BUSRide Maintenance January 2017

JANUARY.2017

BUSRIDEMAINTENANCE.COM

THE EXCLUSIVE MAINTENANCE RESOURCE FOR THE TRANSIT AND MOTORCOACH INDUSTRY

TIPS FOR HIGHDENSITY STORAGE p4

Products and services P3 | Group 31 AGM batteries P6 | The future of vehicle lifts P7

FROM THE EDITOR IN CHIEF

The future is now – in efficiency, cost-savings and safety

busridemaintenance.com VOL. 07 • NO. 1

This month, BUSRide Maintenance is offering nine crucial tips for high-density storage, focusing on time-savings and efficiency as key factors in parts storage.

Tim Vaughan, director of sales at Stanley Black & Decker’s Lista and Stanley Vidmar businesses, speaks to how maintenance operations can use less space to reduce costs and realize faster turnarounds.

Also in this issue:

Richard Tackett Editor in Chief rtackett@busride.com David Hubbard Associate Publisher dhubbard@busride.com Stephen Gamble Art Director sgamble@busride.com Judi Victor CEO & Publisher Director of Sales jvfly@busride.com

•S am Fielden, vice president of MIT Automobile Inc., details what’s on the horizon for heavy-duty lift technology – what operators can expect in terms of connectivity, safety, certification and more.

Mitch Larson Business Manager mlarson@busride.com

•R eprinted from October 2011: Brad Bisaillon of Trojan Battery Company writes about the usefulness of ultra or sueprcapacitors, while advocating for Group 31 AGM batteries as the best choice for today’s mass transit bus operations.

Blair McCarty Sr. Sales and Marketing Coordinator bmccarty@busride.com

Thank you once again for reading BUSRide Maintenance!

Joyce Guzowski Assistant Editor jguzowski@busride.com

Richard Tackett Editor in Chief BUSRide Maintenance Magazine

Kimberly Giles Sales Associate kgiles@busride.com BUS INDUSTRY SAFETY COUNCIL

CONTENTS JANUARY 2017

ON THE COVER: Nine tips for high-density storage

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Use less space to increase shop efficiency and reduce labor costs

By Tim Vaughan

A publication of:

FEATURES Ease the burden to manage the load Group 31 AGM battery technology handles the challenges of advanced electrical equipment

By Brad Bisaillon

DEPARTMENTS From the Editor in Chief Products and Services

2 3

COLUMNS Focus On: Heavy-Duty Lifts 7

By Sam Fielden 2

BUSRIDE MAINTENANCE | JANUARY . 2017

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BUSRide Maintenance Magazine 4742 North 24th Street, STE 340 Phoenix, Arizona 85016 Phone: (602) 265-7600 Fax: (602) 277-7588 busridemaintenance.com BUSRide Maintenance™ Magazine is published eight times annually by Power Trade Media, a division of The Producers, Inc., 4742 N. 24th Street, Ste. 340, Phoenix, AZ 85016. Subscription rates for non-qualified subscribers, single issue prices and pricing for reprints of 100 or more are available from: info@busride. com. All articles in BUSRide Maintenance™ Magazine are copyrighted and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express written permission of the publisher. Copyright 2016 by Power Trade Media. No advertisement, sponsorship or description or reference to a product or service will be deemed an endorsement by Power Trade Media, and no warranty is made or implied. Information is obtained from sources the editors believe reliable, accurate and timely, but is not guaranteed, and Power Trade Media is not responsible for errors or omissions. Opinions expressed in BUSRide Maintenance™ Magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher or sponsors or advertisers. Content addressing legal, tax and other technical issues is not intended as professional advice and cannot be relied on as such; readers should consult with their own professional advisors.

busridemaintenance.com

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Make oil draining easier

Sealed EAO Series 45 Emergency Stop Switches are safe, intuitive and robust The primary function of Series 45 E-Stops is to provide operational safety to the end user while helping to protect machinery, equipment and control systems from damage in the event of malfunctions.

