Evaluating Options for Outside Service

More than 15 cents per mile. That's what it costs a fleet on average for maintenance and repair, according to the American Transportation Research Institute. That equates to about 10% of a fleet's vehicle-based operating costs.

Currently fleets are conducting 75% of their maintenance in house, according to Molly MacKay Zacker, vice president of operations at MacKay & Company, a market research company for the trucking, construction and agricultural equipment industries. However, when her firm surveys fleets every four years in its Truck and Trailer Service Study, fleets indicate they want to outsource more of their service work — yet the percentage of in-house service continues to remain steady. MacKay's predictions are that in 2020, 68% of the 672 million service labor hours will be handled in house.

According to MacKay Zacker, “The reason fleets cite for not outsourcing more is they can't afford the turnaround time.” Quality of work and cost of repairs are the other items that top the list of fleet concerns about outsourcing their service work. “Concern about downtime and turnaround time is a huge issue,” she explains, “and it is not just getting the truck where it needs to be to get the service done, it is how long is it going to take to fix it once it gets there.”

She adds, “Fleets consider that to be a deep dark hole. The truck goes to [a shop] and they have no idea when it is coming out.”

CK Commercial Vehicle Research's Fleet Productivity Study found that 36.8% of the fleets surveyed (mostly fleets with fully staffed maintenance facilities) improved productivity over the past several years by performing more maintenance in house. Chris Kemmer, consultant at CK Commercial Vehicle Research, a market research company focusing on the trucking industry, says the average productivity gain was 14.5%. “It comes from ...Read the rest of this story

Geotab Brings J.J. Keller, TMW Software to Marketplace

Screenshot via Geotab

Geotab has announced the launch of Driver DataSense from J.J. Keller & Associates and integrations to TMW Suite and TMW TruckMate from TMW Systems, through its online Marketplace.

To address the needs of mutual customers, J.J. Keller and TMW Systems are joining the Geotab Marketplace of mobile apps, software add-ins, and hardware add-ons, allowing Geotab customers more choice in customizing and extending fleet management capabilities.

The J. J. Keller Driver DataSense service helps fleets manage hours of service compliance based on data coming from the Geotab device, paper logbooks, and driver time records. A dedicated client service specialist interprets fleet data and provides compliance guidance and DOT audit support. Additionally, customers can gather Business Intelligence reporting and other fleet analytics with detailed views down to the specific violation through a secure online portal.

The service can help fleets with roadside inspections, CSA score improvement, best-practice time management, fuel use efficiency, and protection from DOT audits and interventions, according to J.J. Keller.

In the coming months, the Encompass solution from J. J. Keller will also debut on the Geotab Marketplace. It uses a cloud-based system to report on data captured from the Geotab ELD, and data from the driver's smartphone or tablet that has the J. J. Keller Mobile app.

“We are proud to partner with Geotab to offer the industry multiple options for hours of service compliance. Whether fleets prefer to have J. J. Keller compliance experts oversee the data coming from the Geotab device, or manage hours of service themselves using the J. J. Keller hours of service back office, we have a solution,” said Rustin Keller, executive vice president of J. J. Keller.

Both TMWSuite and TruckMate, from TMW Systems, are transportation management software for fleet operations that serve as the information hub of your organization, providing real-time visibility into order-entry, load-booking, ...Read the rest of this story

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Report: Clean Diesel Trucks Make up 30% of Commercial Vehicles in U.S.

Source: Diesel Technology Forum

Clean diesel truck engines and emissions control systems now make up on average 30% of all heavy-duty commercial vehicles in operation in the U.S. as a result of adoption by fleets over the past five years, according to a recent report commissioned by the Diesel Technology Forum.

Nearly 3 million heavy-duty diesel commercial vehicles introduced from 2011-2016 in the U.S. are being powered by the latest clean diesel engines. Diesel Technology Forum executive director Allen Schaeffer said that in that 5 year period, clean diesel engines have saved 4.2 billion gallons of diesel fuel and reduced 43 million tons of carbon dioxide, 21 million tons of NOx and 1.2 million tons of particulate matter.

"Because diesel overwhelmingly dominates the heavy-duty truck sector and is also the number-one power source for medium-duty vehicles, the transition to newer generations of clean diesel technology (2011 and later model years) is significant,” said Schaeffer. “The 30% national average is up from just 25.7% last year.”

The research also found that benefits would increase with more adoption of newer clean diesel trucks. By percentage, Indiana is the state with the highest adoption rate of clean diesel Class 3-8 trucks at 51%, while green technology stalwart California ranks 46th at 25%.

“If California were to achieve the same new technology penetration as Indiana, it can eliminate another 200,000 tons of NOx and 11,000 tons of fine particles that would bring cleaner air faster to all California communities than any other strategies," said Schaeffer.

The research was conducted by HIS Markit, a global technical marketing research firm. State rankings data is based on Diesel Technology Forum analysis of IHS vehicles in operation in operation data representing Class 3-8 diesel trucks from model year 2011 through 2016 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia through Dec. 31, 2016.

"The ...Read the rest of this story