Commercial Carrier Journal, September 2020

SEPTEMBER 2020

COULD YOU USE A LIFT?

COUNTING THE HOURS

Do your homework before you click ‘buy’

page 46

Fleets, ELD providers adjust to revised rule

IS HYDROGEN HAPPENING?

Abundant element may be future fuel page 41

WEIGH STATION BYPASS UPDATES The latest tech for not having to stop page 30

BUSINESS SOLUTIONS FOR TRUCKING PROFESSIONALS

TIGHTEN UP YOUR BELT MAINTENANCE Know what to look for before they fail page 22

Know how to meet demand when you don’t know the future.

Talk about strategic Sunk costs of trailer ownership can really bring down your bottom line. And in these uncertain times, leasing can provide you the safest way to add incremental capacity to your fleet. At XTRA Lease you have access to trailers with an average OTR age of 4.6 years, fully loaded with value including free trailer tracking, cargo sensors and damage resistant features. When you work with XTRA Lease, your reward is reduced risk. www.xtralease.com

SEPTEMBER 2020 | VOL 177 | NO. 9

COVER STORY

Changing time

Changes to the hours of service rule will bring fleets additional data to manage from ELDs to not only monitor compliance but also assist with load planning, tracking freight and monitoring driver utilization and fatigue.

New technologies are being developed in all these areas to help fleets get up to speed quickly.

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JOURNAL LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

6 News Prime offers $28M to settle drivers’ lawsuit … Top drivers compete for two $25,000

Cover design by Richard Street

FEATURES

41

Cheaper than diesel?

prizes … AIM holds safety event for 1,100 employees … Sod turfgrass an ag commodity – for now …

The momentum from both stalwart players such as Cummins and upstarts such as Nikola to deploy zeroemissions hydrogen fuel cell trucks comes as regulators begin the march toward mandating that a certain percentage of Class 8 trucks sold each year produce no emissions. But not all fuel cell proponents believe the technology is the best Class 8 solution.

46

Need a lift?

When choosing a shop lift, there’s no room for cutting corners. While lift products can be purchased legally without ALI certification, they may not be permitted for use in a shop. The industry association has a list of manufacturers it says have crossed the line when it comes to lift marketing.

33

Pipeline contractors group petitions for hours waiver

8 InBrief

Innovators: Estes Express Lines

The Richmond, Virginia-based less-than-truckload company develops an elevator system for its pup trailers to add more room for packages while remaining within weight limitations.

12 InFocus: Final-mile delivery COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL

| SEPTEMBER 2020 1

DEPARTMENTS

ccjdigital.com

technology

24

Payne Trucking adapts driver training to COVID-19

facebook.com/CCJMagazine @CCJnow linkedin.com/ccjmagazine

Editorial

Editor: Jason Cannon Senior Editor: Aaron Huff Associate Editor: Tom Quimby Managing Editor: Dean Smallwood News Editor: Matt Cole Contributing Editors: Todd Dills, James Jaillet

16 17 18 18

editorial@ccjdigital.com

Early adopters of crash mitigation tech see accidents, downtime decline

25

Paccar steps up fuel-cell, electric truck production

26

Nikola breaks ground on Arizona truck plant

26 InBrief 28 FourKites releases Dynamic Yard

Stertil-Koni compressed air system attaches to lifts

SmartDrive sensors detect unsafe speed, ‘sitting ducks’ Orbcomm develops platform for global asset visibility

offering

28

18 InBrief 20 Penske helps EnerSys deploy

Samsara offers device health monitoring

eM2

20

Autocar adding safety features to severe-duty cab

22 InFocus:

Belt maintenance

30 InFocus:

Design & Production

Art Director: Richard Street Quality Assurance: Timothy Smith Advertising Production Manager: Leah Boyd production@ccjdigital.com

Corporate

Chairman Emeritus: Mike Reilly President/CEO: Brent Reilly Executive Vice President and General Manager, Equipment: Prescott Shibles Senior Vice President and General Manager, Recruiting: Scott Miller Executive Vice President, Internal Consulting Services: Nick Reid Senior Vice President, Audience: Linda Longton Senior Vice President, Acquisitions and Business Development: Robert Lake Senior Vice President, Marketing: Julie Arsenault

A 3200 Rice Mine Road N.E. Tuscaloosa, AL 35406 800-633-5953 randallreilly.com

Publication

Weigh station bypass

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

4

Upfront Editor Jason Cannon’s column

56 Preventable or Not? Refrigerated straight truck driver John Doe was turning left on a busy four-lane road into a mall with a tight entrance, but after he darted through oncoming traffic, he hit a departing pickup truck. Was this a preventable accident?

50 Products Trailers, tires, lights, more 2

COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL

55 Ad Index | SEPTEMBER 2020

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UPFRONT

The time for FET on trucks has come and gone

BY JASON CANNON

“… in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” – Benjamin Franklin

F

ounding Father Franklin likely was most concerned with taxes on tea, kites and bifocals, and probably never could have imagined how taxes on certain goods would spiral once we’d pushed His Majesty’s Army back across the Atlantic.

Mr. Franklin certainly did not imagine a tax that would be levied exclusively on heavy trucks.

If a fleet in Findlay, Ohio, bought 10 Peterbilt Model 579s for about $1,375,000 from Ohio Peterbilt, it would pour in an additional $165,000 in Federal Excise Taxes (FET). The FET on heavy trucks has grown from 3% to 12% since it was instituted in 1917 to help fund World War I. About 40,000 people live in Findlay, just south of Toledo, but all the cash from that trucking company’s FET is going to get dumped into the Highway Trust Fund, a fund already supported by the transportation sector every time it pulls up to the fuel island and into the tire shop. Revenue from the federal taxes on gasoline ($25.8 billion) and diesel fuel ($10.5 billion) accounts for 84% of the trust fund revenues.

One Class 8 truck kicks money into the Highway Trust fund once through the FET, annually through a use tax and perpetually through taxes on fuel and tires.

That Ohio fleet may never even drive on the roads their truck purchase helps finance, and without the FET, our fictitious Findlay trucking company could have purchased an 11th

truck and had almost $30,000 to spare to support it. A recent survey conducted by the American Truck Associations (ATA) revealed that nearly 60% of fleets were somewhat or very likely to buy additional trucks and/or trailers beyond their scheduled buy if the FET were eliminated.

Trucking already funds the account disproportionately compared to its fourwheeling cousins. There’s not an FET on new passenger vehicles, and there’s no excise tax on car and light truck tires as long as their carrying capacity is 3,500 pounds or less.

There are about 275 million vehicles on the road sharing in the $25.8 billion tax on gasoline: about $94 per passenger vehicle (and truckers drive those, too).

Just more than 3.5 million trucks share in the $10.5 billion in diesel taxes: about $3,500 per truck.

The goal of the Highway Trust Fund is noble: to spread funds around and ensure that everyone has adequate roads to drive on. If all these dollars stayed home, the highways in Texas and California would be paved with diamonds, while roads in rural Montana still would have wagon ruts left in them from the 1800s.

It’s a nice idea, but times have changed, and the current load and rate volatility doesn’t inspire the kind of confidence trucking companies need to reinvest in equipment knowing they’re staring down the barrel of a 12% add-on fee right off the top.

The government consistently mounts pushes for the trucking industry to reduce its carbon footprint and cut its number of accidents, but the FET actually de-incentivizes it.

Trucking stood tall in its COVID-19 response when business conditions for anyone not hauling consumer goods were just as bad or worse as they were for any store not selling toilet paper and hand sanitizer. It’s time Washington stood behind all those “thank you” Facebook posts and gave trucking companies a break.

A group of industry stakeholders (ATA, National Association of Truckstop Operators, American Truck Dealers and many others) have mounted an honorable push to have the FET suspended through next year, which would help ignite new truck orders that are well off-pace from pre-pandemic expectations. They’ve gotten some traction with D.C. legislators, but we’ve been to this point before. Prior pushes calling for the FET’s outright repeal received support but never enough to push it through.

The effort to suspend it looked promising, but the first draft of the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools (HEALS) Act – a $1 trillion economic stimulus bill – includes provisions for the extension of unemployment benefits, liability reform and small business relief, but it doesn’t include the FET suspension, and the entire package currently is caught in a pre-presidential-election tug-of-war.

If lawmakers want to get cleaner-burning, more fuel-efficient and safer diesel trucks on the highway, throw small business owners (like the majority of most trucking companies) a bone. Charging them extra to better themselves (along with the air quality and the highway) is foolish, and Ben Franklin had some famous quotes about fools, too.

JASON CANNON is Editor of Commercial Carrier Journal. E-mail jasoncannon@randallreilly.com.

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LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

Prime offers $28M to settle drivers’ lawsuit

T

o put to rest a class-action lawsuit, truckload giant Prime Inc. (CCJ Top 250, No. 14) has proposed a sweeping settlement that would pay as much as $28 million to as many as 26,000 former and current drivers and independent contractors. The Springfield, Missouri-based company operates 9,000 trucks.

A motion asking the court to grant the settlement proposal was filed July 20 in federal district court in Massachusetts, coming just shy of a year and a half after Prime lost a bid to have the lawsuit tossed by the U.S. Supreme Court over a procedural issue.

Prime claimed that because it included arbitration clauses in its agreements with independent contractors, any employment disputes should be handled by third-party arbiters. The Supreme Court disagreed in February 2019, ruling that transportation workers

A former Prime Inc. driver claimed he and others were misclassified as independent contractors and should have been classified as employee drivers.

such as truck drivers are exempt from arbitration clauses, thus throwing the original lawsuit against Prime back to the lower courts to decide.

The settlement combines two classaction cases, Oliveira v. New Prime and Haworth v. Prime, both of which claimed the fleet violated federal and Missouri wage and hour laws. Dominic Oliveira claimed he and others were misclassified as independent contractors and should have been classified

as employee drivers — and thus were denied certain wages and benefits owed by law.

The settlement agreement covers all drivers, prospective drivers and independent contractors who worked at Prime between October 2012 and May 2020.

At least $14 million will be set aside to be distributed in full, with another $14 million available, depending on how many Prime drivers join the class-action – James Jaillet settlement.

Top drivers compete for two $25,000 prizes

T

he Truckload Carriers Association’s Driver of the Year Contest will award $25,000 to both the 2020 Owner-Operator of the Year and the 2020 Company Driver of the Year.

Two finalists in each category will win $2,500 each.

The six finalists will attend TCA’s annual meeting, Truckload 2021: Nashville, Jan. 23-26, where the winners will be announced.

The program is sponsored by Love’s and Cummins. The Owner-Operator of the Year contest is produced by TCA and Scan the QR code with your smartphone or visit ccjdigital.com/news/subscribe-tonewsletters to sign up for the CCJ Daily Report, a daily e-mail newsletter filled with news, analysis, blogs and market condition articles.

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Overdrive. TCA and Truckers News produce the Company Driver of the Year contest.

The competition is intended to recognize drivers with strong safety records who’ve also improved the image of trucking and served their communities. The owner-operator award also recognizes best business practices. Eligibility includes fleet operators who own no more than five power units and drive one of them full time.

For more information, visit the “Outreach” tab of truckload. org/doy.

– CCJ Staff

JOURNAL NEWS

AIM holds safety event for 1,100 employees

I

n late July, AIM Transportation Solutions (CCJ Top 250, No. 152) completed a Safety Week that involved all 1,100 of its employees. The Girard, Ohio-based company plans to continue the tradition next year and beyond.

AIM operates a full-service equipment leasing business, AIM NationaLease, with more than 12,000 power units leased to fleet customers.

Another business, AIM Integrated Logistics, operates dedicated fleets for shipper customers.

The Safety Week began with a directive from the top. Scott Fleming, co-president, got the idea from the Marines, where he served in Iraq as a platoon sergeant. He once participated in a weeklong training event during a stand-down period where he shared daily safety messages, one-on-one, with members of the platoon.

Ron Bourque, vice president of safety, was put in charge of organizing AIM’s Safety Week. He put together daily talking points for managers to train employees. Each day of training covered a different core value of AIM’s safety department: trust, accountability, commitment and integrity.

This was not the first time that company leadership talked about the core safety values, but it was the first actual training done about them.

Bourque compares the four values to the legs of a table, where “you can’t support a culture without all four.”

You cannot build trust or expect it to be given without having integrity, said Bourque, who also compares the safety values to bank deposits and withdrawals.

“All are an investment in our culture, but every time someone makes a decision against the values, it is a withdrawal,” Bourque said. “We don’t own this account. You don’t have a right to make a withdrawal.”

AIM Transportation Solutions’ business divisions include equipment leasing and dedicated contract logistics.

He instructed department managers to adapt the talking points to their respective areas. Dispatchers adapted the training about integrity to drivers, and service managers adapted the training for safety concepts to mechanics.

A service manager could explain integrity using a torque wrench to fasten lug nuts as an example. An impact wrench may torque a lug nut to 99.99% accuracy, but a mechanic who uses a torque wrench wants to ensure the work is done correctly even if nobody is watching.

The managers conducted the training with all employees who report to them individually via 10- to 15-minute conversations each day.

Getting all employees involved was a big undertaking for AIM with its 54 equipment service centers and more than 400 drivers spread out over the country. Managers handled their own meeting logistics. Dispatchers conducted one-on-one training calls with drivers by phone when they gave daily load assignments.

Bourque said he could have written individual talking points for the shop, office, drivers and other departments, but he wanted to “harness the power of our brains in the field. I wanted it to be from the heart.”

“We put a lot of trust in our people to make up their own training,” he said. “We trusted them to use their heads, their own talents and experiences to relate to their employees.”

After the training was complete, AIM collected signatures to use on banners that will be printed and hung in shops and other locations to remind employees of the commitments they made during Safety Week 2020.

Bourque hopes the banners will help the conversations continue.

“We are really working hard on building the vocabulary and ideas into our daily language to further the culture,” he said.

Bourque said above all else, he hopes the training exercises showed managers and employees that the company trusts them.

“Trust is the foundation to make all of these things work,” he said. Without trust, a slogan such as “if you see something, say something” is nothing more than a slogan. Drivers and mechanics cannot be expected to report unsafe behaviors to managers unless they trust that managers have a commitment to safety and the integrity to follow through.

“The worst thing we can do is not follow up and start violating trust,” Bourque said.

– Aaron Huff

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| september 2020 7

SPONSORED INFORMATION

COVID AND WORKERS COMP

A

s a lawyer, I get asked a lot of questions. Some of those questions are straight forward and easy to answer. Other questions are not so easily answered — and any good lawyer will tell you that the answer to those questions begins with two words: “It depends.”

This month’s article will tackle one of the most pressing questions I’ve been asked recently.

Q: Is COVID-19 covered as a workplace injury?

A: It depends.

In order to truly answer the question, you need to know the law of every state. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, more than a dozen states have made some modifications to their workers’ compensation laws so that frontline workers (nurses, doctors, etc.) would be presumed to have contracted the virus as work. These include Michigan, Illinois and Utah among others.

The word “presumed” as used has huge implications.

Specifically, it shifts the burden of proof from the claimant to the employer. Now the employer must prove that the claimant did not contract the virus at work. This is a big deal.

Of course, simply because some states have added this presumption does not mean it always works the same way.

There can be huge differences between states. Some states have only extended the presumption to hospital or emergency room workers. Others have included all workers who are required to interact with the public. Would a truck driver fall in this category? I am not sure.

Some states, like New York, have not made any changes to their laws. Accordingly, the workers will need to show that they contracted the virus on the job. With a virus as contagious as COVID-19 that is a significant challenge. How do you show you were infected while on the job rather than at other places such as grocery stores or indoor events and dining.

