American Trucking Assns., Alexandria, Va., announced that Southeastern Freight Lines Inc., has selected ATA’s new TMC FleetPortal service

for technical information needed to maintain the carrier's fleet of trucks, trailers and related equipment.
TMC FleetPortal is provided by ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) and offers a secure, user-friendly maintenance information utility customized to the needs of individual fleet subscribers. By consolidating parts and maintenance data from all of a fleet’s OEMs and suppliers into a single, online technical library, TMC FleetPortal reduces time spent searching for the information needed to complete repairs.
Southeastern Freight Lines is the first trucking company to sign a contract with ATA as a TMC FleetPortal subscriber. Southeastern VP David Foster spearheaded the task force that guided development of TMC FleetPortal, which was formally approved by TMC’s board of directors in March 2003. Southeastern Freight Lines worked with ATA’s technology partner, Continental DataGraphics, to evaluate the system at a number of its shops.
Foster said the successful test period convinced him to implement TMC FleetPortal at all 20 of Southeastern’s maintenance facilities where more than 250 professionals maintain more than 10,000 pieces of equipment, including tractors, trailers, lift gates, cars, pickup trucks, forklifts and dollies from a variety of manufacturers.
Southeastern Freight Lines Inc., Lexington, S.C. specializes in next day and second day LTL service in the Southeast, Southwest and Puerto Rico.
According to Foster, Southeastern receives a constant inflow of technical literature in multiple formats including paper and CDs, and through a variety of OEM and supplier web sites with different passwords and ways of finding and displaying data. Consolidating information and making it available through TMC FleetPortal will give Southeastern’s maintenance team faster, more efficient access to illustrated parts catalogs, repair and maintenance manuals, service bulletins, parts information letters, and internally generated documents, as well as TMC Recommended Practices and Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standard Codes, Foster said.
FleetPortal is operated on behalf of ATA through an exclusive arrangement with Continental DataGraphics, a Boeing Co. subsidiary.
For more information, visit www.tmcfleetportal.com.