By Jonathan S. Reiskin, Associate News Editor This story appears in the Sept. 13 print edition of Transport Topics.
Nearly 100 technicians will compete for national honors in truck maintenance next week in Raleigh, N.C., while fleet maintenance directors examine the details of the new federal CSA program, diesel particulate filters and the economic forecast for freight hauling.
The Technology & Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations is combining the events at its fall meeting and sixth annual SuperTech competition, Sept. 19-23.
TMC’s preliminary registration figures show 99 technicians entered in the competition, up from 82 in SuperTech last year. Overall, 760 people have registered for the meeting and the competition, or 80 more than attended last year.
“The technical competition really establishes the best of the best,” said Roy Gambrell, maintenance director of flatbed carrier Truck It, Cottontown, Tenn., and TMC chairman of meetings. “We combine that with working sessions to keep up with changing trends in the industry, such as the CSA program and a forecast for trucking over the next 18 to 24 months.”
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is phasing out its SafeStat system for motor carrier safety analysis and replacing it with the new Compliance Safety and Accountability program. The fall meeting will look at CSA’s maintenance implications in two parts: a technical session on Sept. 23 with five presentations, all on CSA; and a study group session on Sept. 22 that also will include information on federal and California environmental regulations.
A more futuristic session will look at wireless interconnectivity for vehicles and infrastructure, said TMC Executive Director Carl Kirk.
“As part of our ‘future truck’ program, we will be examining ‘conditioned-based’ maintenance procedures, which represent, in many ways, a new frontier in vehicle maintenance,” Kirk said. Condition-based maintenance is the practice of using continuous monitoring of vehicle components, parts and systems for scheduling repairs and replacements.
Susan Alt, a vice president at Volvo Trucks North America and Mack Trucks, will give the keynote address on Sept. 21.
“Susan has had a multifaceted career, and we look forward to her insight and views of our industry,” Kirk said.
Christopher Tate, a technician for Thermo King refrigerated unit dealer Mohawk Truck Inc. in the Buffalo suburb of West Seneca, N.Y., won SuperTech last year.
During the competition, which started in 2005, contestants must take a four-hour written test and then proceed through a 14-station skills challenge in subjects such as tires and wheels, electrical systems, fifth wheels, and steering and suspensions.
“The skills competition is the Super Bowl for our industry technicians, and whoever wins it deserves the utmost respect,” Kirk said.
Besides the SuperTech competition, there is training for technicians sponsored by TMC’s Professional Technician Development Committee.
The fall meeting for TMC members will feature meetings for 120 task forces that are part 13 of the council’s regular study groups. The task force reports often lead to new recommended practice bulletins for maintenance and engineering best practices.