Even in states where the law has not been modified to create a presumption for workers, a few insurers are accepting claims. Of course, this will likely not last forever as the long-term medical effects of COVID-19 and the costs of treating such claims are still unknown. Insurers are reluctant to grant these claims as they do not want to be on the hook for additional, long-term medical treatments.

Will long-term care require annual check-ups? Booster vaccines? The answer is unclear, and carriers are reluctant to grant such claims without knowing the endgame.

There is no bright line answer about whether or not COVID-19 is covered under workers’ comp laws as a workplace injury. The virus is too new and the law is too fluid.

In fact, I suspect that between the time I write this article and publication additional states will propose changes that will either create a presumption in favor of the claimant or expressly deny such presumption in favor of the employer.

We are living in strange times, and just as our daily lives have been changed by the pandemic, how we deal with similar viruses in the future will change. And, eventually, the laws will change to address the current pandemic and future ones.

If you want to know how future laws will change the answer is easy: It depends.

JOURNAL NEWS

INBRIEF 9/20 • Jim Mullen, who’d led the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in an interim role since October 2019, left the agency at the end of August. Wiley Deck, senior policy adviser to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and former director of government affairs for FMCSA, now is the agency’s deputy administrator until a new full-time administrator is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

• The American Trucking Associations moved its annual Management Conference & Exhibition to an online format. ATA had been planning for MCE to be held in Denver, but local COVID-19 restrictions will prohibit an in-person meeting. The now-virtual Oct. 24-27 event, “Moving Forward from Crisis to Recovery,” will focus on what fleets and others in trucking need to do to continue delivering during the pandemic. Go to mce.trucking.org.

• A group of more than 60 trade associations from various industries in late July sent a letter to members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation opposing language in the Senate’s highway funding bill that would increase the minimum liability coverage for trucking companies. The House highway bill included a provision to increase carriers’ minimum liability to $2 million.

• The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association last month urged lawmakers to suspend the Heavy Vehicle Use Tax, most commonly $550 annually for a Class 8 over-the-road truck, for one year to provide truckers tax relief during COVID-19. “While some trucking operations have been able to qualify for pandemic assistance, many others have not been able to for one reason or another,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA president and CEO. • The Transportation Security Administration extended a waiver from renewal of the Hazardous Materials Endorsement Security Threat Assessment for certain individuals. TSA first published the waiver on April 8 that allows states to extend hazmat endorsement expiration dates for those that expired on or after March 1. The waiver was set to expire July 31, and it now will remain effective through at least Oct. 29. The agency said state driver’s license agencies continue facing challenges due to COVID-19.

• J.B. Hunt Transport (CCJ Top 250, No. 3) completed its first delivery using a Freightliner eCascadia all-electric Class 8 truck. The 120-mile intermodal haul for Walmart kicked off a three-month testing phase in which the Lowell, Arkansas-based fleet is integrating the eCascadia into its day-to-day Los Angeles-based operations.

• Birmingham, Alabama-based PS Logistics completed its acquisition of substantially all assets of Malvern, Arkansas-based Diamond State Trucking.

PS said the acquisition, its 18th since 2012, further strengthens its Southeast operations and provides it with an additional terminal in Malvern.

• Two Idaho-based trucking companies, Ultimate Logistics and Ultimate Innovations, were acquired by Next10, doing business as Ultimate Holdings Corp. The two companies had a combined gross revenue of more than $17.5 million for 2019, said UHC, which also acquired about 80 tractors and 85 refrigerated trailers from the two companies.

• Pilot Company announced that Jimmy Haslam will transition out of his role as chief executive officer and become chairman Jan. 1, 2021. Haslam’s successor as CEO will be Shameek Konar, currently serving as chief strategy officer. Pilot President Ken Parent will become senior adviser to Haslam and Konar. Pilot founder James Haslam will become chairman emeritus.

• Peterbilt’s manufacturing plant in Denton, Texas, is celebrating its 40th year of operation. The plant opened in August 1980 as a 435,000-squarefoot facility with 81 employees on 80 acres of land. Today it sits on 238 acres, employs over 2,500 people and has over 700,000 square feet of space.

Peterbilt has built over 629,000 trucks at the Denton plant.

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JOURNAL NEWS

Sod turfgrass an ag commodity – for now

T

he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said last month that it now interprets sod turfgrass as an agricultural commodity, thus allowing sod haulers to operate under the same hours of service waivers as other agriculture haulers.

The agency, in response to a June 2019 hours waiver request from Turfgrass Producers International, said in a Federal Register notice published Aug. 5 that, based on definitions from Congress and government agencies, sod turfgrass already is considered an agricultural commodity.

FMCSA in its notice also acknowledged its ongoing July 2019 advance notice of proposed rulemaking that seeks to further clarify what freight is considered an agricultural commodity and to what extent haulers of those commodities should receive exemptions from federal hours of service regulations.

“The agency’s decision today to interpret agricultural commodity as already including sod grass for purposes of resolving TPI’s exemption request is thus interim in nature and does not foreclose a revised or even contrary conclusion

GET MORE

FMCSA said that, based on definitions from Congress and government agencies, sod turfgrass already is considered an agricultural commodity.

as a result of the related rulemaking,” FMCSA said in the Aug. – CCJ Staff 5 notice regarding sod.

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prepass.com/CCJ 877.867.6704

JOURNAL NEWS

Pipeline contractors group petitions for hours waiver

T

he Pipe Line Contractors Association (PLCA) is petitioning the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for a waiver from three hours of service provisions for drivers of various commercial vehicles employed by the group’s member contractors.

The group asks that its members be exempt from the requirement of the short-haul exemption that drivers return to the work-reporting PLCA says pipeline construction companies typically are skilled tradesmen, with location from which they started the day; the driving being ancillary to their primary roles. requirement that drivers use electronic logs if they must complete a record of duty status for more than eight days in any 30-day period; and the prohibiproject-by-project basis and that these workers are skilled tion on driving after having been on duty for 70 hours in eight tradesmen, with driving being ancillary to their primary roles consecutive days. as construction workers. PLCA says the drivers rarely, if ever, PLCA also requested that drivers of trucks used exclusively use their full 11 hours of available daily driving time and in the construction and servicing of pipelines be allowed the usually only drive on public roads at the start and end of each same hours waivers currently available to oilfield operations. workday.

The group says it is requesting the waivers because pipeTo make and view comments, go to Regulations.gov and – CCJ Staff line construction companies typically hire workers on a search Docket No. FMCSA-2020-0157.

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JOURNAL NEWS

in focus: FINAL-MILE DELIVERY

State lockdown orders cause carriers to ring more doorbells, bump fewer docks

BY JASON CANNON

L

ong-haul freight and commercial business-to-business (B2B) volumes dropped last spring as retailers closed physical locations to combat the spread of COVID-19, but business-to-consumer (B2C) volume and residential deliveries soared on the strength of homebound shoppers locked in by local and state government.

Prior to the pandemic, about 8% of truck trips were considered “local” at less than 100 miles, according to a survey conducted last spring by the American Transportation Research Institute. That more than doubled during CCJ Engineered Solutions 2020 Ad.pdf

the pandemic, while trips over 500 miles fell by 13.4%.

Reaching into the final-mile space has allowed some measure of diversification for less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers looking to capture more B2C business.

Southeastern Freight Lines (CCJ Top 250, No. 31) has been “strategically building our final-mile service over time,” said Mike Heaton, the company’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. Earlier this year, the Lexington, South Carolina-based LTL carrier placed its 400th final-mile truck into its fleet.

“These additions, coupled with an increase in demand, have resulted in a 1 7/28/20 9:29 AM

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70% increase in daily residential deliveries since last June,” Heaton said. “Our company is now better equipped to efficiently make residential deliveries as well as other business deliveries, such as freestanding retail stores or strip malls with limited access.”

Richmond, Virginia-based Estes Express Lines (No. 12) already was enjoying a year-over-year lift in its final-mile volume, and nationwide shelter-in-place orders proved to be an accelerant.

“We initially saw a slight downturn in March, which was quickly offset by a double-digit spike in volume in April that continued to accelerate throughout

JOURNAL NEWS July, particularly in the residential delivery segment,” said Pam Whisenant, director of marketing and corporate strategy for Estes. “As a percentage of our overall business, the final-mile segment’s percentage of our portfolio has nearly doubled since the first of the year.”

From April to June, the U.S. e-commerce market jumped almost 35%, causing UPS Ground’s residential volume to surge 63.8%.

Brie Carere, executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer for FedEx (No. 2), said the pandemic has accelerated e-commerce adoption, and while detrimentally affecting many carriers’ B2B segment, it has given rise to their B2C business.

“Several years of retail share gains have been compressed into a few months in the United States,” Carere said, “with e-commerce as a percentage of U.S. retail increasing from 16%

Earlier this year, Lexington, South Carolina-based less-than-truckload carrier Southeastern Freight Lines placed its 400th final-mile truck into its fleet.

in calendar year 2019 to 27% in April 2020.”

Stay-at-home restrictions mandated at the end of March and into April drove double-digit growth of B2C deliveries, said Kate Gutmann, chief sales and

solutions officer for UPS (No. 1).

Carere said FedEx’s U.S. domestic residential volume surged to 72% – up from 56% a year ago – for the quarter ending in May, and commercial segments began to reignite as states started opening back up.

“Since the end of April … we have seen week-over-week growth in our business-to-business segment,” she said.

UPS’ average daily volume during the pandemic increased 22.8%, reaching 21.1 million packages per day through April, May and June, and demand for residential delivery ballooned, driving B2C shipment growth up 65.2%. Volume approached peak-like levels, while recovery-bolstered months May and June were significantly above April, said Brian Newman, chief financial officer for UPS. “Without exception, all industry sectors grew their residential volume,” Newman said. “(B2C) volume jumped

Congratulations to C.H. Robinson’s 2020 Carrier of the Year Winners!

American Veterans Logistics, LLC

J&R Schugel Trucking, Inc.

BETT-A-WAY Beverage Distributors, Inc.

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.

Dayton Freight Lines, Inc.

Omar Carmona Pantoja Trucking

Dinkel Carrier Group, LLC

Reyhana Transport, Inc.

Dun-It Freight

State Express, Inc.

Gillson Trucking, Inc.

Toroco Trucking, LLC

Global Transport Ohio, LLC

Unbroken, LLC

Thank you carriers for always going the extra mile when hauling for C.H. Robinson. www.chrobinson.com/carriers © 2020 C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. All rights reserved.

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| september 2020 13

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JOURNAL NEWS 65.2% year-over-year, which is 5.8 million additional pieces per day, and B2C represented 69% of total volume.”

Before the pandemic, FedEx had strategic plans to grow in the B2C sector after severing its relationship with Amazon last year. Early this year, the company expanded its FedEx Ground operations to seven days a week, invested in technology that dynamically optimizes last-mile deliveries, implemented overthe-threshold deliveries via FedEx Freight Direct and integrated FedEx SmartPost volumes to increase delivery density.

All these moves paid off faster than the company originally planned, as a tidal wave of consumers suddenly turned to the Internet for basic needs, said Raj Subramaniam, president and chief operating officer for FedEx. “What we expected to happen over a few years happened in a matter of a few months,” Subramaniam said.

“Over my 46-year career with UPS,” added David Abney, the company’s chairman, “I have never seen the level of demand variability in the markets we serve and among our customers that we are now experiencing.”

Carere said there’s been an uptick in the categories that consumers are willing to purchase online, such as larger, heavier and more expensive items.

“We saw this trend obviously pre-COVID, but it has accelerated when you think about things like furniture, large packages and high-value electronics,” she said.

Whisenant said Estes also has “seen a dramatic increase in consumers’ need for bulky item deliveries to the home.”

FedEx Freight provides support for FedEx Ground’s linehaul operation, as well as over-the-road and intermodal, but about three months ago, the division delivered its first Ground shipment to a customer, said John Smith, president and CEO for FedEx Freight.

“We’ve grown that very rapidly” via FedEx Freight Direct, which delivers bulky items such as furniture, TVs and exercise equipment, Smith said. “What that has allowed us to do is to have the right equipment to help our Ground partners and on the Home Delivery side.”

Also, there’s been a shift in who is clicking “Buy,” as Baby Boomers finally are embracing online retail.

“From an e-commerce perspective, I do not anticipate that these buying behaviors will revert back post-COVID,” Carere said.

“Our belief is that some, not all, of the new final-mile business will stick around post-COVID,” said Webb Estes, vice president of process improvement for Estes. “Consumers are getting more used to online purchases, and maybe even more importantly, companies are finding creative ways to add online to their sales channel. We’re seeing companies investing more in their final-mile warehouses, website and strategy, and those investments will continue to be used long past COVID.”

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PRODUCT REVIEWS, OEM & SUPPLIER NEWS AND EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT TRENDS

Crash mitigation tech talk Early adopters see accidents, downtime decline

O

perating large trucks safely and reducing serious crashes have never been more difficult, as trucks are surrounded by smartphone-distracted motorists who are driving more and increasing congestion, which raises the frequency of collisions.

But as much as technology can be the cause of the problem, it also can offer potential solutions for commercial vehicle operators to combat increased driving risks through platforms such as automatic emergency braking (AEB) and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

Speaking as part of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Truck Safety Summit on Aug. 5, Greer Woodruff – senior vice president of safety, security and driver personnel transport for J.B. Hunt (CCJ Top 250, No. 3) – and other panelists discussed the benefits of AEB and ADAS. AEB includes forward collision warning (FCW) technology that helps prevent and mitigate front-to-rear crashes. The technology will be standard in most passenger cars by late 2022, but

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commercial carrier journal

ADAS includes AEB and technologies such as adaptive cruise, intelligent headlights, lane-keeping assist, blind spot detection, automatic wipers and more.

its filtration into trucking to-date has been voluntary.

ADAS includes AEB and technologies such as adaptive cruise, intelligent headlights, lane-keeping assist, blind spot detection, automatic wipers and more.

Woodruff said as a starting point that he would like to see all heavy-duty truck manufacturers voluntarily make AEB standard on all new vehicles. He also touted the safety benefits that J.B. Hunt has seen by using ADAS to help drivers across all experience levels stay safe, noting that anyone is susceptible to lapses in judgment depending on the conditions.

The Lowell, Arkansas-based company has AEB and FCW installed in

| september 2020

98% of its tractors and attributes a 50% reduction in rear-end collisions to the technology, along with reductions in accident severity, equipment downtime and driver turnover.

Between 45% and 50% of new heavyduty vehicles sold today are equipped with AEB spec’d by fleets, with many of them going to the largest carriers that already have seen the benefits of reduced at-fault rear-end accidents.

Camera- and radar-based collision mitigation platforms detect slowermoving or stopped vehicles ahead and monitor traffic around the truck, but those rely on AEB to slow down the rig when the system determines a crash is imminent.

Schneider National (No. 7) began spec’ing active safety systems eight years ago on new tractor orders, as they are not available on the aftermarket and have to be spec’d with the OEM. Within the first three years, the Green Bay, Wisconsin-based fleet saw a 68% reduction in rear-end accident frequency and a 95% reduction in severity.

“If it’s not eliminating the crash, it is mitigating the impact of it,” said Thomas DiSalvi, vice president of safety, driver training and compliance for Schneider.

However, carriers still rely on qualified well-trained drivers behind the wheel, using technology only to enhance their abilities.

“The number-one safety feature in that truck is the guy behind the wheel,” said Steve Fields, a driver for Overland Park, Kansas-based YRC Worldwide (No. 5) and an America’s Road Team Captain.

Jamie Maus, vice president of safety and compliance for Werner (No. 11), said AEB has cut the Omaha, Nebraskabased carrier’s accident frequency by over half and reduced severity greatly.

“What once was a fatal accident is now an injury accident,” she said. “An injury accident is now a property damage accident, and property damage accidents have become nonexistent.”

