. If you know a carrier that has displayed innovation, contact Jeff Crissey at jcrissey@ccjmagazine.com or 800-633-5953.
The latest tech simplifies the task of managing driving behaviors BY AARON HUFF
U
ntil fully autonomous trucks are powering loads, motor carriers will continue to invest in new technologies to evaluate and improve driver performance. Advancements in those technologies have nearly eliminated the gap between the office and the cab. Mobile apps, video event recorders, telematics and other technologies make it possible to capture information instantly from any location. However, unless the information can be digested and put into action quickly, the opportunities for positive change and safety improvements are lost.
Mobile apps Mobile apps have become a common strategy to give drivers instant access to data they can understand and apply easily to improve both their own capabilities and the fleet’s overall performance. LinkeDrive’s web-based driver performance management system uses the PedalCoach mobile app and a wired connection to the vehicle’s electronic control module to make sense of driver performance data instantly. Data from the ECM feeds proprietary algorithms that determine the optimal amount of fuel at any given moment. The app also captures a wide spectrum of data for further analysis online. The PedalCoach app gives drivers instant feedback on throttle input. The user interface has a gauge with a needle that represents the fuel’s flow rate. The bottom third of the gauge’s arc is the fuel target – a green zone – followed by the yellow and red zones that indicate improvements are possible. Drivers learn to keep the needle in the green by applying the throttle and shifting judiciously. The fuel target also accounts 48
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for factors that drivers do not control, such as engine size, load weight and topography. LinkeDrive also has been developing new applications for fleets to automate a broader spectrum of driver performance management. The company recently added a new driver scorecard feature with a Fitbit-style user interface and gamification elements. Presenting drivers with daily performance statistics can be counterproductive, says J.D. Doyle, chief information officer of LinkeDrive. A driver might achieve a high mpg one day and see below-average results the next. When drivers see variability in a scorecard, they tend to lose interest and “come out average,” Doyle says. To help counter this trend, LinkeDrive’s new user interface for its mobile app gives drivers daily constructive feedback. Rather than simply showing a daily fuel score, the app also provides specific recommendations to improve results. A driver might receive a message that says “Yesterday you took it out of cruise too LinkeDrive’s web-based early.” The driver will be able system uses the PedalCoach to drill down to see more mobile app and a wired details, such as where and connection to the vehicle’s ECM to make sense of driver when he should have used performance data instantly. cruise control to achieve
COVER STORY: DRIVER PERFORMANCE better results, Doyle says. Telematics provider Blue Tree Systems developed a driver performance app for Android and Apple devices that fleets can use as a companion for its in-cab fleet management system. Fleets can configure the app’s 360 Driver Scoring feature for specific metrics and weights. The app has three driver scoring categories: compliance (hours of service and road speed limits), fuel performance and safety. Drivers can view updated scores in each category daily. When drivers click on a score, the app gives coaching advice. One of the app’s safety metrics shows the time from when Blue Tree Systems’ driver a driver lifts his foot off the performance app scores accelerator to when he applies drivers in the categories of safety, fuel perforthe brakes. The metric is an easy mance and compliance. way to determine if a driver is looking ahead and maintaining a safe following distance, says Charlie Cahill, president of Blue Tree Systems. A driver ideally should be coasting for a few seconds before braking, and the time period is different according to the driver’s average speed, Cahill says. The company’s data generally show that safe drivers with an average speed above 30 mph have at least two or three seconds between accelerating and braking, he says.
rithms to use machine vision to detect stop signs and to compare the vehicle’s speed and position to a database of stop sign locations. Omnitracs also is working on new machine vision algorithms that will use video from its inward-facing camera to detect driver distraction patterns. Examples include eye movement and cell phone and seatbelt usage. But while cameras add another layer to managing driver performance, the volume of information also presents new challenges. “It is unreasonable to review every video stored or captured,” says Lauren Dominick, Omnitracs’ senior director of analytics and modeling. To help fleets manage driver behaviors more efficiently, Omnitracs is developing a CEV feature that will prioritize video events for review by fleets depending on what areas of performance they wish to target. If a fleet wants to run a safety campaign on seatbelt use, safety managers can review a daily driver scorecard to identify videos of drivers with problems in that area. Lytx’s optional ActiveVision service, which can be added to its DriveCam platform, uses machine vision to detect patterns of risk caused by lane departures, distracted driving and unsafe following distances. Lytx now has DriveCam installed in more than 400,000 vehicles, and ActiveVision is outfitted on more than 50,000 of those vehicles, says Brandon Nixon, chief executive officer. The company has more than 70 billion driving miles in its overall database, which is growing at a rate of one billion miles every two weeks, Nixon says.
