June 21, 2004 4:00 AM, EDT

TMC Joins Data Firm to Launch Web Site

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he Technology and Maintenance Council of American Trucking Associations and information management company Continental DataGraphics said June 15 they launched an Internet-based technical information site for fleet maintenance professionals.

“TMC FleetPortal was designed to address the growing problem of information overload faced by fleets that operate equipment supplied by multiple manufacturers,” Carl Kirk, TMC’s executive director and vice president of councils at ATA, said in a statement.

The site, www.fleetportal.com, aggregates technical literature and parts catalogs from all of a fleet’s equipment providers and gives maintenance professionals a one-stop source to quickly find all the data they need to maintain and repair their fleets, TMC said.

TMC had showcased the service during its 2004 annual meeting in March.

Fleets currently receive information in multiple formats including paper manuals and catalogs, compact diskettes and through a variety of OEM and supplier Web sites with different passwords and ways of finding data, Kirk said.

CDG said the portal employs state-of-the-art Internet security technologies that guarantee data integrity and protect intellectual property rights. A fleet must subscribe to TMC FleetPortal to access any proprietary manufacturer information, it said.

Subscribers to the Internet site can access all data relevant to a particular vehicle or equipment unit, including parts catalogs, TMC recommended practices, service bulletins, parts information letters, repair and maintenance manuals, written diagnostic procedures and service updates, along with other internal information generated by individual fleet operators, TMC said.

The only proprietary information a fleet’s authorized users can see is directly related to the equipment it owns or leases, and for which it has access permission from the equipment manufacturers, CDG said.

“We believe CDG’s unique combination of expertise and experience in providing information management [services] to support equipment-intensive industries will allow TMC to offer the trucking industry a valuable resource to help streamline business processes and achieve significant operational efficiencies,” said Larry Crogg, vice president of FleetPortal services for CDG.