Maverick USA (No. 79) first deployed active driver assist technologies in 2004 with early collision warning systems, also seeing a roughly three-year window of effectiveness at the onset via the Little Rock, Arkansas-based fleet’s trade cycle. Dean Newell, vice president of safety and training for Maverick, said that as the carrier added more layers such as AEB to the technology suite, the company has had only six rear-end accidents in the last 31 months: three in 2018, three in 2019 and none this year to-date.

“In my mind, it works,” Newell said, adding the system is now standard fleetwide. “With the [return on investment], you don’t know what you’ve prevented, but once you look at the data, it becomes clear.”

Regulators last weighed in on truck safety platforms when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration mandated stability control in 2017, but early adopters of AEB urged FMCSA to explore the benefit of more widespread adoption. “[It’s going to take] the OEMs working together to make this a standard instead of just an option,” Newell said. “I think a push from FMCSA on that side would be a benefit. Data shows that it works. In reality, it’s the right thing to do.”

Ritchie Huang, Daimler Trucks’ executive manager of advanced safety systems and autonomous driving, said the OEM believes that AEB and ADAS could address 69% of all crashes.

– Jason Cannon

Paccar steps up fuel-cell, electric truck production

P

accar’s zero-emissions trucks continue to go to work, with at least 20 new trucks heading to California ports and two bound for Alaska.

The Peterbilt 520EV Paccar announced that Kenrefuse truck in Anchorage, worth is delivering 10 hydrogen Alaska, will be paired with fuel-cell T680 trucks to several a Labrie refuse body. customers for field testing in the Port of Los Angeles, while 10 battery-electric Peterbilt drayage trucks will be heading to the Port of Oakland early next year to Shippers Transport Express.

While California typically has played host to the nascent zero-emissions truck segment, Alaska also is joining the growing push towards zero-emissions commercial vehicles.

The City of Anchorage made EV history by purchasing the state’s first commercial electric trash truck. Plans are in place for the city’s Solid Waste Services department to receive a Peterbilt 520EV refuse truck along with a Peterbilt 220EV box truck next year.

The purchases were made possible through a $698,659 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. Anchorage SWS contributed $600,000 toward the purchase of the trucks, while the Alaska Energy Authority chipped in $25,000 for the charger.

Anchorage SWS will be using a charger from Canada-based eCamion that incorporates a large battery.

“The addition of a battery allows for a steady charge at a lower voltage, which will reduce demand rates from electric utilities,” a city spokesperson said. “This system will save the municipality money while still providing fast charging to electric trucks.”

Peterbilt said it has developed three application-specific battery-electric truck models and that many of these vehicles are accumulating test miles with customers.

“Peterbilt Model 579EV trucks are deployed in port and regional-haul applications,” said Jason Skoog, Paccar vice president and Peterbilt general manager. “Peterbilt Model 220EV trucks are being utilized in medium-duty pickup-and-delivery applications, and Peterbilt Model 520EVs are collecting and hauling refuse.”

On the fuel-cell front, Kenworth has integrated Toyota fuel-cell technology with the T680, and Shell has provided hydrogen fuel and infrastructure. The trucks are being produced at the Kenworth truck factory in Renton, Washington, and the Paccar Technical Centers are providing performance testing.

– Tom Quimby commercial carrier journal

| september 2020 17

INBRIEF • Tesla is building its Cybertruck Gigafactory outside Austin, Texas, where the company will manufacture its zero-emissions electric Semi and its first electric pickup, along with its Model Y and Model 3 consumer models for the East Coast. In April, Tesla said it would shift its first Semi deliveries to 2021, the second time the initial rollout had been delayed since the model was unveiled in 2017. The Austin facility will be Tesla’s fourth Gigafactory overall.

• International RH Series regional tractors now can be equipped with Allison’s 3414 Regional Haul Series transmission, an uprate variant of Allison’s 3000 Series. The 3414 offers up to 410 hp and 1,450 lb.-ft. of torque and fuel economy improvements of up to 8% with Allison’s xFE technology and FuelSense 2.0 with DynActive Shifting.

• Kenworth TruckTech+ Remote Diagnostics now offers an additional subscription coverage option for new medium-duty models equipped with Paccar PX-7 and PX-9 engines. Customers can order an extended option to cover from six months up to 36 months after their complementary two-year subscription concludes.

• Mack Trucks has begun full production of its MD Series medium-duty trucks at its Roanoke Valley Operations facility in Virginia. The MD Series includes the MD7, a Class 7 model with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 33,000 pounds, and the MD6, a Class 6 truck with a GVWR of 25,995 pounds.

• Peterbilt added the Fontaine product line to its data book, allowing Peterbilt customers to spec their tractors with Fontaine No-Slack fifth wheels equipped with a trigger-activated self-adjusting locking mechanism to help prevent high-hitching and accommodate for variation in the kingpin during connection.

• Core-Mark, a food and beverage hauler, partnered with Penske Truck Leasing to deploy a battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia. The Class 8 truck will be domiciled at Penske’s facility in Ontario, California, and will be used to haul between 13,000 and 18,000 pounds of food and beverages to convenience stores on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

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commercial carrier journal

Nikola breaks ground on Arizona truck plant

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ikola Corp. in late July held a groundbreaking ceremony in Coolidge, Arizona, for its 1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility, where it will build its zero-emissions tractors. The selection of the 430-acre parcel The $600 million facility initially will was the culmination of an 18-month site search produce the Nikola Tre and Nikola Two, and at full production, it will around the United States. reach about 35,000 units annually.

“We started in our basement six years ago,” said Trevor Milton, founder and executive chairman for Nikola Corp. “These next 12 months will be even more exciting as we see this facility go up and as we add more Arizonans to the Nikola team.”

The first phase of construction is scheduled for completion in late 2021, with the second phase projected to be complete within the following 12 to 18 months. The $600 million facility initially will produce the Nikola Tre and Nikola Two battery-electric tractors, and at full production, the facility will reach about 35,000 units annually, running two shifts. The first Nikola Tre trucks are being produced in Ulm, Germany, with partner Iveco.

The facility will incorporate the latest technology to increase connectivity 24/7 throughout the building and equipment to optimize overall energy, productivity and quality.

“The reason our company exists is in support of a sustainable future, so everything we do in our manufacturing process and our building site will be done to ensure the smallest environmental footprint possible while making the highest-quality high-tech products that will impact the sustainability of the planet,” said Mark Duchesne, global – CCJ Staff head of manufacturing for Nikola.

Stertil-Koni compressed air system attaches to lifts

S

tertil-Koni’s Compressed Air-in-Platform Kit is designed for vehicle maintenance technicians using the company’s 4-Post and Skylift platform lifts to boost productivity while working on commercial vehicles.

The compressed air piping system can be attached Stertil-Koni’s Compressed directly to the lifting platform, allowing technicians to Air-in-Platform Kit can run pneumatic tools such as wrenches and impact drivbe attached to the lifting ers while servicing a vehicle. Because the piping and air platform, eliminating tripping hazards from hoses are attached directly to the vehicle lift, tripping airpower cables on the hazards from airpower cables strung across the shop shop floor. floor are eliminated.

The kit comes with an eight-foot air pipe, hardware and one outlet to help simplify installation, providing about 20 feet of reach. Kits may be combined for a longer reach.

“Efficiency and safety are key for the busy tech on the shop floor,” said Peter Bowers, technical sales manager for Stertil-Koni. “The Stertil-Koni Compressed Air-in-Platform System boosts performance by allowing technicians to connect their pneumatic tools where they need them most, directly underneath the vehicle they are servicing.”

– CCJ Staff

| september 2020

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INBRIEF

Penske helps EnerSys deploy eM2

• Freightliner announced that its Innovation Fleet had accumulated more than 300,000 miles in real-world use by customers. The 30-vehicle fleet of battery-electric mediumand heavy-duty trucks is being tested for integrating the technology into large-scale commercial transportation operations.

• Freightliner updated its Smart Source app that provides drivers with up-to-date product news, training videos and support information.

Updates include a new design, personalized notification options and enhanced product support features to expand on the app’s versatility and help drivers find the information they need more quickly.

• Workhorse began rolling out its C-1000 all-electric step van through Ryder System, which is making the C-1000 available through its COOP peer-to-peer truck sharing platform that connects fleet managers to businesses seeking to rent vehicles. Additional Workhorse units will be placed with Ryder’s ChoiceLease and SelectCare lines.

• Clarience Technologies, a provider of transportation safety and visibility products, teamed with Penske Truck Leasing to evaluate its Road Ready by Truck-Lite trailer telematics system that uses customizable wireless sensors.

• Continental created a Sustainability department bundling all the company’s related activities, including its Taraxagum dandelion rubber, the ContiLifeCycle retreading network, its Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) and its Cokoon formaldehyde-free rubber adhesive technology, an open-source offering.

• Penske Truck Leasing added remote service check-in on the Penske Driver App to enable drivers to maximize social distancing by remotely checking-in their vehicles for scheduled preventive maintenance or repairs, enhancing the company’s existing in-person and kiosk processes.

• Luber-finer launched its newly retooled app now equipped with VIN lookup to help provide faster, more accurate searches of the company’s filter lineup. The update is for devices that run on the Apple iOS and Google Android operating systems.

• Whiting Systems, a provider of chemicals, wash systems and disinfectants, redesigned its website to provide faster downloads and to be more customer-centric to help clients more easily envision a complete transportation hygiene program.

20

commercial carrier journal

P

enske Truck Leasing announced it is working with EnerSys, a provider of stored energy products for industrial applications, to put a battery-electric Freightliner eM2 into service. EnerSys will use the eM2 throughout Southern California to With Penske’s assistance, EnerSys transport products to customers and will use DTNA’s Freightliner eM2 throughout Southern California to dealer facilities. transport products to customers and “We remain committed to being dealer facilities. on the forefront of vehicle electrification for our customers and the industry,” said Paul Rosa, senior vice president of procurement and fleet planning for Penske Truck Leasing. “Innovative companies like EnerSys are looking to Penske for guidance as they implement their own forward-thinking sustainability goals now and in the future.”

In 2018, Penske Truck Leasing and Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) announced a partnership to test commercial electric trucks from DTNA’s Freightliner brand. The venture is supported by a partnership between DTNA and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

“This is a deep-learning opportunity to understand through our own use-case the electrification of commercial vehicles, along with the alternative chemistries in these platforms, to continue to advance our Odyssey battery program,” said Mark Matthews, senior vice president specialty global for EnerSys. The electric truck fleet is supported by a network of heavy-duty vehicle charging stations at six Penske Truck Leasing facilities in Southern California.

– CCJ Staff

Autocar adding safety features to severe-duty cabovers

A

utocar announced it is adding six new advanced safety features to its Autocar ACX severe-duty cabover vehicles. The new features include: • Electronic Stability Control that intervenes when the truck is understeering or oversteering to mainAutocar’s new tain stability. features for its ACX severe-duty cabover • Rollover Stability Control that intervenes when vehicles are being the vehicle is at risk of a driver-induced rollover put into production event. immediately.

• Advanced Emergency Braking System that detects impending collisions and actively engages emergency brakes.

• Forward Collision Warning that visibly and audibly warns drivers of impending collisions.

• Stationary Lane Departure Warning that illuminates a steady light on the Apillar with an audible warning.

• Blind Spot Detection with a flashing light on the A-pillar to warn the driver of a vehicle in his or her blind spot.

– CCJ Staff

| september 2020

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in focus: BELT MAINTENANCE

Tighten up your belt maintenance practices

BY JASON CANNON

R

ubber ages with heat and flex, and engine belts are put through paces featuring copious amounts of both.

According to 2018 industry data, accessory drive belts were replaced at a rate of 1.58% of vehicles and timing belts on just 1.26%. In both cases, those rates have declined over the past five years, driven by the improved quality of the belts themselves, said Tom Lee, marketing manager for Continental Contitech.

Modern belts are made out of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM), which seldom shows visible signs of wear, said Homer Hogg, director of technical service for TravelCenters of America.

A preventive inspection should cover not only the belt and hose but “Looking for cracks and splits is not very helpful,” also the related components, experts say.

Hogg said. “Technicians must use a belt wear gauge tool “If for some reason the water pump or an alternator must as one of the steps toward identifying a belt that needs to be replaced. Others symptoms may include an alternator that is not be replaced, the belt should be replaced as well,” Lee said. “If replacement or repair is required on any of these major comcharging properly, a noisy belt drive system and/or poor A/C ponents, it’s a good indication that the belt or hose is nearing performance.” the end of its useful life.”

Jon Salter, director of shop operations for Pilot Flying J The belt drive consists of not only a rubber drive belt but Truck Care, said a belt tension gauge, which allows a technialso a tensioner, idlers and maybe an alternator decoupler. cian to test for proper tension on a belt, also can indicate if an incorrect-size belt was installed or if a tensioner pulley is weak Lee said tensioners and idlers have bearings that also can fail, which in some cases also will cause the belt to fail. or worn.

“A preventive inspection should not only cover the belt or Absent visible cues that a belt is nearing its end of life, milehose but should also cover the related components,” he said. age can be a key indicator. Hogg recommended a miles-toNoise is often an indication of a loose, worn or misaligned replacement window from 100,000 up to 300,000 depending belt.

Hogg warned against belt lubricants and conditioners on the belt’s quality and the truck’s duty cycle. that are designed to simply stop the squealing.

“If a vehicle is running in a severe-duty application, the belt “If a belt is noisy, the source of the problem must be determay only run 100,000 miles,” he said. “An over-the-road apmined and corrected,” he said. “Adding chemicals to a belt can plication with a top-quality belt can go 300,000.” cause the belt to pick up small pebbles and dirt, which will Lee suggested monitoring accessory drive belts at around shorten the life of the belt and can damage other belt drive the 60,000-mile mark, noting that the vehicle manufacturer components like pulleys and tensioners.” has guidelines reported in the owner’s manual and recomSpraying clean water on the belt can help identify if the mended maintenance guide for the timing belt. problem is with the belt or a belt drive component. If the Beyond basic recommended intervals, the failure of belt noise gets louder, it is likely a belt — or at least belt slipdrive components also presents a prime opportunity for a belt page, Hogg said. If the noise goes away, it is likely a chirp change, Lee said. due to a potentially misaligned pulley or tensioner.

“Technicians must use a belt wear gauge “Be careful when spraying the belt with tool as one of the steps toward identifying water while the engine is running,” he said. “Loose clothing and/or a hand or fina belt that needs to be replaced.” ger can get caught in the belt drive system – Homer Hogg, director of technical service for TravelCenters of America and can cause severe injury.”

22

commercial carrier journal

| september 2020

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technology

MAKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS WORK FOR YOUR FLEET BY AARON HUFF

Pivoting through a pandemic Payne Trucking adapts driver training to COVID-19

BY AARON HUFF

S

ince the start of the coronavirus pandemic, motor carriers have had to rethink their strategies for driver orientation because of health hazards associated with in-person contact and classroom training.

Also, COVID-19 has prompted companies to look for new technologies to help improve the job experience and create better training outcomes Fredericksburg, Virginia-based Payne Trucking developed custom amid a rapidly changing work environment. online training content for its niche in dry bulk and hazardous materials Payne Trucking wanted to streamline the transportation with end dump trailers. administrative side of driver orientation and 450 individual learning modules, called Luma eNuggets, that develop custom online training content for its niche in dry cover relevant safety, compliance and orientation topics, with bulk and hazardous materials transportation with end dump multimedia tailored to the learning preferences and culture of trailers.

Last spring, the Fredericksburg, Virginia-based carrier truck drivers.

All the Luma eNuggets can be customized with companyimplemented Luma Brighter Learning’s eNugget learning management system (LMS) platform to fulfill its unique train- specific policies and content. The modules also come with embedded driver feedback tools for rating and comments. ing and documentation needs.