Video reviews Video safety systems are able to detect a wide range of risky driving behaviors, and recent developments have focused on applying machine vision to expand the number and complexity of exceptions for driving behaviors that contribute to accidents and poor performance. Omnitracs’ Critical Event Video is an option for its in-cab fleet management platform. The company is working on a new CEV feature to monitor driver behaviors at stop signs and traffic signals. CEV uses an outward- and optional inward-facing camera to capture and transmit video of safety-critical events such as sudden deceleration and speeding. With the new feature, CEV will be able to determine if a driver stopped at an intersection where a stop sign or red light was present. Engineers are developing algo-
Omnitracs’ Driver Center portal brings together driver performance data from multiple sources. commercial carrier journal
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COVER STORY: DRIVER PERFORMANCE
PeopleNet’s Safety Analytics dashboard segments drivers into green, yellow and red profiles of risk.
Prescriptive analytics One of the hallmarks of a successful driver management program is that everyone involved knows the score and what to do, no matter how complex the underlying data. Fleet mobility provider PeopleNet’s Video Intelligence product provides users with access to video and event data captured by its Onboard Event Recording application. Jim Angel, vice president of Video Intelligence, says the platform is ready to incorporate more feeds from vehicle camera systems. Video and event data from vehicles is transmitted to the cloud and accessed by fleets using the online PeopleNet Fleet Manager portal. As part of PFM, fleets get a Safety Analytics dashboard that identifies their most at-risk drivers. To date, the company has more than 35,000 drivers in the Safety Analytics system, Angel says. The Safety Analytics dashboard uses a four-tier scoring system that mirrors the crash predictors found in American Transportation Research Institute studies. The dashboard also provides data visualization tools that identify drivers by degree of risk. Drivers with risk scores in the top 10 percent in each category, and the top 10 percent overall, are highlighted in red, followed by yellow and green for the top performers. The dashboard and scoring system use data captured by the PeopleNet system and includes violations for posted speed limits and hours of service. They also import daily Compliance Safety Accountability violation data through the company’s partnership with Vigillo. In addition to the Safety Analytics dashboard, the PFM portal comes with a 10-column driver scorecard. Fleets that use products from PeopleNet’s data analytics firm, Vusion, can use these columns for more advanced metrics. Vusion is developing new mathematical formulas to identify leading predictive indicators of driver risk, Angel says. An analysis might show that unsafe drivers are more likely to not complete pre- and post-trip inspections or use seatbelts. After identifying which drivers are the riskiest, the next step is to determine the best corrective action using prescrip50
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tive analytics. Teletrac Navman’s mobile fleet management platform has a driver scorecard that shows drivers their percentile for each metric and what behaviors they need to address for improvement. One metric that fleets can track in the scorecard is stop sign violations. The system compares the vehicle’s location and movement to a database of stop signs to detect instantly if the driver rolled through a stop sign or waited momentarily. Another Teletrac Navman module unites prescriptive analytics and coaching. The Adaptive Intelligence module has become popular in Australia because of the country’s laws that place more accident liability on fleet owners, says Sid Nair, the company’s senior director of transportation practice. With Adaptive Intelligence, the driver scorecard can be tied to online driver training modules. If a driver has a high number of harsh braking incidents, the system automatically will trigger an assignment for him to review a training module on defensive driving. Omnitracs offers Driver Center, the online interface for Omnitracs’ predictive models for accidents, turnover and fatigue. The predictive models for driver safety and turnover can be customized to fleets’ needs to be “as complex or simple as the client wants it,” Dominick says. The data can come from the fleet’s own management platforms and other databases. The Driver Center identifies both the drivers who should be contacted to prevent accidents or turnover – depending on the predictive models the fleet uses – and the reasons why they are at risk.
Teletrac Navman’s driver scorecard gives up-to-date views of areas that need improvement.