Series 45 Emergency Stop Switches meet all necessary global specifications of machinery including DIN EN ISO 13850 and EN 60204-1. These units are designed to be “foolproof� and perform reliably over a wide range of switched currents.

They can be customized with plastic or metal actuators in different shapes and sizes (30mm, 40mm or 60mm), feature optional illumination, and can be paired with accessories such as industry recognized legend plates, sealed enclosures, and protective shrouds. Additionally, Series 45 E-Stops are available with key, twist or pull-to-release actions.

EAO Shelton, CT

New dismantling tool for removable plug connectors With the new dismantling tool from PE and HAZET, connectors can be removed easily and quickly.

To use, insert the removable connector into the dismantling tool, tighten using one of the hexagonal socket wrenches (13 mm) usually on hand at the workshop, and the connector can be removed from the line with little effort. The tool has been developed and produced in Germany and is suitable for all common pipe diameters between 6 and 12 mm.

PE Automotive Wuppertal, Germany

The new EZ Oil Drain Valve is now available to fit Caterpillar C-15 ACERT engine with 1-5/16-inch x 12UNF drain plug.

Some C-15 ACERT engines come with a larger drain plug option, and the new drain valve part #EZ-215 fits this over-sized drain plug application.

The EZ Oil Drain Valve is available in over 30 different sizes and fits Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Navistar, Volvo, Ford, Mack, Deutz, Isuzu, Hino, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, John Deere, Perkins, and more.

Simply replace the drain plug with the valve and oil can be easily drained with a touch of a finger. Push up and turn the lever 90 degrees to drain oil. Return the lever to the locked and closed position, securing it from any accidental openings. Perfect for routine oil changes, but also ideal for taking a small sample of oil for oil analysis.

Global Sales Group Redmond, WA

Serpentine design improves belt-wear inspection Gates Corporation, a global, diversified manufacturer of automotive, industrial, and heavy-duty products, introduces its new Belt Wear Gauge tool for serpentine belt inspection.

Designed with input from professional technicians, the small, lightweight tool provides a simple and reliable way to determine belt wear by gauging material loss between belt grooves and providing instant pass/fail results.

The new and improved tool makes it easy for professional technicians to diagnose the proper preventive maintenance for customers. It can be used on any open, straight surface on the belt and can also be used one-handed, on or off the vehicle, and in places that are hard to see. Technicians press the tool into the belt grooves with light pressure and then attempt to rock the gauge in a lateral motion. If the gauge remains tightly seated, the belt has sufficient service life remaining and does not need to be replaced. If the gauge allows lateral rocking movement, it indicates that the belt ribs are worn enough to allow belt slip and that the belt should be replaced.

Gates Corporation Denver, CO busridemaintenance.com | BUSRIDE MAINTENANCE

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Use less space to increase shop efficiency and reduce labor costs.

[Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the April 2013 edition of BUSRide Maintenance.]

By Tim Vaughan

TIPS FOR HIGH-DENSITY STORAGE

Place storage cabinets within easy reach of both the service department and walk-in customers for faster transactions.

H

igh-density storage is a sure way to reduce time, labor and resource costs and improve profitability in parts and service departments. High-density storage uses less space and makes keeping track of inventory easier by situating the highest volume parts for easier, faster access. Replacing existing storage shelves with high-density storage units can reduce a parts department’s footprint by as much as 50 percent, while increasing the number of parts stored.

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BUSRIDE MAINTENANCE | JANUARY . 2017

Here are nine tips to implement and get the most out of a highdensity storage system.

1.

Determine the fastest moving parts. Run a business management system report for the last 12 months that shows parts sales by unit volume. Note the parts that sell fastest in that time and store them as close to the parts counter as possible. busridemaintenance.com

It’s key to organize your parts, and storage by part type is the most efficient method.

2. Place a high-density storage cabinet near the service counter. Stock the cabinet with the 100 to 200 fastest moving parts. Place it within easy reach of both the service department and walk-in customers for faster transactions.