Luma and its customers use the real-time driver feedback to Payne Trucking operates more than 130 tractors that power adapt content and media to improve driver engagement, attenits specialized fleet of 800 end dump trailers, dry vans and storage containers with a service network that covers the Mid- tion and learning outcomes.

Since Payne Trucking started using the platform, it has seen west and Eastern states from Florida to Canada. improved training efficiencies and outcomes by: Luma’s platform has modern user-friendly instructional Virtualizing orientation: When the pandemic hit, Payne design templates that “leave it up to your own imagination” to create and customize training content, said Chris Haney, Trucking shifted its two-day in-house classroom orientaPayne Trucking’s director of health, safety, security, environtion training program to an online experience. Drivers now ment (HSSE) and human resources. complete paperwork and training courses remotely from any location and then come to headquarters for one day of special“I can do all of this in-house,” Haney said. ized hands-on equipment training before being assigned to a The Luma platform comes with a collection of more than driver trainer.

Digitizing forms: Payne Trucking used the Luma Rapid INTERESTED IN TRUCKING Forms tool to eliminate orientation paperwork. To address the TECHNOLOGY? health impacts of COVID-19, Haney created eNuggets to proGo to ccjdigital.com/news/subscribe-to-newsletters vide guidance to drivers, shop personnel and office staff with to subscribe to the CCJ Technology Weekly e-mail digital forms to fill out and sign to receive federal emergency newsletter. sick leave benefits.

24

commercial carrier journal

| september 2020

technology Chris Haney, Payne Trucking’s director of HSSE and human resources, said he and his staff always are coming up with new ideas and strategies for training and communication.

Expanding training: Haney also has developed companywide orientation and remedial and refresher training courses for non-driver associates, including driver trainers, mechanics and operations staff. The LMS automatically sends out assignments at employment milestones, such as a 90-day continuing educational training package for drivers.

Improving safety: Payne Trucking uses a cloud-based application from SpeedGauge to track and manage speeding trends and driver behaviors from its fleet telematics data. After noticing speed-related risks increase during COVID-19, Haney created a speeding eNugget that had a 100% participation rate from drivers, and Payne Trucking moved into the top safety quartile of SpeedGauge customers. “I believe that had a lot to do with the way we are able to present awareness with this particular eNugget,” Haney said.

Custom training on-demand Haney said he and his staff always are coming up with new ideas and strategies for training and communication.

Payne Trucking recently purchased a drone to capture aerial footage of the fleet’s 40-foot end dump trailers unloading products that include salt, dirt, sand, aggregates, gravel, stone and glass recyclables.

“All products come out differently when you put a dump trailer 40 feet in the air,” Haney said. In colder months, some products freeze and come out unevenly, which may cause trailers to tip over. “We can talk about it all day long, but to take drone footage of unloading different types of products and put it in a training module — I don’t know how to put a value on that,” he said.

Payne Trucking also uses its Luma eNugget LMS as a communications platform. Haney has been sending drivers and other employees on-the-spot education materials and guidance during the pandemic.

He also sends periodic “safety flashes” to educate drivers and document their awareness when the company sees incident or accident trends developing. The LMS tracks driver completion and assessment results. To date, Payne Trucking has had a 100% participation rate from drivers.

“Not only am I getting proof that drivers have received it and completed it, but more importantly from the liability side, there is a realized level of comprehension, and that is priceless,” Haney said.

SmartDrive sensors detect unsafe speed, ‘sitting ducks’

V

ideo telematics provider SmartDrive has developed intelligent driver-assist sensors to help detect unsafe speeds in bad SmartDrive’s intelligent Sitting Duck weather conditions sensor alerts fleets to unsafe truck and “sitting duck” parking conditions. events.

The sensors, Speeding for Conditions and Sitting Duck, are built to leverage streaming vehicle data, external data and cloud computing to identify unsafe conditions and alert fleet managers and drivers immediately.

Speeding for Conditions compares location-specific weather, map and truck data to determine if a vehicle’s speed is unsafe.

Jason Palmer, chief operating officer for SmartDrive, said the system can alert drivers immediately of unsafe speeds and provide information about what a safer speed would be for the conditions based on fleet customers’ policies.

A live report in SmartDrive’s web portal gives fleet managers details of the unsafe speeding events. Users also can view trend reports to see where they are having issues with drivers going too fast for conditions, such as in rain, fog and snow by geographical region. The reporting also shows how driving behaviors change after messaging or training is sent and completed, Palmer said.

Sitting Duck is designed to identify situations where a vehicle is parked on the side of the road or in a lane of travel. The situation may be caused by a mechanical issue, but Palmer said that SmartDrive has seen in increase in sitting-duck events during COVID-19 due to overcrowding at rest areas and truck parking locations. Truck drivers also have had fewer options for parking at restaurants due to state-issued lockdown orders, he said.

Sitting Duck is built to deliver information and alerts to fleet management to respond when the technology detects a vehicle in an unsafe parking situation at roadside. The sensor uses data streaming off a vehicle and a series of algorithms that consider the vehicle’s path of travel, location and speed to determine if a vehicle is stopped or parked, Palmer said.

As part of the message sent to a fleet manager, the user has a map to view street-level details and can request a video to be offloaded to view the situation in near-real time, and the alerts can be escalated if the vehicle remains parked in the unsafe condition. The available trend reports include a map view of violations by vehicle ID, as well as vehicles that currently are sitting.

– Aaron Huff commercial carrier journal

| september 2020 25

technology

INBRIEF • Intelligent Imaging Systems and its Drivewyze subsidiary, a provider of weigh station bypass technology, accepted $60 million in minority financing from growth capital firm Sageview Capital. IIS/Drivewyze said the investment will help it continue to scale its connected truck platform and increase its Software-as-a-Service revenue.

The Orbcomm Platform allows users to customize the data they need through a higher level of personalized usability, including preferences, saved searches, scheduled reports, workspaces, widgets and data filters.

• vHub, a collaborative trailer repositioning and sharing marketplace, announced telematics integrations with both Anytrek’s TrackLight tail-lamp GPS and 4W Telematics’ trailer-tracking systems. The integrated technologies provide vHub users with exact GPS-based location of their nonpowered assets.

• Coyote Logistics expanded its Dynamic Route Optimization program designed to streamline supply chain operations by maximizing fleet efficiency with optimized weekly routing plans. The program builds suggested route plans that direct drivers to and from their domicile location by accounting for parameters such as drivers’ hours provided by the carrier, load attributes, average load and unload times, market cost, mph bands by region, home base city and more.

• Drivewyze enhanced its PreClear weigh station bypass service with seven new locations in Montana and five in Illinois.

The new Montana locations are in Lima (I-15 north and south), Cameron (U.S. 287 north and south) and Clearwater Junction (State Route 200/83 east and south, State Route 200 west). The new Illinois locations are in Brownstown (I-70 east), Carlock (I-74 east and west) and Peotone (I-57 north and south).

• Drivewyze announced expanded carrier enrollment availability in Alberta’s weigh station bypass program. Enrollment previously was limited to members of the Canadian province’s Partners in Compliance program.

• Verizon Connect announced that Allegiant Electric – a Nevada-based provider of electric contracting, solar installation and electrical maintenance and repair for residential and commercial customers – saw its revenues increase by 581% after implementing Verizon Connect’s Reveal mobile resource management software platform.

Allegiant has increased the number of jobs it completes per day from three to more than 30 and has grown its workforce from three to 15.

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commercial carrier journal

Orbcomm develops platform for global asset visibility

O

rbcomm, a provider of Internet of Things (IoT) offerings, introduced its next-generation analytics and reporting platform built to provide enhanced features – including advanced data insights and a dynamic user interface – that provide customers with a single unified view of all their transportation asset types using a single sign-on. The cloud-based Orbcomm Platform was built to address the industry’s evolving requirements for greater processing power, data bandwidth and scalability in a 5G IoT ecosystem.

The Orbcomm Platform offers the ability for customers to track, monitor and control all their transportation assets in one place, from reefers, dry vans and trucks to chassis and dry and refrigerated shipping containers on the road, over rail and at sea. The platform also includes a driver management component to enable workflow management, performance, communications and safety compliance with the electronic logging device mandate and hours of service regulations.

The scalable platform is designed to accommodate any size of operation whether the customer has one or 100,000-plus assets. It also integrates with sensors for fuel, doors, cargo, temperature and more for added visibility.

Using Orbcomm’s flexible application programmimg interfaces and integrations, the open platform is engineered to deliver rich asset data to customers’ existing third-party or proprietary enterprise systems to facilitate optimal fleet management. Customers also can access increased data and use the platform’s advanced analytics to gain insights about their assets’ performance, including benchmarks, historic trends and comparisons among asset types, enabling faster, more informed business decisions.

Orbcomm also focused on incorporating self-service configurability and control to enable advanced permissioning, role allocation and authority levels, helping customers improve data security, reduce business risks and extend data access throughout the organization. With the platform’s modern, intuitive and easy-to-use interface, customers can unlock relevant data for every user in the organization.

The versatile Orbcomm Platform supports multiple modes of communication, leveraging the company’s portfolio of satellite, cellular and dual-mode IoT connectivity.

– Aaron Huff

| september 2020

technology

INBRIEF

FourKites releases Dynamic Yard offering

• KBX Logistics, a Koch Industries company, announced a collaboration with Transflo, a provider of proof-of-delivery (POD) offerings, to expand its electronic bill-of-lading and electronic POD options to provide drivers with digitized end-to-end automated document workflow systems between Koch and its partners, including drivers, carriers, shippers and receivers.

• Decisiv, a provider of service relationship management technologies for technicians and dealers, expanded its asset type classifications to include more make, model and engine combinations for heavy-duty trucks and to add medium- and light-duty truck, trailer, refrigeration unit and off-road equipment models.

• Navistar announced a partnership with Geotab that allows International customers to add select Geotab fleet management products through Navistar’s factory-installed telematics device, OnCommand Connection (OCC), that offers advanced remote diagnostics and comes standard on LT Series, RH Series and LoneStar models. The Geotab platform includes an electronic logging device and hours of service compliance software.

• Whip Around, a Software-as-a-Service provider of fleet maintenance and compliance offerings that include electronic driver vehicle inspection reports, now is available on the Geotab Marketplace, an online center for fleet management products.

• Magellan, a provider of GPS navigation devices, announced that its RouteComplete system for route digitization, planning and optimization now is available on the Geotab Marketplace, an online center for fleet management products.

• Banyan Technology, provider of a data connectivity platform designed to deliver real-time freight pricing intelligence, released Insights, a data-driven offering built to help less-than-truckload fleets balance and maximize capacity on their networks and to provide measurable savings for shippers.

• Trucker Tools, a provider of freight matching and document management services for small carriers, drivers and brokers, announced a partnership with Oklahoma Citybased TVC Pro-Driver to offer legal counsel for independent truckers through the Trucker Tools app. TVC’s subscription-based service also includes fuel, shopping and equipment discounts, roadside assistance and other benefits.

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F

ourKites, a FourKites’ Dynamic Yard provider of a is built to help enterprises reduce detention and real-time supply chain demurrage costs and optimize visibility platform, operations throughout their introduced Dynamic facilities companywide.

Yard, a software product designed to provide enterprises the ability to proactively manage all their facilities based on real-time in-transit and in-yard freight data and analytics. The offering combines traditional siloed yard management software with FourKites’ real-time supply chain data and predictive estimated times of arrival (ETAs).

Dynamic Yard is the result of the integration of yard, dock and gate control products that FourKites acquired from TrackX. By infusing yard management software with in-transit predictive visibility and analytics, every aspect of yard operations can be managed proactively, from appointment and dock scheduling to gate operations and spotter task assignments, according to the company.

With the ability to anticipate bottlenecks based on predictive ETAs, facility managers can accelerate gate-in and gate-out processes, shorten on-site time for drivers and optimize inventory across multiple sites, reducing dwell times and increasing operating margins, the company said.

Product features and capabilities of Dynamic Yard, according to FourKites, include: • Hardware-agnostic, with seamless integration with a large variety of systems, including enterprise resource planning/transportation management software systems, electronic logging devices, GPS and telematics.

• High scalability to support a wide range of facilities, from the smallest yard to multiple large locations.

• Multisite visibility via a single centralized control panel; and • Deep integration with FourKites’ carrier-centric products to ensure continuous communication and optimization with carrier partners.

– Aaron Huff

Samsara offers device health monitoring

S

amsara, a provider of electronic logging devices and Samsara’s Device other technologies for fleet management and safety, Health Reports added Device Health Reports to the user dashboard of its highlight the last cloud-based platform. The reports indicate any issues with known location of the vehicle, when the camera and gateway Internet of Things devices due to user error or changes in the operating environment due to a device was last connected, cell installation, devices becoming unplugged or damage. connectivity and Each report comes with an aggregated health score at vehicle and gateway battery status. the top and provides details on how many devices are healthy, require attention or need to be installed. Fleet managers are able to tell if a device is having issues before a vehicle or fleet goes offline to prevent the loss of footage or diagnostics information.

The Camera Health Report provides context as to why a camera may be offline, including when the camera and the Vehicle Gateway were last connected. The Gateway Health Report gives a single view of how vehicle devices and powered or unpowered assets are operating throughout a fleet.

– Aaron Huff

| september 2020

Honoring essential workers of the highway Each year, the Truckload Carriers Association, Overdrive, and Truckers News recognize professional truck drivers.

The 2020 Owner-Operator of the Year and the 2020 Company Driver of the Year awards pay tribute to professional drivers, deemed essential workers, who continue to shine as “knights of the highway” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The winning owner-operator and company driver will be announced at TCA’s annual meeting, Truckload 2021: Nashville, Jan. 23-26.

THE WINNERS WILL RECEIVE $25,000 EACH. RUNNERS-UP WILL RECEIVE $2,500 EACH. Sponsored by:

technology

in focus: WEIGH STATION BYPASS

Road safety, parking alerts now part of packages

BY AARON HUFF

A

good safety record, a subscription and a truck-mounted transponder or mobile app. That’s all it takes to participate in a weigh station bypass program, but now carriers are getting more from their subscription than a lower pull-in rate for inspections.

In addition to using apps for bypass, more carriers are choosing them to give drivers a heads-up for upcoming safety risks along their routes.

The only two companies that offer weigh station bypass are Help Inc. with its PrePass program and Drivewyze with PreClear. Both have extensive relationships with government agencies to collect road and traffic data and to supply location-based safety information.

Road safety alerting PrePass always has used a windshieldmounted transponder on trucks for its bypass system and has no reason to phase out the technology, since many of its 645,000 customers also use the devices for toll roads.

Its customers can use the PrePass Motion app at no added charge. Drivers can install the app on personal devices, and it also can be integrated with fleet telematics platforms.

PrePass integrates with Geotab and is planning to announce other partnerships with major telematics providers, said Jarrod Del Prado, senior director of operations for PrePass Safety Alliance.

Besides using the app for weigh station bypass, drivers also can receive both static and dynamic location-based safety alerts through a visual interface that pops up on the screen.

In 2019, PrePass added safety alerts for I-70 in Colorado and other mountain routes in the state for steep grades, runaway ramps and tire-chain 30

commercial carrier journal

pulloffs. It currently has 800 total safety alerts in 31 states, including dynamic real-time traffic alerts for accidents, congestion and work zones.

Kentucky is the first state to provide dynamic alerts.