Bringing it all together In 2016, transportation technology provider Idelic acquired SafetyBox, a driver safety management system created by Pittsburgh-based less-than-truckload carrier Pitt Ohio Express (CCJ Top 250, No. 47). Idelic then collaborated with Carnegie Mellon University
COVER STORY: DRIVER PERFORMANCE on SafetyBox enhancements by developing machine learning algorithms designed to predict with a high degree of accuracy which drivers will be in an accident. SafetyBox can be integrated with various third-party driver management applications such as telematics systems and video event recorders. The product’s database provides a “360-degree” view of driver compliance, safety, performance and risk, says Hayden Cardiff, Idelic’s founder and CEO. The system is designed to identify drivers in need of corrective action and automate the workflow to remediate their risk. Idelic also is developing a mobile app with a scoring feature that will allow drivers to compare themselves to their peers. The technology allows fleet managers to “clearly see with a high percentage of accuracy which drivers are on a trend to getting in an accident, step in, get them some training and bring them back into the safe band,” Cardiff says. Lytx’s DriveCam platform now includes Lytx Video Services, which offers always-on capability for video retrieval, with side-view and other expandable options for a full view around the vehicle. A driver coach logging into the system sees the “cards” of events to coach. A card provides a high-level overview of the driver and recommended coaching, says Kim Masterson, Lytx’s senior product marketing manager. Fleets using LVS can obtain an extended 30 seconds of recording before and after a triggered event. Customers can add up to four auxiliary cameras and review up to 100 hours of recorded video by selecting the date and timeframe. A fleet manager may want to use LVS to review a delivery event to make sure a driver was wearing the correct gear or verify he conducted a pre-trip inspection, Masterson says.
distance, texting while driving, seatbelt compliance, aggressive maneuvers and more. The scores are normalized by hours and miles driven; the higher the score, the higher the collision risk. Fleets use the scores and event video to coach drivers and monitor the results. The SmartDrive scores are calculated on a rolling fourweek average. If a driver stops a risky behavior such as speeding, the score reflects the improvement within a month, says Melissa Purcell, SmartDrive’s senior vice president of marketing and customer success. Fleets can modify the scoring to match specific company policies. Fuel haulers consider smoking a high-risk driver behavior, whereas dry van carriers may not, Purcell says Cypress recently rolled out a new cash incentive program for drivers who use their SmartDrive Safety Score and other performance metrics the platform captures. To build the scorecard, the motor carrier engaged SmartDrive’s professional services team. One of the scorecard metrics is the percentage of coaching events that drivers have completed. When drivers have a coaching event such as running a stop sign, they are responsible for completing a coaching session. Drivers can login to the fleet’s SmartDrive portal to see coaching events they have not finished, says Matt Penland, Cypress’ safety and risk manager. As Cypress continues to fine-tune its approach for managing risk and performance, Penland reminds drivers that the scoring and video coaching methods are no different than what professional athletes use to be better at their jobs. “We are professional truck drivers,” he says. “That’s what the culture has got to be.”
Self-coaching drivers In 2014, Cypress Truck Lines (CCJ Top 250, No. 209) began outfitting its fleet with SmartDrive’s technology that combines video with telematics data. The platform has an in-cab recording device to capture video and event data when triggered by risky driving behaviors. The data is sent to cloud-based servers, where applications use data science to calculate “the observed rate of risk” of every driver in the Jacksonville, Fla.based flatbed fleet. The observed rate of risk is a numerical value, a SmartDrive Safety Score, that gives fleets a way to assess driver skills in 80 individual behaviors that include speeding, following
Within weeks of implementing SmartDrive, Jacksonville, Fla.-based flatbed company Cypress Truck Lines saw its safety scores improve by 57 percent. commercial carrier journal
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© 2018
, Inc. All rights reserved. All marks are trademarks of their respective owners.
* Based on averaging the third party testing results for fuel economy comparing the International LT with A26 engine against the (a) 2018 Freightliner Cascadia CA126SLP with DD13, (b) 2018 Kenworth T680 with Paccar MX-13 and (c) 2018 Volvo VNL670 with Volvo D13. Actual customer results for fuel economy may vary. The “category” tested consisted of Class 8 trucks with North American 12-13L engines.
Independent tests prove International LT SERIES POWERED BY A26 BEATS THE COMPETITION BY OVER 4% ON average* ®
®
International Truck commissioned the PIT Group to conduct industry-recognized TMC Type IV fuel economy tests comparing the International LT Series powered by A26 with competitive 12-13L powered tractors of similar specifications. All vehicles were tested on a 300+ mile route with hills and flatlands. In the end, International beat all others in the test, proving that LT Series delivers tangible fuel savings over the competition. VISIT INTERNATIONALTRUCKS.COM TO READ THE COMPLETE REPORT.
