Maintenance Bay: Diagnostic insight 24/7

Company: Central Oregon Truck Co., Redmond, OR
Operation: For-hire flatbed carrier with 300 power units utilizes over 400 employees to operate package-car delivery units and vans, plus 20,789 Class 8 units and yard tractors, across the lower 48 states and Canada.

Unexpected downtime for a maintenance issue is bad news for any motor carrier, but when you're a nationwide flatbed fleet often hauling heavy goods and large, often unwieldy shipments, such downtime can be a bottom-line killer.

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The parking predicament

So how bad is the truck parking problem in the U.S.? Well, that depends on who you ask. Some truck drivers say it's impossible to find parking spots on a daily basis; others, however, say it's easier than many think—especially if you use technology to help find open slots.

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Uber Shows Off Latest Autonomous Truck Design

Uber's Advanced Technologies Group has released a video of its latest autonomous heavy-duty truck design, shown operating on the streets of San Francisco.

The truck features new sensors and upgraded components, including a new spinning 64-channel lidar design, according to a report by TechCrunch. The new lidar (light detection and ranging) sensor design appears to be an off-the-shelf part and not designed in-house. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that the new lidar was not related to the design that is the subject of a lawsuit between Google-sister company Waymo and Uber.

The 64-channel lidar design is a more advanced design than what was previously shown in demos and should provide better sensor data to the self-driving software.

Notably, Uber's self-driving trucks no longer feature the Otto branding, which was retired in May and was consolidated under the Uber ATG business unit.

Otto was a separate autonomous trucking startup that was acquired by Uber for $680 million in August of last year. Since that time, Otto founder Anthony Levandowski has been at the center of the legal battle between Waymo and Uber.

Waymo has accused Uber of stealing the designs to its lidar sensor system when Levandowski, who was a former Google employee, allegedly downloaded crucial information about the system to use on his Otto trucks.

The suit is still ongoing, but as a result, Levandowski was forced to step down from his position with Uber ATG and was later fired.

Related: Autonomous Trucks Are A Disruptive, Positive, Fast Approaching Force

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Pay up!

No, the $100,000-a-year truck driver is not just an urban legend. And that driver exists beyond working on a dangerous “ice road” or traveling through a war-torn nation.

“I would not call a $100,000 earner the norm, but they are becoming common in the private fleet,” said Leah Shaver, vice president at the National Transportation Institute (NTI), Hudson, WI.

The group, which has tracked driver pay for more than two decades, has seen annual trucker wages “for years at and above the $80,000 range,” including at many for-hire fleets.

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Wheel torque for dummies

Last year, the For Dummies series celebrated its 25th anniversary. What started with a book on DOS programming morphed into an iconic brand with more than 2,700 titles and 200 million books in print. The books are written under the premise that the reader knows nothing about a particular subject and needs to be educated on the basics in a way that is not condescending or judgmental.

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Next Trucking App Offers Features for Dispatchers

Next Trucking has launched a new fleet management app that allows dispatchers to find desirable loads for their fleets.

Next Trucking's system matches carriers with shippers and now features a function dedicated specifically to dispatchers. The new mobile app function gives dispatchers the option to assign carriers to loads in real time.

The management system on the app allows dispatchers to find available loads, assign drivers, track drivers, and manage shipments. The existing web version offers additional services like organizing equipment and managing accounting and billing.

For dispatchers who also drive occasionally, the app makes switching between trucking and dispatching simpler because it can be managed from a smartphone or other connected mobile device. The app is fully equipped with all the necessary features to make dispatching easy. Managers can add on drivers, show or hide the load price, view all shipment details, and reassign the load if an emergency occurs in the middle of transit. When a delivery is complete, all documents will be submitted electronically for managers to keep in records.

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Moving the needle on those tricky last percentage points

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