PrePass currently is Carriers now are getting more from their weigh embarking on a project to station bypass program subscription than a lower pull-in rate for inspections. provide drivers with dynamic location-based parking alerts and safely, he said. through the app. Drivers would be notiDrivewyze has integrations with fied of available parking from locations telematics providers that preinstall the that have sensors or cameras that detect app for fleets. PreClear is running in spots for commercial vehicles. more than two million vehicle telematics systems in the background to provide Expanding the connected vehicle Drivewyze’s PreClear program is current- drivers with weigh station bypass alerts and road and traffic information. ly in 45 states at 830 sites. As the bypass Drivewyze’s app does not track a network continued to grow, the company vehicle but monitors locations to alert “very consciously” made the decision the driver when the vehicle is in proximto build a connected truck platform, ity of a safety notification site such as a said Brian Heath, president and chief steep grade, low bridge or high-rollover executive officer for Intelligent Imaging or crash zone. Thousands of safety notiSystems, Drivewyze’s parent company. fication sites are loaded into the system Intelligent Imaging recently closed a throughout North America. $60 million minority financing round For Searcy Trucking, an open-deck

by Sageview Capital and plans to use the investment to scale Drivewyze’s con- carrier based in Manitoba, Canada, the nected truck platform in the commercial safety notifications are helpful with oversized loads to give drivers “a heads-up vehicle services market. on high-rollover areas, steep grades and “At some future point, all vehicles will runaway ramps on mountain passes, need to interact with the infrastructure around them,” Heath said. “We knew we plus on low bridges,” said Rachelle Baker, the fleet’s manager of driver services. had a unique capability in the industry “I had a driver once tell me how he had to connect with the programs, systems to stop his rig and measure his height to and sensors on the side of the road.” make sure he could fit under the bridge.

The transportation industry loses Any technology that will help with this, billions every year in traffic congeswe’ll take.” tion and delays. Weigh station bypass Drivewyze recently began working alleviates some chokepoints, but more with traffic data provider Inrix to alert can be done, Heath said. Through the drivers of dangerous congestion-related Drivewyze app, drivers get road and slowdowns and help them prepare to traffic information “when and where stop quickly, Heath said. they need it” to operate more efficiently

| september 2020

IN TIMES OF CRISIS, THERE ARE ALWAYS THOSE WHO STEP UP. In these uncertain times, truck drivers across the nation continue to deliver the essential food, medical and hygiene supplies to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic and to keep America supplied. So thank a truck driver today, because they are on the front lines of a battle we can’t win without them.

SUPPORT THE INDUSTRY.

CONNECT WITH US

SUPPORT YOUR DRIVERS.

@TRUCKERFUND

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INNOVATORS

ESTES EXPRESS LINES Richmond, Virginia

STORAGE

SPACE

The Virginia-based carrier found itself persistently flummoxed by the empty space underneath a standard trailer.

LTL giant finds way to pack more packages into its pups

BY JASON CANNON

H

earing the ghost of disgraced Chicago White Sox outfielder “Shoeless” Joe Jackson hint, “If you build it, they will come,” fictional Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella defied all naysayers and constructed a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield.

Mike Palmer, vice president of fleet services for Estes Express Lines (CCJ Top 250, No. 12), must have been within earshot.

Estes, with a fleet of more than 7,000 tractors and nearly 29,000 trailers, is among the nation’s largest less-than-truckload and truckload carriers. Size and scale matter in the trucking business, but the Richmond, Virginia-based carrier remained flummoxed by the amount of “empty space underneath the trailer,” Palmer said.

Management saw the opportunity cost of not being able to pack in more cargo. “We always cube-out before we weigh-out,” he said.

Three years ago, Palmer was cruising the 2017 North American Commercial Vehicle (NACV) tradeshow floor with Justin Bell, vice president of engineering for Strick Trailers. Palmer was venting his frustrations with the additional tractors needed to haul cargo that otherwise could have fit in the dead space between the trailer floor and the road surface, which led to his “Field of Dreams” moment.

If he built it – or at least prodded the design of it – more pallets would come.

“We were just talking about how the space between the landing gear and the axle could be used,” Bell said. “It just kind of blossomed from there.”

Flexibility without compromise The list of wants and needs was long, but Bell noted that Palmer mentioned

several critical items that were required.

“You can’t go super-low on the belly, because you’ll create ground interference,” he said. “You have to be able to drive a forklift over [the belly], and you have to be able to use it as a standard trailer. Otherwise, it’s going to be too niche.”

Palmer worked with Bell and Strick Trailers to develop an elevator system for the Monroe, Indiana-based manufacturer’s 28-foot pup trailers, allowing them to hold six additional pallets per trailer in an additional 104-cubic-foot area that previously was occupied by wind and road noise underneath the trailer floor.

With the platforms locked in their standard position, the interior floor-toceiling height is 9 feet, 2 inches. Lowering the platforms creates an additional 30 inches of vertical space on each platform.

The Elevator van trailer itself is 99

The less-than-truckload company adds more room for packages while remaining within weight limitations.

commercial carrier journal

| september 2020 33

INNOVATORS inches wide from post face to post face, and the lining is installed vertically to use logistics posts for cargo control.

The exterior is just over 102 inches wide and a standard 13 feet, 6 inches tall. The trailer boasts a 40,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating and 2,269 cubic feet of volume.

The Elevator system uses three linear-actuated platforms that drop the floor segments between the truck and trailer axles from the standard floor level, allowing the carrier to triple-stack pallets on those three segments and increase capacity by 33% thanks to the use of swing doors (versus rollup) with additional load bars at the rear.

“We made [the rear door] a swing door so we could we stack all the way to the back,” Palmer said. “We can get six pallets in the belly, 12 on the floor and 12 more on top.”

Unlike other variable-bottom trailers, a forklift can drive over Estes’ adjustable sections to load and unload the front.

When pallets are placed on the 93-by-50-inch aluminum Elevator sections, they can be lowered to allow for additional pallets to be stacked on top.

A 24-volt control panel is mounted on the interior sidewall and controls individual platform motion with individual lighted pushbuttons. An integrated sidewall multi-light warning system indicates a stowed or unstowed platform position, as well as platform-in-motion scenarios.

Rear internal amber strobe lights operate when the Elevator system is powered and the rear motion sensor is activated, cautioning those entering or working around the trailer of its unique attributes.

The platforms are located above the drop section with 1⅜-inch extruded aluminum knurled flooring and recessed floorboard joints atop each platform. An integrated latch system provides each platform with standard 34

commercial carrier journal

between the rear of the dynamic and static floor belly and the trailer’s tires. ratings when stowed/ latched. Each platform Oversized liftgates for features 5,000 pounds of oversized cargo lifting/load capacity in its The space beneath the unstowed position. trailer wasn’t the only area The Elevator power under Palmer’s review. system is designed to The delivery of bulky handle dual- and tripleitems also had become an trailer configurations. A increasing challenge for standard 200-watt solarEstes. charging system manages Estes first put the A driver mentioned to power levels and allows larger liftgates on 10 trailers this spring to Palmer that his 60-inch loading and unloading help eliminate the need tuck-away liftgate wasn’t without being tethered to to turn long cargo to up to the challenge of the tractor. The onboard offload it. hauling large items such as 12- to 24-volt power swing sets and hot tubs. converter reduces the total current “[The drivers] were having to turn it required for lifting loaded platforms, sideways to unload,” he said. “Imagine and an interior roof-mounted passive coming out with a 6- to 8-foot skid and infrared (PIR) motion sensor with a 15-minute timer function powers down then turning it sideways just to get it down on the ground.” the system when not in use.

Liftgates can be spec’d in a variThe coronavirus pandemic delayed ety of sizes, but the larger gates can Estes’ initial planned rollout, but Palmer expected to have the company’s limit driver access to the rear door, and first two units on the highway by Labor Palmer said the company’s drivers had long derided railgates.

Day and another 200 waiting in the “Railgates had not been popular, wings. The pup trailers will be deployed because you have to raise and lower it on long-haul runs. every stop,” he said.

Bell noted the seamless fixed trailer Estes and Palmer worked with belly offers a measure of aerodynamic Anthony Liftgates to develop a tri-fold gain, even though it takes up the space platform that opens up to an 89-bythat otherwise would be occupied by a 102-inch load area with a hydraulic skirt. open/close function, and it also has “The aerodynamic advantage is a spring-assisted third section. The equal to or better than a skirt,” he said. platform is rated up to 5,500 pounds “A skirt has inherent inefficiencies. and can be stowed at bed height or in a How many times have you gone down fully-raised position during transit. the interstate and seen a trailer skirt “It’s a railgate, but it stows beneath flapping in the wind? That’s creating the door,” Palmer said. “If I’m deliverharmonics and disrupting airflow.” ing residential, I can pull it out and use Bell said that by heaping on six additional pallets, carriers could eliminate it, but if I’m bumping a dock, I don’t every fourth trailer and cut transporta- have to worry about getting out and taking it down.” tion costs and their carbon footprint.

Estes installed the larger liftgates on “No skirt I’ve ever seen has been able 10 trailers this spring, and Palmer said to carry any kind of freight,” he joked, drivers “haven’t had to turn anything adding the company also is worksideways yet.” ing with Flow Below to close the gap

| september 2020

CHANGING TIME COVER STORY | HOURS OF SERVICE UPDATES

ELD, TMS providers adjust to new HOS regulations

BY AARON HUFF

B

eginning Sept. 29 when the revised hours of service (HOS) rule shifts into law, truck drivers will have an expanded split-sleeper berth option that will allow them to stop their 14-hour clock for up to three hours in a duty shift.

Under the current regulations, drivers must take a 30-minute break within the first eight hours of on-duty time and record it as off duty. If a driver stops to fuel, dock a trailer or do other non-driving work, the time is considered on duty and, as such, does not count toward the required break.

The new HOS rule offers more 36

commercial carrier journal

flexibility on that front. Drivers still break for 30 minutes, but within the first eight hours of drive time, rather than on-duty time, and they can log the time however they wish — as on duty, off duty or sleeper berth.

That helps drivers preserve more on-duty time. If they spend eight hours behind the wheel, stop for fuel or wait at a dock, they can drive another three hours by having more flexibility to reach the 11-hour drive limit.

Another preservative for time is a new option to split the 10-hour off-duty period up in two segments, with the longer segment being a minimum of seven

| september 2020

Unlike current regulations, the hours of service rule taking effect Sept. 29 will allow drivers to pause their 14-hour clock when using split-sleeper berth time to divide their 10hour off-duty period.

hours. The new 7/3 split-sleeper berth provision allows drivers one more hour of flexibility than the current 8/2 split.

However, as a key change under the looming HOS regulations, the shorter period does not count against a drivers’ 14-hour clock.

Also, the radius of the short-haul exemption extends from 100 to 150 air miles and allows short-haul fleets an increase in the maximum on-duty limit from 12 to 14 hours. Along with the new exemptions, qualified fleets and their drivers do not have to keep a record of duty status or take 30-minute breaks.

These and other changes will bring

COVER STORY | HOURS OF SERVICE UPDATES

fleets additional data to manage from electronic logging devices (ELDs) to not only monitor compliance but also assist with load planning, tracking freight and monitoring driver utilization and fatigue. New technologies are being developed in all these areas to help get fleets up to speed quickly.

With less complexity and more flexibility, the new rule provides drivers a reason to consider splitting their 10-hour rest breaks. Such had not been the case until now, said Dan Doran, president for Hamilton, Ohio-based Doran Logistics Services. “To me, the 8/2 split did nothing,” said Doran, a past chairman of the Truckload Carriers Association from 2018-19.

Doran said drivers currently would rather stop for 10 hours to reboot their hours instead of using the 8/2 split.

Getting a 7/3 split, he said, is “a step in the right direction, but I do not think it goes far enough.” Doran would like the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to reinstate splits of up to 5/5 that were removed in the 2003 revision of the HOS rule.

Managing the 8/2 split has been a problem, he said. The smaller segment of the split, up to two hours, counts against a driver’s 14-hour clock. The longer break segment (of at least eight hours) pauses it, and the clock resets after drivers complete the second break segment.

While putting all that into practice has been difficult, the new 7/3 split ends the complexity by allowing drivers to pick up right where they left off before they went on break, said Thom Bray, a compliance expert for J.J. Keller and Associates.

A driver who logs five hours of onduty time against the 14-hour clock and drives four hours can take a three-hour break and still have nine hours of onduty time and seven hours of drive time remaining when the break ends.

“It makes it so cleaner to use,” Bray

A driver who logs five hours of on-duty time against the 14-hour clock and drives four hours can take a three-hour break and still have nine hours of on-duty time and seven hours of drive time remaining when the break ends.

said. “More companies will be willing to use [the 7/3 split] to start working around delays. The driver can go into the sleeper for a period and come out in a split cycle.”

Here are five areas where technology can assist fleets and their drivers with load and trip planning under the new rule.

1. Managing splits with ELDs Most ELD systems currently do not have functions drivers can use to manage the 8/2 split. It largely is done manually, which John Ganiev saw as a shortfall when he evaluated ELD systems last year.

Ganiev is owner and president of Pittsburgh-based Dream Transportation, a 200-truck refrigerated and dry van carrier that uses mostly owner-operators. He wanted an ELD platform that would provide drivers with instructions on how to use the split-sleeper berth rather than just display the times they have remaining on their 14- and 11hour clocks.

Ganiev chose a white-label ELD system from HOS 24/7 and plans to customize its driver interface to make it easy for drivers to use and understand what they are doing when they split

their 10-hour breaks.

Some ELD and fleet telematics providers are working on updates in this area. Samsara plans to release an updated Driver App that will have two split-sleeper berth options for drivers – 7/3 and 8/2 – when the new rule goes into effect.

“We want to make sure drivers and fleet managers are able to have a straightforward way to address the new rule and have coverage across the changes,” said Lindsay McKinley, director of communications for Samsara.

Verizon Connect said it will support all HOS rule changes in its Fleet and Reveal platforms by adding a new feature for the split-sleeper berth rule. Both of its fleet management ELD applications will alert drivers if they are facing a violation of the rule or have violated it.

For short-haul fleets, some ELD products can be configured to function as a timecard and will switch drivers to the HOS rule automatically if they exceed the new limit of 150 air miles from their starting location.

2. Instant freight matching A number of software providers are developing features that use real-time HOS data to help fleets plan loads that satisfy

commercial carrier journal

| september 2020 37

COVER STORY | HOURS OF SERVICE UPDATES

all constraints for compliance, dispatchers instant visibility of safety, customer service and loading and unloading times at driver satisfaction. customer locations to help with Six months ago, Dream Transload planning. The cloud-based portation started using ELD system collects this data from Dan Doran, president for Hamilton, Ohio-based Doran data in its load planning process. Logistics Services, would like FMCSA to reinstate splits of the fleet’s operations.

This happened by implementAxele also helps drivers with up to 5/5 that were removed in the 2003 revision of the HOS rule. ing Optym’s cloud-based Axele trip planning via an app that transportation management provides details of load assignsoftware (TMS) system. provides instant suggestions for how to ments and routes. A suggested timeline With Axele, Dream Transportation match drivers and loads based on profit- shows the sequence of driving and restalso gained a live connection with its ability, HOS status, miles, travel time ing events and updates the plan every 30 load board accounts. Dispatchers can and the driver’s location. minutes. view available loads, and the system Ganiev said Axele also provides With each update, the system

CARRIERS CAN HELP SHIPPERS PROVIDE END-TO-END VISIBILITY With industry-wide use of electronic logging devices (ELDs) and fleet telematics technology, fleets may be concerned that the information they are providing to shippers has become a commodity.

Many shippers now require automatic shipment updates to be sent directly from carriers’ ELD systems and transportation management software systems via integrations with third-party freight visibility platforms.

While visibility platforms aggregate tracking data from carriers and provides shippers a control-tower view of shipments in progress, having internal visibility of shipments for early, on-time and late arrivals is not enough for shippers to compete in an age of e-commerce. They also need to provide their own customers a “continuous delivery experience” that centers on the end customer having reliable end-to-end visibility of shipment status, said Adam Compain, founder and chief executive officer for ClearMetal.

