Decisiv Powers Kenworth TruckTech+

Decisiv, Inc., a provider of Service Relationship Management (SRM) solutions for commercial assets, announced that its software platform will power the Kenworth TruckTech+ Service Management System. The announcement was made at the American Trucking Associations (ATA) Annual Management Conference & Exhibition.

“We are very excited about supporting Kenworth, their dealers and customers with our industry leading service event management solution,” said Dick Hyatt, president and CEO of Decisiv. “Decisiv is the only software solution specifically targeted at revolutionizing the service supply chain of fleets, dealers, call centers, telematics and remote diagnostics providers to help drive uptime and lower total cost of ownership.”

Currently, new Kenworth Class 8 trucks are equipped with Kenworth TruckTech+ Remote Diagnostics, which enables fleets to view real-time vehicle health in the PACCAR Solutions portal. Beginning in 2017, Kenworth will expand TruckTech+ and the PACCAR Solutions portal to include a service management system powered by Decisiv, which will allow fleets to monitor the service status for their individual trucks in real-time.

Kenworth TruckTech+ Service Management will also provide detailed chassis information, parts catalogs, service bulletins, parts and service promotions, as well as warranty and repair history to service technicians at Kenworth dealerships, helping them resolve issues more quickly and efficiently.

“TruckTech+ Service Management takes the connected truck to the next level by giving our customers not only visibility to the health of their trucks, but also transparency and real-time information during service events,” said Jason Skoog, Kenworth assistant general manager for sales and marketing. “By partnering with Decisiv to develop our Service Management capability within the Kenworth TruckTech+ suite of connected vehicle solutions – and by providing our dealers' technicians with these industry-leading tools – Kenworth is applying the latest new technologies to maximize customer uptime.”

Kenworth trucks equipped with TruckTech+ will provide critical information to the dealer service departments ...Read the rest of this story

ATA Elects Kevin Burch its 72nd Chairman

Kevin Burch, new ATA chairman, addresses attendees at an awards luncheon. Photo: Evan Lockridge

American Trucking Associations' board of directors elected Kevin Burch, president of Jet Express from Dayton, Ohio as the federation's 72nd chairman.Burch replaces Pat Thomas, senior vice president for state government affairs at UPS, as ATA Chairman.

“Kevin has been one of our association's most vocal and passionate advocates,” said Chris Spear, ATA president and CEO. “His enthusiasm for trucking and for improving its image is infectious and will serve him and ATA well as chairman.”

Burch has been president of Jet Express since 1990 and a commercial driver's license holder since 2008. Burch is an active member of ATA and was the past chairman of ATA's communications and image policy committee and of the Truckload Carriers Association, and works closely with the LEAD ATA program. In 2014, Burch won the Mike Russell Trucking Industry Image Award.

He currently serves as vice chairman of the Trucking Moves America Forward industry image campaign, is on the steering committee of Commerce, and is involved in several other community and civic groups, including the Boy Scouts of America and the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission.

“I am honored and humbled that my fellow ATA members have chosen me as their chairman for the next year,” said Burch. “This is an industry filled with wonderful, dedicated professionals – from drivers and dispatchers to salesmen and executives – and I am privileged to represent them all as ATA chairman.”

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DOT Aims for Zero Traffic Deaths Within 30 Years

The NHTSA held a conference to introduce its Road to Zero campaign and to address the increase in traffic deaths over the past year. Screenshot via NHTSA

Three DOT agencies and the National Safety Council have teamed up to launch a new initiative with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths on U.S. roads within the next 30 years. Truck safety is one of the targets, and autonomous vehicle technologies envisioned as part of the solution.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Federal Highway Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration are joining with the National Safety Council to launch the Road to Zero Coalition. The Department of Transportation has committed $1 million a year for the next three years to provide grants to organizations working on lifesaving programs.

"Last year, our nation lost over 35,000 lives in fatal traffic crashes, which is a significant increase over the year before," noted Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

"Never before has a coalition of this size and experience been assembled with such an ambitious goal," Foxx said. "Our vision is simple – zero fatalities on our roads. We know that setting the bar for safety to the highest possible standard requires commitment from everyone to think differently about safety – from drivers to industry, safety organizations and government at all levels."

The Road to Zero Coalition will initially focus on promoting "proven lifesaving strategies" including truck safety, seat belt use, installing rumble strips, street design, behavior change campaigns and data-driven enforcement. The coalition will then lead the development of a new scenario-based vision on how to achieve zero traffic deaths based on evidence-based strategies and a systematic approach to eliminating risks.

The coalition is betting on the rapid advancement of autonomous vehicle technologies as a way forward to its goal of zero traffic deaths and will work to accelerate ...Read the rest of this story

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Ridewell offers factory integrated air tank option

Ridewell Suspensions offers a pre-plumbed, factory integrated air tank kit option for the self-steering RSS-233 8K, 10K, and 13K suspension systems. The integrated tank requires a connection to the primary air supply, regulated air supply (30-120 psi), and service brake control line to complete vehicle installation, the company said.

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