Knowing how, when to use remote diagnostics can help carriers cut costs, improve uptime BY JASON CANNON
N
ew technologies such as remote diagnostics can be intimidating, often providing unfamiliar levels of information to end users — and they may not know what to do with it once they see it. But if harnessed properly, that kind of deep-dive into a fleet’s business and equipment utilization can be life-changing. “Simply put, fleets choosing to not utilize a remote diagnostics platform are missing out on insight that leads to cost savings and increased uptime,” says Dave Covington, chief technology officer for Noregon. However, outfitting trucks for remote diagnostics capabilities when they weren’t factory-equipped with them can be tricky. Pre-2008 trucks operated with J1587 and J1708 circuitry that would broadcast simple failure mode indicators that easily could be tracked to an SAE code related to a specific engine problem.
In transitioning to more modern J1939 circuitry, the broadcast became more complex and less relatable to a single specific issue. “You really need a secret decoder ring to take that broadcast and interpret that into an actionable item,” says Rick Tapp, maintenance manager for PacLease. “There were maybe only 100 codes available in 2006, and now there are probably over 1,200 codes.” Greg Treinen, manager of connectivity for Daimler Trucks North America, says most Detroit-powered Freightliner and Western Star trucks built since April 2011 include the connectivity platform that delivers Detroit Connect’s Virtual Technician remote diagnostics service. That platform also is compatible with older U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2010-era Detroit engines with
EDITOR’S NOTE: THE FOLLOWING STORY IS PART TWO OF A THREE-PART SERIES ON “OUT-OF-WARRANTY TRUCKS.” JANUARY’S INSTALLMENT FOCUSED ON OIL DRAIN INTERVALS. MARCH’S STORY WILL ADDRESS AFTERMARKET WARRANTIES. 54
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EQUIPMENT: DIAGNOSTICS
Rick Tapp, PacLease’s maintenance manager, says using remote diagnostics allows his company to plan for service times and repair minor issues on the road.
retrofit kits available through DTNA dealers or through the company’s telematics partner, Zonar Systems. However, Zonar’s V3 platform cannot deliver the same OEM diagnostics insights that Detroit’s Virtual Technician provides, instead relying on information pulled from the truck’s J1939 network. That information feed can lack the kind of detail captured by native diagnostics platforms, but it still can communicate layers of information needed to drive uptime decisions. “If a fleet is running older equipment, their vehicles are naturally more susceptible to the catastrophic issues that can put a vehicle on the side of the road,” Covington says. Easy to understand Older trucks not equipped with diagnostics equipment rely on visual indicators – primarily a dash light – to relay problem signs to the driver. Newer models provide information to drivers on a dashboard screen, while remote diagnostics broadcast that same information to someone else, including dispatchers and the maintenance department. Still, shops not used to being a member of such a communications loop often have to overcome a perception that diagnostics technologies are too complex and best left to dealers and OEM experts. “Fleets worried about the complexity of remote diagnostics systems certainly do not have unwarranted concerns,” Covington says. “They may have used a system in the past that presented an overwhelming amount of data with no guidance.” Many platforms such as Noregon’s TripVision and Navistar’s OnCommand Connection have built-in support systems that offer explanations for what is wrong with the truck and guide the fleet when making decisions regarding maintenance and repairs.
Todd Wright, director of maintenance for Minneapolisbased Koch Trucking (CCJ Top 250, No. 105), says once a fault code has been displayed through Eaton’s IntelliConnect platform, the system will show shop personnel a picture of the problem, list what parts need to be replaced and notify the fleet if the truck needs to be shut down or if the condition can wait for a more convenient repair window. “We know most fleets don’t have technicians monitoring their vehicles in real time, so we provide enhanced OEM descriptions as opposed to just sending SAE codes for every single fault the vehicle is producing,” Covington says. Email blasts and descriptions of faults and repair methods can seem imposing to the end user, especially if the recipient isn’t the one equipped to make the repair. That’s why many remote diagnostics applications can be configured to provide as much – or as little – information as a fleet wants. “If a fleet only wants to track vehicles that have faults affecting their fuel economy, they can set up filters to do so,” Covington says. “On the contrary, fleets can also drill into the detailed information beneficial to technicians and maintenance professionals.” Getting started Covington says the simplest way for a fleet to get started with remote diagnostics is to sign up for a service that allows for the customization of the application, providing only information considered useful, and have that data routed to the appropriate department. Wright says IntelliConnect gives Koch Trucking the option to select the manner in which it receives analysis and action plans from Eaton: email, Eaton’s web portal or a third-party remote diagnostics system. “A fleet dispatcher can be set up with an alert when a vehicle reaches a medium severity level so he or she can relay
Most Detroit-powered Freightliner and Western Star trucks built since April 2011 include the connectivity platform that delivers Detroit Connect’s Virtual Technician remote diagnostics service.