ClearMetal gathers shipment data from carriers and transforms it to insights that shippers use for planning and execution by having accurate lead times, predictive ETAs and real-time exception alerts. Compain said his company uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to predict and validate accurate lead times for shipments across all transportation modes (ocean, rail and ground) to provide shippers the information they need to provide their own customers with a continuous delivery experience.

ClearMetal works with fleets that do business with its shipper customers.

Compain said shippers continue to expect transportation providers to provide more information and value-added services to help them make real-time decisions and stay competitive. The premise of ClearMetal, founded in 2014, is that transportation is no longer about metal assets but now involves “seeing through that and paying attention to the data beneath,” he said.

Rather than view freight visibility vendors as another middleman, fleets that work with ClearMetal and other visibility providers are looking to ensure

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| september 2020

ClearMetal gathers shipment data from carriers and transforms it to insights that shippers use for planning and execution.

that shipment tracking and other data they provide is a cut above the rest.

Visibility companies can help by identifying and correcting errors in the data received from carriers as well as getting business systems to share data in the format that shippers require.

Compain said ClearMetal is helping carriers meet shipper expectations by giving them the flexibility to “throw data at us in a raw form to reduce their expenses.”

Fleets may no longer have the advantages of working directly with shippers to provide tracking and other information that rival fleets are unable to match.

Increasingly, they find themselves working with freight visibility suppliers to refine and augment the information they provide to gain a market advantage.

“The game to us is not aggregation, but how to make sense of data and what other insights and customer experiences you can create,” Compain said.

– Aaron Huff

COVER STORY | HOURS OF SERVICE UPDATES

recalculates drivers’ estimated time of arrival (ETA) for each delivery stop based on location, speed and HOS status.

McLeod Software also is updating its LoadMaster TMS system for the rule changes, but “from our perspective, there are not a whole of lot of changes we have to do,” said Dustin Strickland, senior product manager.

Before load planners make a driverload assignment, they can find loads closest to an asset and highlight the asset to run a “feasibility engine” for the loads.

The engine provides the user an instant “yes/no” or “maybe” answer that shows potential conflicts based on the load’s service requirements and the driver’s duty status, location and planned events such as requested time off.

The feasibility tool also considers average dwell times at shipping and receiving locations to determine if drivers have enough hours to meet the service

Pittsburgh-based Dream Transportation implemented Optym’s cloud-based Axele TMS system to incorporate ELD data into its load planning process.

requirements, Strickland said.

With every communication received from an ELD and telematics system – typically every 15 minutes or less – LoadMaster updates the ETAs of loads. McLeod Software also has a

Omaha, Nebraska-based Werner Enterprises is deploying its new enterprise-wide Edge Connect software platform to take advantage of the latest technologies and offer new load planning and trip planning tools for drivers.

Trip Management application for load planning that uses cloud-based software from Trimble Maps to fine-tune the ETA based on traffic and weather information.

3. Driver trip planning Along with drivers gaining more HOS flexibility, technology suppliers are developing new trip planning tools to help fleets make smarter decisions.

Rather than send drivers a static route plan, fleets are using the tools to treat drivers like business partners and to intervene only when necessary if their decisions hurt profitability or customer service.

Werner Enterprises (CCJ Top 250, No. 11) is deploying a new enterprise-wide software platform to take advantage of the latest technologies and offer new load planning and trip planning tools for drivers, said Daragh Mahon, chief information officer for the Omaha, Nebraska-based fleet.

Werner is updating its Platform Science in-cab hardware and software, with fleetwide installment of its Edge Connect platform targeted for early 2021, Mahon said.

For trip planning, drivers who want to take a longer break could provide their

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COVER STORY | HOURS OF SERVICE UPDATES

intent to Edge Connect to update and re-optimize the route plan and ETA. Industry data analysis shows that drivers typically use 9.5 out of the 11 hours they have available to drive during each duty cycle. Knowing how far drivers plan to go each day, where they plan to stop and for how long are important inputs.

Werner wants to combine driver intent in trip planning with real-time traffic and weather from Trimble Maps to provide load planners and customers with highly accurate ETAs. “It all feeds back to hours of service and the more tools we have for drivers to plan his or her day,” Mahon said.

Trimble Transportation’s TruETA cloud-based route planning tool for fleets and drivers has a Driver Trip Planning feature that captures driver input on route plans to calculate more accurate ETAs. Within the app, drivers can update their trip itinerary if they want to extend their breaks at any location from a timeline view of all planned stops for their trips. The app also shows drivers a map view of their current route with traffic and weather overlays.

TruETA pulls data from systems in the office and vehicle to recalculate the ETAs of loads in progress. The ETAs are recalculated dynamically each time a position update is received from a fleet’s mobile communications system.

4. Optimized load planning As HOS changes add more dynamics to fleet operations, management cannot hit a pause button to evaluate all the different possibilities to maximize asset utilization.

The HOS change is one of many factors prompting Trimble Transportation to “build the ability to simulate rule changes into our products,” said Chris Orban, the company’s vice president of data science.

Dispatch Advisor is an optional module for fleet customers who use 40

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With less complexity and more flexibility, the new HOS rule provides drivers a reason to consider splitting their 10-hour rest breaks.

the Trimble enterprise TMS platforms TMW Suite, TruckMate or Innovative as a way to determine the best options to match their loads with trucks.

Fleet mobility and ELD provider Omnitracs also is developing advanced load and trip planning tools that will consider many types of conditions that drivers may encounter on their routes.

“Fleet managers need to consider drive times, service times, pre- and post-trip times and traffic conditions when creating trips,” said Mic Yariv, vice president and general manager of Strategic Initiatives for Omnitracs. “We are compiling dwell times on millions of shipping and receiving locations and plan to integrate it into our new driver workflow platform to provide more transparency to drivers on what to expect when servicing a location.”

5. Managing driver fatigue Fleets also must consider driver fatigue in the load planning equation. Trimble, Omnitracs and other technology suppliers have predictive models that use ELD and other data to identify drivers who have an elevated safety risk caused by fatigue.

Ramprasad Renganathan, principal

| september 2020

data scientist for Omnitracs, said the company’s driver fatigue models do not go into the technicalities of evolving HOS regulations but instead take a holistic approach by using predictors based on these factors: • The hours a driver has been on duty and driving in the past week and month.

• Home stressors. Any major changes to a driver’s lifestyle at home, such as a newborn or a sick family member, affects recuperation/rest time.

• Quality of sleep. “Human beings have a circadian rhythm, a sleepwake cycle resulting in a loss of energy around 1 to 3 p.m. and 2 to 4 a.m.,” Renganathan said. “When a driver takes naps during the regular sleep-wake cycle, he/she is said to have much better quality of sleep.

So all sleep is not equal.”

Trimble’s predictive fatigue model, an option for its Safety Analytics platform, analyzes driver work and rest patterns.

Orban said the model does not need to be updated with the new HOS rule, as human circadian patterns do not change. It will identify fatigue if driver behavior changes because of the new rule, he said.

TECHNOLOGY: HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS

CHEAPER THAN

DIESEL? With zero-emissions truck mandates coming, key hurdles remain for hydrogen fuel cells

BY TOM QUIMBY

W

hen it comes to betting on future powertrain technology, the leader of one iconic diesel manufacturer is stacking his chips on hydrogen fuel cells.

While he may not be repeating Nikola Motor Co. founder Trevor Milton’s social media mantra #DIESELISDEAD, Tom Linebarger, chief executive officer and chairman for Cummins, lauded Nikola for building interest in fuel cell technology and made it clear that his company also believes that fuel cells are one of the powertrains of the future.

“We offer … everything from diesel and natural gas to electrification, and now hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen from electrolyzers,” Linebarger said during a webinar hosted by the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE). “But I’m very confident that hydrogen will be a bigger and bigger part of that portfolio over time and that, at some point in the future, it will be the single largest part of what Cummins provides to customers.”

The momentum from both stalwart players such as Cummins and upstarts such as Nikola to deploy zero-emissions Class 8 trucks comes as regulators begin the march toward mandating that a certain percentage of trucks sold each year produce no emissions. The California Air Resources Board made history in June by announcing that OEMs will be required to begin selling zero-emissions commercial trucks and vans in the state by 2024.

As has been the case with California’s legislative actions in the past, other states are catching on fast. By mid-July, 15 states had signed on for the Multi-State Medium- and Heavy-Duty

Fuel cell operation is similar to a battery, as depicted in this Cummins illustration. Oxygen and hydrogen flow across precious metals, usually platinum, and produce electricity that powers a vehicle’s wheels. The byproducts are air and water vapor.

Zero Emission Vehicle Memorandum of Understanding that calls for 30% of new commercial truck and bus sales to be zero-emissions by 2030 and 100% by 2050.

Those are tight deadlines for OEMs to find technologies that work, even if deployed on a small scale in just a few states.

Like other major manufacturers, Cummins “has pledged to be net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” Linebarger said.

While advancements in diesel emissions reductions continue – including Cummins’ business partner Achates’ two-stroke near-zero diesel truck engine – Cummins currently is reaching for fuel cells to hit tough zero-emissions targets.

The company has more than 2,000 fuel cells in operation, which includes trucks in Europe and buses in China. In August, the OEM was awarded nearly $7 million from the U.S. commercial carrier journal

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TECHNOLOGY: HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS Department of Energy (DOE) to enable more fuel cell development and accelerate the ongoing effort to drive down cost parity in a challenging field dominated by diesel.

To bolster its commitment, Cummins acquired fuel cell and hydrogen production company Hydrogenics in 2019 and last month acquired hydrogen storage manufacturer NPROXX. The two-prong strategy of producing fuel cells and procuring methods of hydrogen production and storage are also in step with Nikola’s own tact, which in June announced a contract with Norway-based Nell to acquire 85-megawatt alkaline electrolyzers to support five of the world’s first 8-ton-per-day hydrogen stations. Milton said mass hydrogen production at his headquarters in Arizona already has undercut the price of diesel.

“That’s why we have a hashtag, diesel is dead,” Milton said.

“It truly is dead, because now it’s cheaper to operate with hydrogen than diesel. This is the first time in history that we’ve been able to do that.”

Fueled by social media Though Cummins has a 101-year history in commercial transportation, the new kid on the block, Nikola, is the one making waves and attracting billions of dollars from eager investors, which is a bit of a mystery to Linebarger, though he considers it good news for the industry.

“While none of us understands how the valuation could be that high without selling a truck, it’s really good for the industry,” Linebarger said. “It increases awareness about the possibility, which is what we need.”

But not all fuel cell proponents believe the technology is the best Class 8 solution. Hybrid powertrain startup Hyliion recently announced its Hypertruck Electric Range Extender (ERX) with a generator fueled by renewable natural gas (RNG), which has the lowest carbon index score by far over all other fuels, including hydrogen. The Texas-based company also is developing a fuel cell generator for a fleet that requested it.

“Hydrogen fuel cell is an exciting technology that has the potential to be a sustainable fuel for the commercial transportation industry, but there are still many hurdles to overcome to prove its viability,” said Thomas Healy, founder and CEO for Hyliion.

Such hurdles include a lack of a fueling network and, even proponents admit, lack of government funding for research and development (R&D).

DOE remains encouraged by several fuel cell projects that it’s been funding over the years. Progress continues in hydrogen production, storage and fuel cell lifespan. DOE recently pledged an additional $268 million for hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell development, which includes the 42

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Cummins acquired fuel cell and hydrogen production company Hydrogenics in 2019 and last month acquired hydrogen storage manufacturer NPROXX.

construction of a Class 8 work-ready long-haul truck.

Still, fuel cell proponents around the globe acknowledge plenty of challenges ahead, including what Linebarger and others believe is the need for additional public investment at home.

“The public investment in the U.S. is not good enough,” Linebarger said. While DOE “has done a lot of important work to promote hydrogen and is still working hard,” he would like to see a “larger public investment in the U.S.” But not everyone thinks it would be money well spent. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a longtime fuel cell critic, has maintained that all-electric powertrains are superior to fuel cells, or “fool cells” as he’s called them. He criticizes hydrogen for being less energy-efficient than all-electric, for causing metal embrittlement and for being extremely flammable. No stranger to flammability, Tesla currently is under federal investigation following several battery fires in its electric cars. The Tesla Semi, a rechargeable battery-powered rig that has incurred multiple production delays, remains under development.

Critics such as Musk aren’t slowing Milton and others down.

“We kind of got mocked by a lot of people and proved a lot of naysayers wrong, and the rest of the world is jumping in,” Milton said. “It’s completely going hydrogen everywhere in Europe, and America is a little bit different for cars, and that’s OK. But trucking, I believe, is going to be almost entirely hydrogen because of the weight and the costs. It just makes more sense to go hydrogen.”

Linebarger agrees and believes that in addition to more public funding, more public awareness is needed for fuel cells to compete in a growing zero-emissions segment where social media kings such as Musk dominate the news with all-electric powertrains.

“My own children know a lot about batteries,” Linebarger

TECHNOLOGY: HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS said. “They’re very excited about Tesla. When I ask them about fuel cells, they don’t even know what I’m talking about. I need them to know, not because they’re the investors, but because this imagination increases people’s public interest, it increases government interest, and it increases investor interest.”

Reality, not tweets A fuel cell truck runs a hybrid powertrain that uses hydrogen to generate the electricity that powers the truck’s motors and concurrently charges the truck’s powertrain battery.

To create electric power, fuel cells introduce hydrogen and oxygen to a catalyst – usually comprised of platinum – causing an electrochemical reaction that produces electricity, water and heat. The electricity powers the components that turn the truck’s wheels.

Being the most prolific element in the universe, hydrogen can be produced from a variety of sources, such as water, fossil fuels, ethanol and RNG. Proponents say another draw is that – from the perspective of an end user such as a fleet or driver – fuel cells have a fueling mechanism similar to diesel. Hydrogen fueling is fairly simple — stick a nozzle in a tank and fill it up, often in as little as 10 minutes.

However, fueling is also a key roadblock to adoption. A map posted to DOE’s Alternative Fuels Data Center website shows 46 U.S. hydrogen stations — 43 in California. Only two can fuel trucks. Fuel providers such as Shell are working to expand that network.

Kenworth is rolling out 10 additional T680 fuel cell trucks in partnership with Toyota for use at the Port of Los Angeles, and Shell is developing the fueling infrastructure. Still, the high cost of building stations for a nascent and small market is keeping other major fuel suppliers sitting on the sidelines. An increase in demand for fuel cell trucks could change that.

Kenworth is rolling out 10 additional T680 fuel cell trucks in partnership with Toyota for use at the Port of Los Angeles, and Shell is developing the fueling infrastructure.

“The cost really lies in the compression, dispensing and cooling,” said Nico Bouwkamp, technical manager for the private-public California Fuel Cell Partnership. “Because there are not a lot of stations, there is not a lot of demand for that kind of equipment yet, so the cost right now is going to be high. Even though the volumes are higher because they’re trucks, and because there are a good number of trucks on the road that immediately creates a much higher and predictable demand than cars, there are still so few stations.”

Making more hydrogen Currently, 95% of the 10 million metric tons of hydrogen produced in the United States is sourced from natural gas through a steam-filled process called reforming. DOE reports that it’s the “cheapest, most efficient and most common” means of hydrogen production.

Since natural gas is a fossil fuel with a carbon index (CI) score close to diesel (both of which hover around 100, according to CARB), there’s been a shift among producers – particularly in the transportation sector – to obtain hydrogen from renewable sources such as water and RNG. Though RNG has the lowest CI score of all fuels at -410 (it’s sourced from methane, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and CARB consider 21 times more destructive to ozone than carbon dioxide), obtaining the fuel from methane and then further processing it into hydrogen requires additional infrastructure and cost.

