Mitchell 1, in partnership with the ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC), has merged TMC Recommended Practices (RP) into its web-based TruckSeries diagnostic and repair program to enable users to quickly access information when servicing commercial vehicles.

TMC’s industry best practices provide technology and maintenance guidance for truck fleets and manufacturers. About 500 voluntary technical standards are included in the current edition of TMC’s 2022-2023 Recommended Practices Manual, covering maintenance, testing, and specification of a full range of vehicle systems such as electrical, tire and wheel, engines, chassis, and brake systems. Mitchell 1 obtained licensed permission from TMC to incorporate the RP collection in TruckSeries.

“TMC’s Recommended Practices are extremely valuable to the repair community, both for technicians and service writers and shop managers," said Ben Johnson, director of product management for Mitchell 1 in a statement. "However, with hundreds of recommended practices available, only a few might be appropriate for any given job. Including the RPs in TruckSeries makes it easier than ever for technicians to find specific information with a single search, improving efficiency and productivity in the shop.”

TMC executive director Robert Braswell noted that incorporating RP content into TruckSeries will also help TMC further its goal of even broader industry adoption of these recommended practices, especially among technicians.

“We are all working toward one common goal — to increase equipment maintenance efficiencies for the commercial truck industry, added Braswell. "And, merging the content into TruckSeries will help us disseminate this valuable information throughout the industry. Each RP was developed based on real-life experiences by maintenance and supplier personnel, and then subjected to stringent evaluation by TMC members.”

Through a single log-in in TruckSeries, technicians can access information to diagnose and complete repairs for any year and make of medium and heavy-duty trucks. They can identify and reference the appropriate RPs for any given job via the program’s 1Search Plus card-based format or through the Service Manual view.

Once a vehicle is selected in TruckSeries and a particular component is identified, the 1Search Plus view will include an index card for “Recommended Practices,” which will list RP’s that are associated with that vehicle and component. 

TruckSeries continuously updates information as it becomes available and is now being populated with service information on new technologies like Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).  New TMC RPs will become visible as they are released.