Technology & Maintenance Council
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2019
TMC Opens Exhibit Hall During 2019 Annual Meeting
Atlanta – Today, American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council opened the doors on a sold out exhibit hall as part of TMC’s 2019 Annual Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2019
TMC Names Kenneth Calhoun General Chairman and Treasurer
Atlanta – Today, American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council announced that Kenneth Calhoun, fleet optimization manager at Altec Service Group,has been elected 2019-2020 general chairman and treasurer during the organization’s Annual Meeting.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2019
TMC and FleetNet Maintenance Report Finds Costs of Repairs Increasing
Atlanta, Georgia — The average cost of mechanical repairs in the trucking industry increased for the second straight quarter, while miles between unscheduled roadside maintenance remained unchanged, according to the latest benchmarking report from American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council and FleetNet America, an ArcBest company.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2019
TMC and PIT Group Unveil 2019 Collaborative Research Program
Atlanta, Georgia —– Today, American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council and PIT Group of FPInnovations, announced the organizations will be conducting joint research projects on fuel savings and emerging braking technologies.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2019
TMC Honors Five with 2019 Silver Spark Plug
Atlanta – Today, American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council honored three professionals with its highest honor — the Silver Spark Plug —at the opening of TMC’s 2019 Annual Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition.
Having studied issues with driver seating and control packages for all known driver popula-tion profiles, TMC’s Future Cab & Driver Interface Task Force proposes in this paper that equipment manufacturers and suppliers develop seating systems that accommodate at least 95 percent of truck driving populations with adjustments for seat cushion width, seat cushion depth (each leg separate), lower seat back width, upper back width, lumbar vertical, lumbar in/out, and arm rest up/down.
Issued: March 2019
Current practice for tire inflation pressure maintenance in the commercial vehicle fleet does not account for varying load, speed and environmental operating conditions actually experienced by the tire and vehicle. TMC recommends development of an integrated tire inflation pressure control system that can compensate for these factors and provide an automated means ofinflating and deflating each tire to match the conditions encountered.
Demands for “lightweighting” trailers and truck bodies will inevitably increase as greenhouse gas reduction, fuel consumption reduction, alternate energy utilization, electric propulsion,and automated vehicle adoption accelerate in coming years. The purpose of this position pa- per is to discuss technical aspects of how — through development of improved metal alloys, composite, and new metal/composite constructed materials — the goals of lightweighting canbe achieved for trailers and truck bodies with high effectiveness.
TMC’s Future Truck Committee charged its Sensor Enhanced Maintenance Task Force to evaluate and state a position on the feasibility of automatic monitoring of electrical systemhealth. The finding of that task force is that automatic monitoring of electrical system health is achievable by combining onboard circuit analysis with Testing for Statistical Significance(TSS). When paired together, these two fundamentally sound sciences quantify the state of health (SOH) for batteries, alternators, starters, and electrical cables.
Recent advancements in sensor technology are enabling real-time monitoring of system performance and readiness in heavy-duty vehicles. ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Coun- cil (TMC) recommends that manufacturers leverage this new technology to develop a more accurate means of identifying slow leaks in air brake lines; thus improving driver awareness of developing brake system failures, and reducing the frequency and severity of thermal in-cidents (i.e., truck fires).
Issued: May 2018