Nonetheless, Grant Zimmerman, CEO for RNG producer Amp Americas, said the process costs less than electrolysis, which is used to obtain hydrogen from water.

“RNG to hydrogen is more economical and provides superior greenhouse gas impact versus electrolysis,” Zimmerman said. “Small-scale hydrogen production from electrolysis will likely become more important over time as the technology improves and costs come down. For now, electrolysis is very expensive, limiting its deployment. With very low carbonintensity RNG, the climate benefits are actually greater than using zero carbon power in an electrolysis operation.”

Still, proponents for electrolysis say RNG’s supply line is somewhat limited, with dairies, sewage treatment plants and landfills being among the top sources for the gas. Plus, incentives tied to RNG use have increased its demand among fleets using natural gas engines.

Enter the growing trend to use electrolyzers powered by renewable energy sources such as solar and wind to obtain hydrogen from water through electrolysis. Milton said the key is to employ electrolysis on a large scale, which for Nikola is reducing the cost of hydrogen dramatically to the point that it’s now undercutting diesel.

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TECHNOLOGY: HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS honest with you,” Milton said. “When we started this, hydrogen was $16 a kilogram. We’re now down way below $4. We’re pushing $2.50 almost, and now we’re cheaper than diesel to operate. The key to that was massive production of hydrogen. Everyone was doing these little tiny stations that were very expensive to capitalize and service. When you go to large scale – each one of our stations will do over 8,000 kilograms a day – that’s bigger than any station in the world.”

Cummins also is pursuing electrolysis. Its acquisition of Hydrogenics in late 2019 opened the door to additional electrolysis and fuel cell R&D. Linebarger said there has never been a better time for Cummins, other OEMs and governments worldwide to invest in hydrogen infrastructure.

“As a result of the COVID pandemic, our economies are all significantly impacted, many damaged for years potentially,” he said. “In order to restart these economies and build up again, we need to make investments, and why not make investments in those parts of the economy that will last us for the next 100 years, that will build foundations for how we want to provide energy and transportation in the future?”

Daniel Simmons, DOE assistant secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, announced earlier this year that DOE would set aside $100 million for the construction of an industry-ready Class 8 fuel cell truck and funding for electrolyzer R&D to improve and increase hydrogen production through electrolysis.

“Collectively, we’ve made tremendous progress on fuel cells, electrolyzers and fundamental materials,” Simmons said. “But hydrogen infrastructure – the cost, the durability and widespread distribution – remains a critical barrier.”

Milton agrees.

“I think the key now is getting the network out,” he said.

“We’re building 700 stations in America. For the next five years, we’ll have a lot of coverage throughout the country with hydrogen. In Europe, we have multiple stations going up, too.

In the next five to 10 years, you’ll have complete coverage everywhere you want to go with hydrogen.”

Periodic table No. 1 Hydrogen is an invisible odorless gas that ranks as the lightest and most prolific element in the universe. It’s also highly flammable, but then again, so are other transportation fuels with the exception of diesel, which has the lowest flashpoint 44

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Nikola said electrolysis is reducing the cost of hydrogen dramatically to the point that it’s now undercutting diesel, making its Nikola Two tractor financially viable.

among conventional fuels.

Proponents of using hydrogen as a fuel to power Class 8 trucks say it’s a silver bullet in finding technologies to meet ever-tightening emissions standards, since it’s clean and abundant, it can mirror diesel’s fueling infrastructure, and it can meet the tough demands of long-haul trucking with less weight and fewer fueling stops than all-electric. However, hydrogen’s detractors say it’s inefficient when compared to battery-electric power and presents significant safety risks.

So far, U.S. fuel cell transportation largely has been relegated to California, where nearly all the nation’s hydrogen stations are located. From cars to trucks, the safety record is sound, Bouwkamp said. “Hydrogen systems, the way they’re designed, they are significantly overdesigned for safety, so the systems are a lot stronger than compared to a diesel truck,” he said.

However, Musk tweeted in June after Nikola’s IPO that fuel cells were “staggeringly dumb.” In 2015 during a press conference, he referred to hydrogen as a “pernicious molecule” that was “extremely flammable” and caused “metal embrittlement.” His chief complaint then still remains centered on the inefficiency of the fuel cell industry when compared to battery-electric.

In its 2019 Advanced Truck Technologies report, DOE lists electric at a 95% drive efficiency compared to fuel cell at 59% and diesel at 46%. However, fuel cell proponents point out that freight-ton efficiency – the truck’s ability to haul a full load as far as it can without refueling – is where electric currently falls flat in long-haul.

“You just can’t fill a battery,” Bouwkamp said. “Let’s say the Tesla truck or any truck that wants over a 500-mile range, you’re looking at least at a 1,000-kilowatt battery. That’s a lot

TECHNOLOGY: HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS of weight. That’s a lot of energy. And to charge it, if you want educate people, and I think once you start seeing these on the to do that in 15 minutes, you’re going to need a 4-megawatt road, the fear goes away. That’s the key.” charger. That’s massive, and I can only imagine what that looks A comparable electric semi, which Nikola also plans to produce, will weigh about 10,000 additional pounds over its fuel like with regards to cable, or just the capacity required to get cell model because of the large battery pack required to enable that energy to a truck.”

Bouwkamp said all-electric powertrain capabilities currently productive range. Nikola’s fuel cell trucks are being developed for long-haul highway use, while its electric trucks are being are not suited for long-haul trucking. Attempts to compete designed for the “city where you’re only driving it throughout with the fast 15-minute fill times afforded by compressed one day,” Milton said. “That’s where battery is really good.” hydrogen (five to 10 minutes with liquefied hydrogen) would In addition to fuel cell R&D, Cummins also has been workrequire big changes in current charging infrastructure. Even ing on all-electric powertrains, and the company has taken the with 2- and 4-megawatt chargers, the Tesla Semi’s current position that battery-electric vehicles are not suited for more maximum 500-mile range would require additional stops for demanding duty cycles such as long-haul trucking. “There refueling compared to the targeted 750-mile range of a fuel really isn’t a transportation solution that will work, at least not cell truck. for large-scale energy projects like trains and things like it, In regards to safety, Sunita Satyapal, director for DOE’s Hyother than hydrogen,” Linebarger said. “The truth is that most drogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, said fuel cell systems people do not see batteries as the final solution for the large energy user.” undergo extensive safety tests.

The renewable aspects of hydrogen fuel production also “I think hydrogen is as safe as other fuels,” she said. “Hydromake it more appealing versus the finite supplies of electricgen is nontoxic. It’s not polluting. The hydrogen storage tanks vehicle battery elements such as lithium, cobalt and nickel. go through impact testing, fire testing, even gunfire testing Battery recycling, following second-life use application, also and drop testing.” is limited, with the world’s largest EV manufacturer, ChinaSatyapal said the growing success of fuel cell forklifts based BYD, reporting a 40% to 60% recovery rate for cobalt continues to demonstrate the technology’s safety and effialone, with the rest resultciency. “There are over ing in highly toxic sludge.

33,000 hydrogen fuel cell In the last few years, forklifts in the market,” China has stepped up fuel she said. “This is a good cell research and producDOE success story that tion. Beijing alone plans we funded over 10 years to add 1,000 hydrogen ago with very early R&D, stations and “have one eventual demonstrations million FCVs on the road and now over 20 million by 2030,” according to fuelings.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has condemned fuel cells and instead embraces allasia.nikkei.com.

Satyapal said every electric powertrains as tomorrow’s transportation technology.

Growing competition few seconds, a customer around the globe further fuels Linebarger, Milton and others is fueling with hydrogen. “Within distribution in warehouses where they need zero emissions and it’s more time-consuming to keep promoting and pursuing their fuel cell goals, even as vocal all-electric champions such as Musk keep criticizing to charge a battery, it’s becoming economically viable,” she their efforts. said. “Major companies – Walmart, Amazon – are putting “We need to build regional scale centers where we can in fuel cell forklifts. In terms of safety, including the storage deploy these technologies in a serious way,” Linebarger said. tanks, I don’t think that’s an issue any longer. It’s more of a perception from the past.”

“Deployment for storage, renewable storage, deployment for transportation and deployment for industry. I think Southern California is a good example, but we need more of those places Safety first in more parts of the world. We don’t want just spot soluAs with other modes of transportation, safety is a key in fuel tions. We need regional areas where all the technologies are cell development, Milton said. “Everything has its danger,” deployed, we can all come down to scale, investors can make he said. “It’s part of life, and it’s part of engineering, and it’s money, and then we can go to the next spot. Whoever does it, our obligation to make sure we’re testing it as well as it can the next one will do it, and we all benefit.” be tested for the safety of the people driving it. You have to commercial carrier journal

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EQUIPMENT: CHOOSING A SHOP LIFT

NEED A

LIFT? Don’t fixate on price or overlook shop layout

BY TOM QUIMBY

W

hen choosing a shop lift, there’s no room for cutting corners.

It’s such an important topic that the Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) has a guide on its website titled “Buyer Beware.”

ALI, an accredited industry association that provides lift product certification and training, has a list of manufacturers it says have crossed the line when it comes to lift marketing.

“We recommend checking the ‘Buyer Beware’ section of Autolift.org before making a final decision,” said R.W. “Bob” O’Gorman, ALI president. “We actively monitor the lift market for scams and false claims and list them.”

Accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an independent third-party product approver, ALI certifies that lift equipment will perform up to industry criteria set by ANSI and enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Testing is performed in an OSHAapproved laboratory, where the lift – if it passes muster – will leave with an ALI Gold Label that also bears the names of 46

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ANSI and ALCTV (Automotive Lifts – Safety Requirements for Construction, Testing and Validation).

“ANSI/ALI ALCTV outlines the minimum safety features required on every lift,” O’Gorman said. “If you buy an ALI Certified lift, you are ensuring that your lift meets the current safety standard.”

While lift products can be purchased legally without ALI certification, they may not be permitted for use in a shop, many of which are governed by regulations set by the International Building Code in the United States and Provincial Requirements in Canada. Even if it’s permissible to use a noncertified lift, it’s not something to take lightly.

“This lift certification program makes it easy for buyers to choose lifts that meet all safety requirements,” said Peter Bowers, technical sales support manager for Stertil-Koni USA. Jeff Kritzer, executive vice president for BendPak, agreed with Bowers. Both advised looking for the ALI Gold Label when shopping for lift equipment.

“ANSI/ALI ALCTV outlines the minimum safety features required on every lift,” Kritzer said. ALI’s website offers a

| september 2020

list of certified lifts.

Doug Spiller, director of heavy duty product management for Rotary Lift, said 47 states and Washington, D.C., have adopted the International Building Code, which requires all vehicle lifts to earn the Gold Label.

So much depends upon a building A lift with an ALI Gold Label may seem like the perfect fit for the fleet, but it may not be the right choice for the shop.

“Guys in the shop know how to run the shop,” said Steve Perlstein, sales and marketing manager for Mohawk Lifts. “They don’t necessarily know how to equip the shop, because they don’t go thinking about things like ceiling height. They don’t go thinking about bay length.”

In that case, it’s best to lean on the expertise of others who can nail down a shop’s layout and infrastructure. A trained lift company sales representative can help prevent big mistakes, Spiller said.

EQUIPMENT: CHOOSING A SHOP LIFT

Lift manufacturers say to look for Gold Label certification from the Automotive Lift Institute.

“One of the best first steps you can take is to find a local vehicle lift distributor or lift expert to survey your fleet, your needs and your facility to help come up with a solution that fits all of those and your budget,” he said. “One of the key mistakes is shop layout. Will the lift fit in the facility space with every vehicle in the fleet? Many times, approach ramps must be removed to close doors, vehicle overhangs are not considered, or overhead items have to be moved after a lift is installed. There could be a better style of lift that is more flexible or adjustable to fit in your space.”

Spiller said to also “consider traffic flow, concrete and soil quality, vehicle lengths, turning radius and whether the facility is leased or owned.”

Lease agreements may prohibit certain installations, particularly in-ground lifts, Bowers said.

“If the shop is on a short-term lease, perhaps mobile column lifts are best, as these heavy-duty vehicle lifts are indeed mobile and can easily be moved to a

the floor. If you tell me you’ve got two inches of concrete, I’m going to say, ‘Go pour a new floor, and then we can talk.’ ” Floor requirements can vary depending on the lift.

Platform lifts and mobile column lifts can be used on a 6-inch shop floor comprised of 3,500-psi concrete with a single level of 6-by-6 welded wire fabric, Bowers said. “Foundation testing comes into play with fixed two-post lifts that require highly reinforced concrete,” he said.

Floor testing can be avoided if floor thickness and strength “can be verified from building construction,” Spiller said.

Otherwise, he said, a core should be taken “from the floor in the area of the installation. The core will determine the depth of the concrete and can be tested for strength. Lift installation manuals will have the exact floor strength required for each type of lift.”

At the end of the day, a fleet’s shop presents plenty of unique considerations that shouldn’t be ignored, Perlstein said.

“What is your shop like?” he said.

“There’s never two people in the world that answer the question in the same way.”

new location,” he said.

Other factors include power availability. “Do you have enough juice on the wall?” Perlstein said. “These are the kinds of questions to ask to ensure somebody doesn’t mess up.”

Bowers agreed with the need to “evaluate power sources in the shop.”

Perlstein said the tools of the trade for lift representatives include a rotary hammer that pounds as it drills. Drilling into a shop’s concrete floor allows for a closer look at the concrete, particularly the slab’s thickness. If it’s not strong enough, a lift may be out of the question.

“He’s going to check how thick the floor is,” Perlstein Mohawk sales manager Steve Perlstein said that since a parallelogram lift rises up at an angle, it can provide said. “Drive-on lifts of all more space for technician work areas and toolboxes. types need to get bolted to commercial carrier journal

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EQUIPMENT: CHOOSING A SHOP LIFT Popular can be practical, but …

Whether due to restrictive leases, space constraints or budget requirements, mobile column lifts have become king.

“Mobile column lifts are the most common vehicle lifts utilized at Class 8 shops,” Bowers said. “This is due to their overall lower cost to purchase and minimal infrastructure requirements to operate.”

However, convenience and an attractive price point don’t always make mobile lifts the right choice.

“One nice thing about mobile columns is that they can be used in a flat bay and moved out of the way when not needed,” Kritzer said. “But like all lift types, mobile column lifts are not ideal for every job. If you have a bay dedicated to PMs, you may want to install a drive-on lift like a four-post lift to speed up getting trucks on and off the lift. Add a set of rolling bridge jacks, and you can do wheel and brake work, too.”

O’Gorman agreed that mobile lifts aren’t always the answer.

“You may prefer a heavy-duty two-post lift for wheels-free work on medium-duty trucks, or a drive-on lift like a four-post or parallelogram type of lift for some tasks,” he said. “Many government fleets rely on heavy-duty inground lifts and scissors lifts to service their vehicles.”

Depending on shop needs, time constraints can be an issue with mobile lifts, Perlstein said.

“You know how long it takes to set up a set of mobile columns?” he said.

“They’re not quick. Perhaps in a dealership, you’ve got a four-post or alignment lift. You drive on, and you’re up. You hit the button, and you’re in the air. If there’s a whole lot of PMs going on, do I really want to spend the eight or 12 minutes per set of mobile column lifts to put one of those against each and every one of the tires? Or do I just want to use a drive-on lift and hit the ‘up’ button?”

Perlstein said all lifts have their own 48

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“We have found that the most productive facilities will have a flat or open bay about 10% of the time and usually a tire bay or inspection bay that may also be a pit,” said Doug Spiller, Rotary Lift’s heavy-duty product manager, explaining the perks of his company’s MOD35 Flex in-ground lift.

different applications. “But if we take an over-the-road truck, that thing weighs about 22,000 pounds, and we find a lot of customers buying a 25,000-pound lift, and that’s what they use,” he said.

