Managing The Shop

September 2012, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Building a Successful Battery Re-charging Program

When a truck has battery issues, fleets normally replace all the batteries so that truck can get back on the road

March 2012, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Managing Maintenance With Software, Part Two

Skagit Transportation Maintenance Manager Bob Dorsey looks after a fleet of 90 tractors and 200-plus trailers, and he does it with the help of the long-established TruckMate software.

By Rolf Lockwood, Contributing Editor

Many fleet operations are too small to benefit from a sophisticated maintenance-management software system. They may be right, but probably not because there isn't a software product that would suit them

Tags: Managing The Shop

February 2012, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Training Technicians - Part Two

Younger people don't much want to read training manuals, and they're adept at computer use. Tailor your training accordingly.

By Rolf Lockwood, Contributing Editor

In part one, we talked about how important it is to train technicians, and how classroom training that affords hands-on experience is the best. However, it's not always feasible to send your techs off for training or even to allot hands-on time at your own location

Tags: Managing The Shop

February 2012, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Managing Maintenance With Software, Part One

O&S Trucking in Springfield, Mo., uses software to track each individual piece of equipment from cradle to grave and understand all the costs.

By Rolf Lockwood, Contributing Editor

The need for first-rate maintenance of our trucks and trailers is obvious, so let's not start this article blathering about the necessity of cost control and the ever-increasing challenge of safety compliance. All that's a given

Tags: Managing The Shop

January 2012, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Dispense With the Grief of Managing Tires: Let a Service Partner Do It for You

Wheel reconditioning can't be done in house because of the painting or powder coating and bead-blasting. Vendors can set up and get economies of volume and get good ROI on that equipment. Photo by Jim Park.

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

The service truck arrives at 8:30 Sunday morning, as usual. The two tire techs unload 16 freshly mounted and balanced, retreaded drive tires, eight new steer tires on reconditioned wheels, and a take-off drive tir

Tags: Managing The Shop

November 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Training Technicians - Part One

Understanding the knowledge shortfalls in your shop is the first step to designing a training program.

By Rolf Lockwood, Editor at Large

Training has probably never been more valuable or important than it is in 2011. That's true no matter what the trucking job, but it's especially true in the shop

Tags: Managing The Shop

October 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Too Much Fine Print? Warranties Can Be Hard to Understand, But Effort Is Necessary

By Commentary Rolf Lockwood, Editor at Large

Big fleets often write their own terms when it comes to claims on a manufacturer's warranty

Tags: Managing The Shop

September 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Arsenault Survey Shows How Fleets Operate Preventive Maintenance Programs

According to an ongoing survey by Arsenault Associates, 56% of fleets that employ maintenance software use it first and foremost to automate preventive maintenance scheduling

Tags: Managing The Shop

September 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Old Dominion's Green Shop

By Tom Nunlist, Associate Editor

Old Dominion Freight Line has implemented environmentally conscious programs at all 31 of its shops in the lower 48 states

Tags: Managing The Shop

May 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Fewer than Half of Fleets Use Fleet-Specific Software for Maintenance

Fewer than 44 percent of fleets maintain their vehicles using software designed for that specific purpose, and one in three still uses paper and pencil or nothing at all, according to a survey by a maintenance software supplier

Tags: Managing The Shop

May 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Ready for Reman

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

The average age of a truck in the U.S. fleet is now about 6.7 years. That's about 11 months older than the historical average and the oldest it has ever been, according to ACT data going back to 1979

Tags: Managing The Shop

April 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

How IT Can Help With Warranty Recovery

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

Probably at least half of the hundreds of thousands of over-10-unit fleets in the U.S. are managed manually - by "white board," yellow note pad, and by Excel spreadsheet - according to one estimate

Tags: Managing The Shop

March 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Arsenault: Don't Over-Buy on Parts

Many maintenance shops buy more parts than necessary, in effect storing company cash on parts room shelves

Tags: Managing The Shop

March 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Have Maintenance Expertise, Will Travel

Some of the most well-known members of ATA's Technology and Maintenance Council have become limited-time executives, spreading their expertise over a number of smaller truck fleets as they spend time with each client to help them get the most out of their maintenance operations

Tags: Managing The Shop

January 2011, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Are You Greasing Right?

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor

The best grease in the world won't do the job if it doesn't get to where it's needed. That's why it's important to train technicians on proper greasing procedures

Tags: Managing The Shop

October 2010, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

CSA 2010: Maintenance Musts

By Steve Sturgess, Executive Editor

Vehicle maintenance is one of the top areas where fleets are at risk under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's new CSA 2010 program

Tags: Managing The Shop

August 2010, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Suggestions for Meeting CSA 2010 Regulations in the Shop

The FMCSA's new Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 program identifies 10 different groups of parts and accessories that the government considers critical for safe operation. (Photo by Paccar Parts)

Checking out idled trucks used for spare parts during the economic downturn before they return to service will be particularly important after new federal safety regulations go into effect in the fall of 201

Tags: Managing The Shop

March 2010, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Vertical Integration: Friend or Foe?

As truck manufacturing gets increasingly global and the costs for new components spiral, chassis like this Freightliner being assembled in Saltillo, Mexico, carry an increasing number of in-house components. (Photo by STF)

By Steve Sturgess, Executive Editor

There is a creeping vertical integration in North American truck manufacturing

Tags: Managing The Shop

March 2010, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Four Ways to Make Onsite Product Training More Effective

When you spec a component, often training is part of the package. Training helps established suppliers set themselves apart from those selling cheap parts without any customer support, and generally there's no out-of-pocket expense to the fleet or dealer

Tags: Managing The Shop

January 2010, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

The Path to Parts Savings: Five Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Budget

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor

Times are tough. Fleets are scrambling for freight to fill trucks, shippers are beating up carriers on rates, and truckers are keeping their equipment longer because they can't afford to buy new

Tags: Managing The Shop

December 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

10 Ways Fleet Maintenance Software Can Help Manage Costs and Boost Profitability

A robust maintenance software system can help a shop be more efficient and productive.

Kenworth offers this information to help truck fleet operators with their own maintenance facilities reduce parts inventory, decrease operating costs and increase productivity

Tags: Managing The Shop

August 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Choosing the Optimal Tool Cart

Tool carts are available in just about every possible variety, from a simple two tray unit, to super wide units with six or more drawers and a flip lid, not to mention roll cabinet

Tags: Managing The Shop

June 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Seeking the SuperTechs: TMC Technician Skills Competition

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor

This month, the Technology and Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Associations is holding its fourth annual National Technician Skills Competition, or SuperTech, in conjunction with TMC's fall meeting in Nashville, Tenn

Tags: Managing The Shop

June 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Warranty Woes: TMC's universal equipment claim process

By Tom Berg, Senior Equipment Editor

Bharat Thacker, a fleet consultant who runs RapidWarranty in Southfield, Mich., tells of visiting a large fleet and being taken to an office area where 30 people worked on nothing but filing warranty claims

Tags: Managing The Shop

May 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

Shop Safety: Carrying on the Good Fight

By Tom Berg, Senior Equipment Editor

Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but it also makes lots of sense in a truck shop. So say three maintenance managers we interviewed for this article. "Good housekeeping,

Tags: Managing The Shop

May 2009, TruckingInfo.com - Feature

The Digital Shop: Maintenance Management Software

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor

With the economy in a recession and the trucking industry suffering through what Stifel Nicolaus analysts now say is a freight depression, trucking companies are all looking to cut costs to survive.

Tags: Managing The Shop