Keeping parts sold most frequently close to the counter also reduces foot traffic and time lost by going to the back room to find a part. Storing parts in high-density drawers allows better inventory control.

3. Duplicate the fastest moving parts. Consider two walkup positions at each checkout point.

4. Organize high-density storage cabinets by type. It’s key to organize your parts, and storage by part type is the most efficient method. With labels affixed to the drawers and bins, anyone can easily locate a part. This lowers retrieval time significantly because 75 to 80 percent of all the fast-moving parts can be stored in this manner at the parts counter. For easier cross referencing, group similar parts from multiple manufacturers.

5. Select shelving for high-density storage. A 5-inch cube or smaller is the optimum size to really take advantage of highdensity storage. Do not store larger, bulkier items in a cabinet.

Shelving is the best option.

6. Use a drawer organization system. After determining which parts are a good fit, organize them using an alphanumeric system, i.e. Cabinet A, Drawer 1, Row A. 7.

Use high-density storage to conduct inventories.

Similar to balancing the cash drawer at the end of each day,

it is important to personally inventory fast moving parts against the business management system at least three times per year. A “rolling inventory” based upon the number of times a part turns each year can reduce the total time for an annual inventory.

8.

Store the correct sized parts in the correct sized drawers. The cabinet vendor takes a physical inventory of the available space and prepares a layout for placement.

This shows the existing storage and how much more can be gained with a new storage system.

A rule of thumb says three to five sections of shelving at about 9-to-15 linear feet can be condensed down to a single eye-level cabinet measuring about 28 inches by 28 inches. Shelving 18 inches deep and 84 inches tall uses no more than 50 percent of its capacity and sometimes as low as 30 percent.

Some shelving or a bulk rack is still necessary for parts that are simply not conducive to storing in drawers, such as items that turn over too fast or are big and bulky. But setting up a counter with the most popular parts stored in counter level cabinets will free up a significant amount of space. Parts sold infrequently can be stored away from high traffic areas.

9.

Use the extra space for something productive. A successfully implemented a high-density storage solution affords the advantage of additional space, which can be transformed into square footage for displays on the selling floor or adding new product lines without requiring additional storage space.

Tim Vaughan serves as director of sales at Stanley Black & Decker’s Lista and Stanley Vidmar businesses.

busridemaintenance.com | BUSRIDE MAINTENANCE

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[Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the October 2011 edition of BUSRide Maintenance.]

EASE THE BURDEN TO MANAGE THE LOAD Group 31 AGM battery technology handles the challenges of advanced electrical equipment

By Brad Bisaillon to manage these additional required power loads. Within the mass transit industry there is a belief that all AGM batteries are the same. However, there are significant differences in the construction and performance characteristics that determine the ideal regulator setting to maintain the health of the battery and gain maximum life. Onboard systems including engine ECM’s, Vansco and I/O Controls prevent the regulator from being adjusted to any higher than 29.0 volts, narrowing the field of which AGM batteries best suit particular applications.

Not all AGM batteries will survive at a charge voltage rate as low as 29.0 volts. Selecting the wrong battery technology could result in dramatically reduced battery life by delivering too high a current at too low a voltage, causing premature failure and unnecessary downtime, which can be costly and detrimental to a mass transit line’s on-schedule record.

Group 31 AGM batteries appear to be the best choice for today’s mass transit bus operations.

As more advanced electric equipment such as fareboxes, fire suppression systems and security cameras become incorporated into buses, and federal mandates require them to function under their own power when the bus is not in operation, the battery system becomes all the more strained, particularly those using 8D and 31 flooded battery technologies, which cannot sustain such a continuous draw of energy.

To ease that burden and better manage these loads, Group 31 AGM batteries appear to be the best choice for today’s mass transit bus operations. Group 31 AGM technology is designed to manage the deep discharge these batteries face and still retain the ability to start the vehicle even after a three-day weekend.