“A 25,000-pound drive-on costs less than a set of mobile columns. Move to a 75,000-pound drive-on, and it’s a different story.”

When shopping for a mobile lift, consider spec’ing lifting forks that are long enough to fit under both tires when needed, Perlstein said. “Do not exceed the tire-load rating,” he said.

at attractive prices. Just be careful before clicking, O’Gorman said.

“A typical mistake that many people make when shopping is only looking at the upfront price,” he said. “When it comes to a lift, your safety and the safety of your team is riding on it. There’s a reason some lifts are much cheaper than others. Don’t compromise on safety. If you see an incredibly low price, question why.”

Is the lift certified? Does it have

Lifting your expectations It doesn’t take long searching online to discover that the market is saturated with plenty of lifts and accessories

| september 2020

BendPak’s HDS-35 four-post lift has a maximum capacity of 35,000 pounds.

EQUIPMENT: CHOOSING A SHOP LIFT sufficient capacity? Is the lift marketed and sold as CE (certified in Europe) compliant and not intended for U.S. requirements? Are you familiar with the manufacturer? Will you be able to get replacement parts when it needs maintenance or service? Can it lift the vehicles in your fleet properly?

Before signing on the line, do some online research on the manufacturer, look at the fine print of its warranty policy, and ask about service and support. Get a copy of the owner’s manual to get a better idea of the lift’s functions and maintenance requirements.

“Typical mistakes made when shopping include not doing your homework to figure out exactly what you need upfront, getting distracted by bells and whistles or irrelevant product claims, or focusing only on price,” Kritzer said. “All of these mistakes can result in you winding up with a shop full of lifts that don’t meet your fleet’s specific needs.”

Stertil-Koni’s wireless mobile column lifts reduce setup time and keep the floor clear of cords.

Spiller said in addition to looking for the ALI Gold Label certification, buyers should look over the lift’s maintenance requirements and find out if the manufacturer performs lifecycle tests on its equipment.

“When comparing the cost of lifts, look at the overall cost of ownership, and not just the initial purchase price,” he said. “The costs of repairs and downtime from a low-priced lift can easily outweigh any upfront savings.”

MORE Prospect Data | Market Share Data | New Prospects RigDig® has been helping truck equipment dealers increase their targeting and prospecting effectiveness with data insights on 1 million+ active trucking entities for nearly ten years: • Arming sales teams with invaluable prospect/client equipment data • Providing up-to-date market share data for your AOR • Identifying new prospect companies in your territories • Assessing growth trends/emerging markets • Guiding strategic planning

www.rigdigbi.com

To find out how Randall-Reilly’s RigDig® can power your marketing efforts, call us at (800) 633-5953, ext. 1132 to schedule a demo. commercial carrier journal

| september 2020 49

Drive, allposition tires

Trim pad tool set

Double Coin and CMA added new tire sizes for their RLB452 Open-Shoulder Drive-Position Tire and RR202 Five-Rib AllPosition Highway-Service Tire.

The fuel-efficient RLB452 features a four-belt package and an open shoulder designed to allow debris to escape from between the tread lugs. It offers more biting edges across the tread surface to help enhance grip and traction on dry or wet and snow-covered surfaces. Longer wear is facilitated by a deep 28/32nds of tread depth. The RR202 315/80R22.5 20-ply is suited for heavy loads and off-highway or mixed-service applications. The five-rib allposition tire is built for added handling and traction and also features protective sidewall ribs that help combat curb damage and abrasion.

Double Coin, www.doublecointires.com, 888-226-5250

Heavy-duty starters

Prestolite Electric’s Leece-Neville case-ground M93 and M97 24V 6kW In-Line Gear-Reduction Starters are designed to provide power for a variety of heavy-duty applications. They are available in 10- and 12-tooth models and offer clockwise rotation, an electrical soft start that helps eliminate ring gear damage and an integral magnetic switch that helps eliminate voltage drop issues by minimizing wiring between the relay and the solenoid.

Leece-Neville Heavy Duty Systems, www.prestolite.com, 866-288-9853

Havis’ DS-PAN-1400 Docking Station for Panasonic’s Toughbook A3 tablet is designed to be compact and lightweight and compatible with the A3’s barcode reader, extended battery, smart card and hand strap. A one-handed docking and spring-loaded connector head helps mobile workers maximize productivity while preserving access to the A3’s buttons and ports, and an integrated VESA 75 hole pattern helps ease device mounting. A keyed lock comes standard.

Havis Inc., www.havis.com, 800-524-9900 commercial carrier journal

Snap-on, www.snapon.com, 877-762-7664

Refrigerated trailer

Wabash National’s Molded Structural Composite (MSC) Refrigerated Trailer features the company’s proprietary MSC technology that allows a customer to either downsize the batteries required to haul cargo or increase the run time on a battery setup to provide enhanced thermal performance, maximized payload capacity, corrosion resistance and a high standard floor rating for added durability and lighter weight.

The MSC features eNow’s Rayfrigeration System, a solarelectric power system designed to provide a full 12-hour route duration; and Carrier Transicold’s engineless Vector 8100, an efficient all-electric trailer refrigeration unit (TRU) engineered for reduced maintenance and noise while eliminating emissions and fuel consumption.

Wabash National, www.wabashnational.com, 855-530-3870

Foot pump dispenser

Toughbook dock

50

Snap-on’s ASGP102BG 2-piece Instinct Non-Marring Trim Pad Tool Set is designed to be strong enough to remove a vehicle’s interior clips and fasteners while gentle enough to reduce damage. The tools are crafted with durable nickel-chrome-finished blades and ergonomic handles, and the vinyl sleeve on the 90-degree portion allows for added leverage without marring adjoining components. The set contains two separate tools for removing the most common-sized clips. Available colors are red, green and orange.

| september 2020

Whiting’s hands-free Sentry Foot Pump Dispenser can be used in transition zones without soap and water. It is designed to draw gels or liquids from any container in a predetermined amount and is constructed from durable machined stainless steel. The foot pump incorporates pressure damper absorption technology to facilitate longterm use when combined with the company’s SDC dihydrogen citrate disinfectant.

Whiting Systems, www.whitingsystems.com, 501-847-9031

PRODUCTS

Winter drive tire

Cooper Tire’s Roadmaster RM258 WD Winter Drive Tire for regional haulers features an open shoulder design with four rows of lugs and is Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake-certified due to its shoulder notches and chevron grooves for added bite. The tire’s 26/32nd tread, along with full-depth 3D siping in the lugs, help it connect closely with the road for improved traction. Tie bars in the shoulders impede tread squirming, while stone ejectors in the tread grooves help keep small rocks from drilling into the casing.

A four-steel-belt construction permits multiple retreads. It comes in sizes 11R22.5 and 11R24.5 (Load Range H).

Cooper Tire and Rubber Co., www.coopertire.com, 800-854-6288

Dump trailer

East’s Narrow Spec Dump Trailer for hauling sand, gravel and commodity loads is engineered to maximize payload with lighter-weight components. The NSD is built with premium aluminum flooring and side material alloys for longer life and durability, and the company’s Genesis smooth-side aerodynamic design is easier to clean and will not show dents from the inside.

Its 2-inch-thick double-wall extruded aluminum panels are robotically welded together vertically inside and out for added strength and resistance to twisting, while its ¼-inch-thick rear-corner posts wrap completely around the top and bottom rails and interlock to help reduce sideto-side distortion. The tailgate’s lighter-weight sheet-and-post 90-degree wall joints are welded continuously to maximize its strength-to-weight ratio and joint integrity.

East Manufacturing, www.eastmfg.com, 888-405-3278

Day cab cable support

Phillips’ X-Tend Day Cab Tracker Bar Extension is engineered for cable support on day cabs with back windows. The X-Tend’s design helps prevent damage and decrease driver distraction from cables banging against the cab by extending them an additional 8 inches from the tracker bar. It is designed for easy installation with no mounting hardware and has a noncorrosive mounting and support bracket and a stainless-steel metal tubing and eye hook. Soft cushion-foam padding helps prevent damage. Two sizes are available with either a ¾- or 1-inch-diameter tracker bar.

Phillips Industries, www.phillipsind.com, 800-423-4512

LED interior lamps

Optronics’ Opti-Brite Diamond Series LED Interior Lamps are thin surface-mount models that are dimmable and built to remember previous intensity settings. The lamps can be wired to operate manually or illuminate automatically in the presence of movement.

The diamond-shaped hardwired lamps are ½-inch thick. The 66-LED model ILL02 measures 13½ inches and delivers a 2,000-lumen output, and the 36-LED model ILL03 measures 6.7 inches and delivers a 1,500-lumen output. The lights can accommodate both 12- and 24-volt vehicle electrical systems.

Optronics International, www.optronicsinc.com, 800-364-5483

Super-regional all-position tire

Toyo’s NanoEnergy M171 Super-Regional All-Position Tire is SmartWay-verified and is engineered for added fuel efficiency, traction, wear life and stability with improved tread compounds developed through the company’s proprietary Nano Balance Technology and its E-balance design, which maintains the tread profile while reducing strain at the bead area and belt edge. The combination of a high-elongation top belt, zigzag center grooves and center sipes works with the cap and base compound to foster long even wear. The tire is available in sizes 11R22.5 14/G, 11R22.5 16/H, 295/75R22.5 14/G and 295/75R22.5 16/H. Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp., www.toyotires.com, 800-442-8696

Portable jack

Stertil-Koni’s Model SKB25-2 Portable Air Over Hydraulic Jack is suited for servicing vehicles in the bay and on the road. The 60-pound two-stage jack has a first-stage lifting capacity of 25 metric tons and a final stage of 10 metric tons. The unit has a 21.6inch handle that folds for easy transport and an optional wall-mounting bracket.

Other features include a 12.5-inch maximum height without extensions, a 6.3-inch collapsed height, a built-in overload valve and 2- and 4-inch extensions.

Stertil-Koni, www.stertil-koni.com, 800-336-6637 commercial carrier journal

| september 2020 51

PRODUCTS

Solar LED flasher lights

J.W. Speaker’s Solar LED Flasher Lights can be used to help passersby see parked trucks more easily. The high-powered lights offer optimal visibility for up to one mile in any location where power is unavailable, and their rugged low profile makes them suitable for adverse conditions, including storms and dust. They can recharge in as few as six hours and can run for up to 120 hours, and they can be mounted securely by adhesive on any surface without drilling. The LEDs are available in amber and red and project perpendicular to the lamp for easier identification from farther distances.

J.W. Speaker, www.jwspeaker.com, 800-558-7288

RGN trailer

Fontaine’s Magnitude 60LCC RGN Trailer is built to haul 60-ton loads in 13 feet without adding a flip box or a spreader. The fouraxle trailer can accept a 23-inch flip box and a Fontaine EQ1 spreader with a fourth axle, allowing it to haul 55 tons in 16 feet with a 125-inch swing radius. It is fabricated with 100,000-pound minimum yield steel flanges, has a true 26-foot clear deck length and has a loaded deck height of 18 inches with six inches of ground clearance.

Fontaine Trailer Heavy-Haul, www.fontainetrailer.com, 205-467-6171

Sealed connectors

TE’s LeavySeal Connectors are sealed and have a high pin count to help withstand harsh environments with flexible usage and ease of assembly. Variants are made of flame-retardant UL 94 V-0 material, an integrated secondary locking feature to help secure contact alignment, a high temperature range of -40 to 140 degrees Celsius and a high level of IP protection (IP67, IP69K with cover). The connectors feature a lever lock system for strong, sealed mating and in-line, flange or PCB mounting options.

TE Connectivity, www.te.com/ict, 800-522-6752

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commercial carrier journal

| september 2020

TOTAL FLEET SHOPPER

•

Solutions for Fleets

•

Over-The-Road Truckers

•

Owner/Operators

•

Temperature Monitoring for the Cold Chain

•

Construction Companies

•

Mechanical Contractors

•

Food/Distribution Companies

•

Service Trades

•

Waste Management

As ELD Provider list narrows, questions arise over accuracy of DOT registry.

R&L Fleet Management’s HOS ELD System is ready for the new update to service rules coming in September.

MORE Prospect Data | Market Share Data | New Prospects RigDig® has been helping truck equipment dealers increase their targeting and prospecting effectiveness with data insights on 1 million+ active trucking entities for nearly ten years: • Arming sales teams with invaluable prospect/client equipment data • Providing up-to-date market share data for your AOR • Identifying new prospect companies in your territories • Assessing growth trends/emerging markets • Guiding strategic planning

www.rigdigbi.com

To find out how Randall-Reilly’s RigDig® can power your marketing efforts, call us at (800) 633-5953, ext. 1132 to schedule a demo.

commercial carrier journal

|

september 2020

53

TOTAL FLEET SHOPPER

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commercial carrier journal

| september 2020 55

THE BETTER WAY TO TRAIN NEW HIRES NEW-HIRE TRAINING STARTS AT HOME

PREVENTABLE or NOT? Doe’s dart attempt dings F-150

O

Pre-Work Saves Time and Improves First Impression Providing new hires with online forms and pre-work training before their first day can cut orientation in half. More importantly, your trainers can minimize in-class time because drivers have mastered simple skills already. And all of that gets safer drivers on the road sooner.

INSTRUCTIONTECH.NET ONLINE TRAINING | ORIENTATION | LMS

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commercial carrier journal

n the morning of the accident, John Doe was piloting a large refrigerated straight truck down Friendly Road in Greensboro, North Carolina, en route to Porky’s Pizzeria (strategically located next to The Pub, in the Guilford College Mini Mall) with a mixed load of cheese, pepperoni and other goodies. It was a pleasantly cool sunny day, and despite the rushhour congestion, Doe was in a very good mood, thanks mostly to the tantalizing prospect of acquiring one of Porky’s Deluxe Bacon & Anchovy Breakfast Pizzas and an ice-cold Dr. Pepper after completing his delivery. Yum! Arriving at the mall located on the left side of the busy four-lane thoroughfare, Doe noted that its rather narrow entrance was obstructed by a baby-blue Ford F-150 pickup driven by graduate student Prissy Galore, who was trying to make a left turn to exit. So Doe stopped dead, with his left-turn signal flashing, and decided to wait for the pickup to leave. Noting Doe’s plight, however, Refrigerated straight Galore thoughtfully tried to back up several feet, which still left Doe factruck driver John Doe ing a mighty tight squeeze. was turning left on a In response, Doe waited for a mobusy four-lane road mentary break in the traffic, floored into a mall with a tight the accelerator and made his move. entrance, but after But as Doe was clearing the entrance, he darted through Galore unexpectedly inched forward oncoming traffic, he and … Blammello! Oh no! The left hit a departing pickup side of Doe’s rig had clipped and contruck. Was this a siderably crumpled the pickup’s left preventable accident? front fender! Despite being shaken up by the impact, Galore was OK. Because Doe contested the preventable-accident warning letter from his safety director, the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Accident Review Committee was asked to render a final decision. Alas, NSC immediately ruled against Doe, noting that he should not have attempted the tight turn, especially when heavy traffic forced him to enter the mall in a big hurry.

| september 2020

WE’VE RAISED THE CEILING ON BEST IN CLASS

Peterbilt’s Model 579 UltraLoft is a lightweight integral cab-sleeper design that takes the Model 579 to new levels of driver comfort and performance.

The distinctive exterior features a bold, sculpted roofline and aerodynamic enhancements for increased fuel economy. The new interior offers bestin-class headroom, bunk space and storage. The standard PACCAR Powertrain, including the PACCAR MX-13 engine and the advanced PACCAR Automated Transmission, maximizes fuel efficiency and drivability, making the Model 579 UltraLoft the driver’s truck of choice.

For more information, stop by your nearest Peterbilt dealer or visit Peterbilt.com.

CLASS PAYS