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EQUIPMENT: DIAGNOSTICS the application’s recommended action to the driver,” Covington says. However, the maintenance manager may choose to receive alerts only when a vehicle reaches a high severity level to provide input on managing the needed repairs, he says. “Fleets should use these systems in the manner that best benefits them. You don’t have to fix every issue that remote diagnostics are capable of detecting. Look at the issues that will directly affect the bottom line, and prioritize those.” Tapp says technicians probably are not as wary of this technology as their department managers because they already know how to use a diagnostics computer. The learning curve with remote diagnostics is more in the customization of how the system communicates between the driver and fleet. “What we can do with remote diagnostics is, we get an email that says, ‘Hey, this truck is getting sick,’ ” he says. Those emails allow Tapp and his team to bring trucks in for service and prevent a tow, road calls and emergency repairs. “All those things are advantages to the maintenance department,” he says. Another advantage is the capability to diagnose a problem before it becomes severe enough to trip a dash light, Covington says. “Aside from helping fleets manage faults that can lead to a breakdown, TripVision also alerts fleet personnel to issues a driver may not notice,” he says.
Many platforms such as Noregon’s TripVision have built-in support systems that offer explanations for what is wrong with the truck and guide the fleet when making decisions regarding maintenance and repairs.
The application indicates the presence of faults that can affect fuel economy and emissions systems or cause a potential Compliance Safety Accountability violation, Covington says. “With no ‘check engine’ light illuminated, the driver likely has no idea there is a problem causing decreased fuel efficiency, but the insight of TripVision allows the fleet to address the concern before it becomes too costly,” he says. The ability to diagnose and correct an issue before one is reported by a driver could be the difference between Once a fault code is displayed through Eaton’s IntelliConnect platform, the system will show shop personnel a picture of the problem, list what parts need to be replaced and notify the fleet if the truck needs to be shut down or if the condition can wait for a more convenient repair window.
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uptime and downtime, Covington says. “Rather than waiting on a driver to report an issue, fleets have access to the information to know what is wrong with the vehicle and what the recommended action is to avoid a costly breakdown,” he says. “Quicker detection, coupled with quicker action, will not only reduce maintenance costs but also extend the life of a vehicle.” Diagnosing drivers Paul Mages, leader of the company efficiency team for Dart Transit (CCJ Top 250, No. 58), says remote diagnostics – primarily the deployment of Kenworth’s TruckTech+ – have helped give the Eagan, Minn.-based fleet more insight into driver behavior. The ability to change driver habits has helped reduce related downtime, he says. “Before, the truck could be de-rated if a driver overlooked an alert or waited too long to clean the emissions system, especially after the truck had been sitting over a rest period,” Mages says.
“Now, we get an email notification when the soot level gets to a critical level and can call the driver and get action taken before a de-rate takes place.” Mages says remote diagnostics allows Dart Transit to see trends, and frequency of occurrences, so the fleet can share that data with its drivers. “Before, we didn’t realize that some of our drivers didn’t know the procedure for a parked re-gen, but now they do,” he says. That’s a much deeper level of information than a dash light alone can provide, Tapp says. “The older trucks will just turn on a light, and they don’t give you any kind of information in a dash display to say ‘This in an ABS code’ or ‘This is a low-pressure code,’ ” he says. “They just turn on a light and say ‘Hey, you’ve got a problem, but you never know how serious that problem is until you get it checked out.” By using remote diagnostics, PacLease is able to plan for service times and repair minor issues on the road, Tapp says. “If a driver leaves his dipstick cap loose, this will turn on a ‘check engine’ light,” he says. “By knowing the code generated, we can communicate with the driver and give the driver several things to check without having to schedule the unit into a shop and creating an out-of-service incident.” PacLease also has installed tire pressure monitoring systems on select rental units, giving the driver the ability to check tires at-will and secure a tire repair at a planned time. “It also speeds the unit though the PM cycle, giving more uptime for the user,” Tapp says. “Having all of this information allows us to identify units that could benefit from unit-specific customization of PM schedules and also identify a particular customer that could benefit from additional system-specific operational training.”
