Technology Briefs - March 23 - March 29
The Latest Headlines:
- TMC Rolls Out New Web Site
- Pegasus TransTech Expands Scanning Service
- Kenworth to Offer Satellite Radio Option on New Trucks
- EPA Says It May Adopt CARB Rule on Diagnostics
- Pegasus TransTech Expands Scanning Service
TMC Rolls Out New Web Site
The Technology & Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations rolled out its new maintenance and service information Web site, www.fleetportal.com, at its annual meeting here March 15-19.The online site combines a technical data library, interactive parts catalogs and a link to TMC’s Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards that provide a “universal” language for equipment, parts, warranties and maintenance information from various sources, TMC officials said.
Fleets customize the fleetportal.com information to reflect their various suppliers’ equipment makes and models, TMC said in promotional material.
Fleets pay a monthly subscription fee and a one-time setup charge for access to the site, but it is free to suppliers. Roger Gilroy
Pegasus TransTech Expands Scanning Service
Pegasus TransTech said Tuesday it expanded its Transflo Express truck stop scanning service so drivers can electronically transmit documents to their fleets using any fax machine or scanning-enabled personal computer.The company said in a release the new feature makes the return of delivery documents more convenient for drivers, and enhances fleets' ability to secure same-day access to paperwork needed for billing and other business functions.
"We saw an opportunity to help drivers and owner operators leverage the full array of technologies at their disposal -- and by doing so, enhance their ability to get paid faster," said Chris Hines, president of Pegasus TransTech's transportation group. Transport Topics
Kenworth to Offer Satellite Radio Option on New Trucks
Kenworth Truck Co. said Thursday it would offer customers a choice of Sirius Satellite Radio or XM Satellite Radio as a factory-installed option beginning in June.The company said in a statement either option would include the tuner, receiver and antenna, but customers would need to contract the specific satellite provider to subscribe.
Kenworth is a division of truck maker Paccar Inc. Transport Topics
EPA Says It May Adopt CARB Rule on Diagnostics
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Federal regulators might follow the California Air Resources Board later this year in simplifying requirements for onboard diagnostics in trucks, the director of the Environmental Protection Agency’s on-road heavy-duty center said last week.Two executives with major engine makers said the action could help promote stability within the industry by allowing crucial planning for 2007 to proceed.
EPA’s Bill Charmley, who participated in the Diesel Engine Emissions Summit here March 16, said he expected the California agency to modify in May its earlier plans concerning the use of onboard diagnostics to monitor an engine’s compliance with the tighter 2007 standards for nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.
He said both California and federal regulations would follow a “simple” approach that is “mostly a functionality program . . . given what the industry said it could do in 2007.”
Onboard diagnostics, integrated with a truck’s electronic control module, will be required on big rigs in 2007. Until now the means of accomplishing it were being discussed, but California established clean air rules ahead of the federal government and continues to regulate vehicle emissions through CARB.
“This will help us get on with our design work [for 2007 engines] with some certainty of what the result will be,” said Tim Tindall, director of emission projects for Detroit Diesel Corp., a part of DaimlerChrysler’s Freightliner LLC.
CARB said in initial promotional material that the intent of requiring onboard diagnostics was to create a system that “monitors virtually every component that can affect the emissions performance of the vehicle.”
“We are very pleased [with the regulatory approach]. This will enable Cummins [Inc.] to proceed with engine development and not be distracted by onboard diagnostics at this time and drain our resources,” said Steve Charlton, Cummins’ executive director of heavy-duty engines. Roger Gilroy
