TMC Meeting Offers ‘Glimpse’ Of Technology, Fleet Guidance
This story appears in the Feb. 8 print edition of Transport Topics.
Fleet maintenance professionals in Tampa, Fla., are taking in a glimpse of future trucks while discussing tips for management in the present at the Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting, through Feb. 12.
TMC, a division of American Trucking Associations, said it expects 2,500 fleet managers and suppliers to attend the five-day conference, which also features a display of new products and services from 255 vendors at the city’s convention center.
“We’ve struck the right balance, I think, in offering a glimpse of future technology and practical everyday guidance for running fleets,” said Carl Kirk, TMC’s executive director.
A particularly worthwhile session, Kirk said, will deal with “Fostering Effective Communications” between fleets and service providers, on Feb. 9.
“We want to identify where fleets and service providers can make business processes better,” Kirk said, in terms of payment cycles, warranty work and other problems.
He also cited TMC task forces that are investigating rapid repair assessment, successful repair shop practices, repair times and quality control.
A comprehensive analysis of the 2007-09 generation of diesel engines will be featured on Feb. 12, as the first ones hit 300,000 miles. Kirk said it was impossible to offer a thorough analysis of the technology in 2008 because of the lack of miles on the engines, but now TMC members can produce a “real report card” on the power plants.
As for hardware and practices of the future, both of which are approaching rapidly, there will be presentations about hybrid engines Feb. 10-11 and strategies for sustainability on Feb. 11.
Stopping distances probably will be shortened in August 2011 because of a federal regulation, so another Feb. 12 session will examine in detail how the increase in braking torque might affect axles, springs and suspensions.
The conference’s two main speakers will represent fleets and original equipment manufacturers:
ATA Chairman Tommy Hodges of Titan Transfer will address attendees at the Town Meeting and Operators Forum on Feb. 9.
Navistar Inc. Senior Vice President James Hebe will speak at the Kickoff Luncheon. Hebe has spent almost 40 years in truck making, working for Kenworth and Freightliner, as well as Navistar.
TMC also will consider the ramifications of a rule published last year by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that requires fleets generating electronic data to retain that information for six months, which would allow officials to access it in the event of an audit. Some new in-cab safety technologies, which are increasingly popular with U.S. truck fleets, generate such data, TMC said.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Jerry Thrift, group manager of maintenance services for Ryder Transportation Services, Miami, will be installed as TMC’s general chairman.
Thrift will take the reins of trucking’s largest technical and maintenance society from Steph Sabo, maintenance manager for Norrenberns Truck Service, Nashville, Ill.