Remote diagnostics – primarily the deployment of Kenworth’s TruckTech+ – have helped give Eagan, Minn.-based Dart Transit more insight into driver behavior.
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Nylon cable wraps
Phillips’ nylon cable wraps for the company’s 3-In-1 combination air and electrical assemblies are an alternative to spiral wraps and are designed to make it easy to assemble and build custom combination assemblies. The wraps are made of durable woven nylon for added protection against damage due to harsh weather conditions, chaffing, rubbing and tangling and are built for easy removal for maintenance, cable replacement and inspections. They are available in 8-, 10-, 12- and 16-foot lengths to accommodate 3-In-1 combination assemblies of varying lengths between 12 and 20 feet. Phillips Industries, www.phillipsind.com, 800-423-4512
Air disc brakes
DuraBrake’s all-makes air disc brake program for heavyduty trucks and tractors covers systems from Bendix, Haldex, Hendrickson, Knorr Bremse, Meritor and Wabco. The line includes rotors, disc pad sets and caliper guide bolts and seals. The rotors and pads meet FMVSS 121 requirements. DuraBrake Co., www.durabrake.com, 408-748-0400
Floor mats
Minimizer offers 12 different Custom Molded Floor Mat kits designed to fit eight International models, including the truck maker’s 5900i, 9200i, 9400i and 9900i models. Minimizer also offers five Western Star floor mat kits designed to cover all of the OEM’s 2016-18 models. The floor mats are designed to be a perfect fit to accommodate small differences between the cab models, such as a driver’s side electrical tray, transmission type and gearshift location. Minimizer, www.minimizer.com, 800-248-3855
EGR cooler line
BorgWarner’s multiplatform modular exhaust gas recirculation cooler family includes four adaptable standard designs for added flexibility to cover a range of engine sizes. The coolers are engineered for high robustness against thermal fatigue and enhanced coolant distribution for durable performance, even with minimum coolant flow. Featuring hybrid tube heat transfer technology and a floating inner core, the coolers are designed to resist high levels of thermal load. BorgWarner, www.borgwarner.com, 248-754-9200
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PRODUCTS
Spread axle trailer retread
Continental’s ContiTread Hybrid HT3 is a matching retread for the Conti Hybrid HT3 tire optimized for spread axle trailers in long-haul and regional delivery applications. The retread features a wing design and an advanced tread compound that combine to facilitate added protection in high-scrub applications while maintaining mileage performance, and its groove geometry incorporates the company’s stone ejection technology. It has a 16/32-inch tread depth and comes in 210-, 220- and 230-mm widths. Continental Tire the Americas, www.continental-truck.com, 704-583-3900
Truck mattresses
Lippert’s Somnum Sleeper Series mattresses are designed for the heavy truck market. The series was developed as a premium line of U.S. Department of Transportation-compliant sleeper mattresses to promote a healthy, restful sleep for drivers who spend consecutive nights on the road. Four mattress constructions are engineered to fit the needs of drivers of all builds and sleep types. Lippert Components, www.lci1.com, 574-535-1125
Wide-base poly fenders Fleetline’s Wide Base Tire Poly Fenders are engineered to suppress spray and reduce fuel costs in wide-base tire applications. The super-single fenders are 19 inches wide and made of a lightweight high-density polyethylene built for durability and UV and corrosion resistance. They are available in single-axle, half-tandem and full-tandem designs. Fleetline, www.fleetlineproducts.com, 800-332-6653 commercial carrier journal | february 2018
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PRODUCTS
Spring brake line
TSE Brakes’ UltraLife Plus spring brake line features the company’s proprietary TSE All-NOne integrated pressure plate and diaphragm assembly engineered to eliminate plate shifting and increase power spring and diaphragm life, as well as TSE’s Sealed When It Counts technology with housing drain holes to help prevent ingress of water and contaminants when driving and provide air ventilation and drainage when parked. A urethane powdercoating applied over an eight-step e-coat base helps resist humidity and corrosion. The dust cap has a pressure relief feature designed to prevent backpressure or vacuum in the spring compartment.
