EMU: Technology & Maintenance Council Meets
This story appears in the March/April 2014 issue of Equipment & Maintenance Update, a supplement to the March 10 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
The annual meeting of American Trucking Associations’ Technology and Maintenance Council is set to begin March 10 at the convention center in Nashville, Tenn.
Among the meeting’s highlights are the kickoff breakfast speech by ATA Chairman Philip Byrd Sr., CEO of Bulldog Hiway Express, based in North Charleston, S.C. Byrd is scheduled to speak March 11.
The meeting will also feature TMC’s 2014-2015 general chairman, the successor to Kirk Altrichter, who is vice president of maintenance for Crete Carrier Corp., based in Lincoln, Neb.
The meeting will see the introduction of an online community for members, TMC Connect, which will provide members with a medium to communicate and share industry information. TMC Connect also will enable the council to respond quickly to members’ needs and receive member views on industry issues. Members will be able to continue online discussions from the meeting’s study groups, task forces and other committees.
In addition, members attending the meeting will be able to keep up with events via a mobile application. The app will enable users to access meeting materials, schedules and to set up appointments via smartphone or connected tablet.
High among the issues to be discussed at the meeting is the “right to repair,” and the meeting will include a technical session showing attendees how to gain access to materials essential to proper servicing of vehicles, such as proprietary fault codes produced by trucks’ engine control modules.
Also scheduled is a technical session on “Fuel Efficiency and Vehicle Emissions Regulations: Now and for the Foreseeable Future,” in which industry professionals will discuss the new joint U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Transportation standards for carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption.
A technical session on “The Low Down on Low-Viscosity Engine Oils” will feature panelists who will discuss how engine makers are looking for ways to achieve better fuel efficiency with low-viscosity engine oils.
Other tech sessions will discuss vehicle charging systems, fleet tire programs, expected changes in air conditioning refrigerants, as well as braking technology necessitated by the government’s recent changes to required stopping distances.
More than 340 exhibitors are to participate in TMC’s Transportation Technology Exhibition.
More than 100 task forces are slated to meet March 10, followed by TMC’s Town Meeting/Fleet Operators’ Forum and the Transportation Technology Exhibition grand opening. Technical sessions will be held March 11-13. The popular Shop Talk session is scheduled for March 13.
