Fleet Maintenance editor David A. Kolman gives his insights on the fleet maintenance and trucking industry.
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Got your BASICS in order?
by David A. Kolman - Monday May 21, 2012The Vehicle Maintenance Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) is one of seven categories that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program uses to determine how a motor carrier ranks relative to other carriers with a similar number of safety events (i.e., inspections, violations, or crashes). The Vehicle Maintenance BASIC specifically addresses the requirements within the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) This June 5 to 7, Roadcheck 2012, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) will conduct its annual the three-day, commercial vehicle safety enforcement and education campaign. CVSA is an international not-for-profit... -
Putting some Stars through their paces
- Saturday May 12, 2012
When I was very young, I enjoyed playing with trucks in the dirt and on the blacktop. I’d push them around, maneuvering through and around various obstacles. Last week, on the ground of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, I had the chance to once again play with trucks in the dirt and on asphalt. Only this time, instead of pushing them around, I was behind the wheel driving. The occasion was part of Western Star Trucks' Get Tough 2012 Ride & Drive event that broke in its dealers, customers and potential customers for the opportunity to learn about and experience a variety of Western Star models. Featured at the event was the new Western Star 4700 - a Baby 8 vocational truck introduced last year in both set forward and set back axle... -
Say hello to robot RUTH
by David A. Kolman - Monday April 30, 2012The automotive business is extremely competitive. Manufacturers are continually conducting R&D to make vehicles safer, quieter, more aerodynamic, more appealing and so on. To help better design its vehicle interiors, Ford has developed a robot known as RUTH - short for Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics. RUTH enables Ford engineers to refine various touch points around the vehicle’s interior to objectively meet a wide range of subjective customer preferences. With RUTH, Ford has become the world’s first automaker to use a robot to scientifically test the feel and appearance of switches and surfaces. RUTH brings a scientific, three-dimensional approach to touch. Friction, force, roughness, softness and temperature... -
Walking a carbon dioxide emission-free truck factory
by David A. Kolman - Tuesday April 24, 2012I’m one of those truck industry journalists that truly enjoys touring vehicle, equipment and component manufacturing plants. I’m fascinated by what goes on inside them. Thanks to Volvo Trucks, I had the opportunity to travel to Sweden, and among other things, got to tour Volvo’s Tuve Truck Plant in Gothenburg. The 1,194,795-square foot plant manufactures Volvo FH, FH16 and Volvo FM cabover models. There are some 1,200 workers at the plant, of which, I noticed during the tour, a good percentage are women. Each working day, the Tuve plant builds 50 trucks, plus 40 knockdown kits, on two assembly lines. Every 4-1/2 minutes a truck comes off the line. As with truck plants in the U.S., the process of manufacturing a truck... -
A behind the scenes look
by David A. Kolman - Monday April 16, 2012I had the opportunity to participate in the Annual Fleet Technologies Event hosted by Meritor and Pressure Systems International (PSI) and held in San Antonio, TX. The two companies are involved the Meritor Tire Inflation System (MTIS) by PSI - an automatic tire inflation system that is designed to take the worry out of tire maintenance. At this year’s event, fleets were educated on the critical importance of keeping tires properly pressurized, how tires and tire maintenance is a key focus of the FMCSA’s CSA safety initiative and product developments being worked on by PSI. In addition, attendees got a behind-the-scenes look at how MTIS by PSI is manufactured in the company’s San Antonio facility. Tire life An...