Lightweight fifth wheel Fontaine’s 6NWB steel fifth wheel assembly features the company’s lightweight NWB sliding bracket mounted with its lightweight 6000 No-Slack top plate with a lock engineered to self-adjust automatically to trailer kingpin variances to facilitate a smoother ride and longer component life. The 6NWB is rated at 50,000 pounds of vertical load with a drawbar pull rating of 150,000 pounds. Parts are interchangeable with older models. Fontaine Fifth Wheel, www.fifthwheel.com, 800-874-9780
Air dryer cartridge
Bendix’s GC Spin-On Air Dryer Cartridge for aftermarket applications uses the company’s recycled desiccant. The Green Cartridge is engineered to be used with any North American air dryer that calls for a standard 39mm right-hand thread spin-on cartridge, but it is not suitable for applications requiring an oil-coalescing filter. The reconditioned material is formulated with new Bendix desiccant to help deliver like-new performance and stable air drying efficiency performance over the cartridge’s life.
TSE Brakes, www.tsebrakes.com,
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems,
256-736-6288
www.bendix.com, 800-247-2725
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8/31/2016 10:33:10 AM 3/20/17 9:52 AM
AD INDEX Bosch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . boschdiagnostics .com/pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 CCJ Innovators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-633-5953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 CCJ Spring Symposium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccjsymposium .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Citgo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . citgolubes .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Detroit Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . demanddetroit .com/assurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IFC-1 Direct Equipment Supply Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-992-1478 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Eaton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . eaton .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Eberspacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . eberspaecher-na .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Equify . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . healthybusinesschecklist .com/newyear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Etcom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . etcominc .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 EZ Oil Drain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ezoildrain .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Fitzgerald USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fitzgeraldusa .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Fleet Pride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fleetpride .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Fumoto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fumotousa .com/ccj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 GoNMF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844-763-7250 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Great American Trucking Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . gatsonline .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Howes Lubricator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . howeslube .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Instructional Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . instructiontech .net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . internationaltrucks .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52-53 IPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ipatools .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 J .J . Keller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jjkeller .com/placards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 J .J . Keller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jjkeller .com/eldspecialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Kiene Diesel Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kienediesel .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 LKQ Heavy Truck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lkqheavytruck .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Mack Trucks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . macktrucks .com/anthem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Minimizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . minimizer .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 National Seating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nationalseating .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 NCX Partner Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nationalcarrierexchange .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-33 No Spill Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nospillsystems .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Noregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . noregon .com/nextstep/ccj . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 NTEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . worktruckshow .com/fleets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 O’Reilly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . firstcallonline .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Peterbilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-473-8372 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BC ProMiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800-324-8588 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Renewable Energy Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . regi .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Shell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . rotella .com/t6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-13 SKF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . crscotsealx-treme .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Total Specialties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . totalspecialties .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC Volvo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . d13tc .volvotrucks .us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 commercial carrier journal | february 2018
63
PREVENTABLE or NOT?
Merger mania messes up Doe’s peaceful morning
A
t 6:30 a.m., fortified by a cup of coffee, John Doe halted his northbound tractor-trailer at a red light within the city limits of Jackson, Miss. The sun was shining, the multi-lane road straight ahead was dry and devoid of traffic, and only the songs of birds could be heard – Wait a minute! – until Doe detected the sounds of increasingly loud country music. Glancing at the lane to his right, Doe witnessed the high-decibel arrival of an elderly and battered Ford pickup truck. Replete with a rear-window gun rack and a good-ol’-boy driver A pickup truck in the soon-towearing a John Deere cap, the end lane to the right of John Doe’s tractor-trailer accelerated pickup also was approaching the to avoid being cut off, but he red traffic signal. A moment later, merged too soon and hit the the light changed to green. Acfront of Doe’s rig. Was this a celerating smoothly, Doe saw that preventable accident? the roadway was soon to become a single lane – his lane, he thought. In turn, the pickup’s driver, aware that the right lane was ending, decided he didn’t want to get stuck behind a slow 18-wheeler. Accordingly, the pickup accelerated heavily, pulled wildly in front of Doe’s tractor and – WHAM!!! – caused $1,000 damage to the tractor’s right front fender and $800 damage to the pickup’s left rear fender. The long arm of the law quickly arrived and cited the pickup’s driver for an unsafe lane change. Shortly thereafter, Doe’s safety director wrote him a warning letter for a preventable accident. The judgment was upheld by the National Safety Council’s Accident Review Committee. NSC ruled that Doe should have expected the pickup would try to get ahead of him and that he should have watched his mirrors in case he needed to yield quickly. 64
commercial carrier journal | february 2018
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