When Jeff Harris, vice president of maintenance at USA Truck Inc., first started as an apprentice truck mechanic 29 years ago, he had a trade school diploma, a basic set of tools, a couple of crusty old mechanics who took him under their wing and showed him the ropes, and a desire to learn.

The work of servicing and maintaining a fleet of trucks presents a wide assortment of potential dangers to technicians, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s “lockout-tagout” regulations provide guidance to reduce the risk of injury or death.

With the increasing complexity of modern trucks and an even higher premium placed on drivers’ time, Glen McDonald, maintenance director at Ozark Motor Lines, knew he needed to maximize shop labor and move trucks through his fleet’s maintenance shops more ­quickly, all of which required an updated approach.