Challenges facing bus operations Sitting idle for extended periods of time, the biggest challenge facing bus operators today is the chronic Monday morning “no start.” When buses sit in the storage yard all weekend while continuing to power fare boxes, fire suppression systems and security cameras, 8D and 31 flooded lead acid batteries are drained to a level that requires a jump start.

These buses won’t be starting on Monday mornings because their traditional 8D and 31 flooded batteries are not able to sustain the long-term drain from these electrical systems.

Trojan Batteries is seeing a shift from the use of 8D and 31 flooded lead acid batteries to Group 31 AGM battery technology 6

BUSRIDE MAINTENANCE | JANUARY . 2017

The usefulness of ultra or supercapacitors Supercapacitors, also known as ultracapacitors, can provide effective power storage to ensure successful engine starting. Energy stored by ultracapacitors enables the energy to be delivered at a high crank rate in a variety of extreme temperatures, providing reliable and consistent starting of the bus. Some bus fleets are adopting supercapacitor technology for cranking applications and then employing AGM battery technology to manage hotel loads. In the long run supercapacitors are more expensive to buy and maintain versus implementing four Group 31 AGM batteries. Research has shown that the addition of supercapacitors really does not save money over the life of the bus.

One such example is the Trojan TransPower™ ST1000, a high performance Group 31 heavy-duty AGM battery that provides cranking power of 1000 CCA, built specifically for heavy duty starting and electrical bus applications.

AGM battery construction as used in the Trojan TransPower ST1000 incorporates a heavy-duty plate design thicker than the conventional battery plate, which allows it to maximize charge retention in order to minimize Monday morning “no starts.”

Engineered with a combination of high-density paste and a thick wire grid design, the heavy-duty plate construction can deliver more than double the battery life of a standard 8D or 31 flooded starting battery, providing reliable cranking power and optimum performance in the most challenging conditions.

Brad Bisaillon serves as director of strategic accounts for Trojan Battery Company, Santa Fe Springs, CA.

busridemaintenance.com

FOCUS ON:

Heavy-Duty Lifts

The future of heavy-duty lifts BUSRide Maintenance recently spoke with Sam Fielden, vice president of MIT Automobile Inc., manufacturer of the MAXIMA brand – lifts specifically designed and engineered for the transit, motorcoach and trucking industries. In this Q&A, we discuss the

What engineering on the classic heavyduty vehicle lift design can operators expect in the future?

There are a lot of changes in heavyduty lift design, specifically with inground lifts and parallelogram lifts. Inground lifts, in particular, are becoming more environmentally-friendly, as they are electric hydraulic and use very little oil.

The industry will also see more information systems built into vehicle lifts that will have, for example, repair data. You’re going to see a lot of lifts in the future connected to the internet. A lift manufacturer could have data available online that a technician could access immediately, just by looking at the side of his lift.

How much of a role will safety considerations play in the development of the “future lift”? Are lifts as safe as they can be?

As you know, most major lift manufacturers are a member of the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI). In fact, really, just last month I voted on a new safety standard that will be coming soon. There are also new considerations, including seismic loads, that have to be considered – but nothing really major.

It all comes down to inspecting lifts annually and making sure lift operators knows what they’re doing. Lift safety education is a role that all lift manufacturers have embraced heavily – in 2017, we expect to see a new lift safety video released by ALI. Operators will be able go online, watch the video and take a knowledge and competency test. This will be a good thing for lift operators, even if they’ve been using lifts for a long time.

As recent innovations on heavy-duty lifts have been realized, how fluid has ALI certification been to accommodate them? How fluid is ALI likely to be in the future?

The safety standards have to do with mechanical and electrical issues – the construction of the lift. The latest standards are a bit more complex than the current standard, in that they enhance reporting and reduce margins of error during inspections, but they speak directly toward making lifting safer for all operators.

ALI always keeps its safety standards current and comprehensive, leading the industry in this regard.

Sam Fielden is vice president of MIT Automobile Inc. Visit them online at www.maximaproducts.com or call 626-774-5700 to reach Sam directly.

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