Today's Trucking August 2019

Wheel Results PG. 38

Clifford Classicss PG. 30

Strategies to keep wheels rolling

Showcasing the trucks of yesteryear teryear

Canadian Mail Sales Product Agreement #40063170. Return postage guaranteed. Newcom Media Inc., 5353 Dundas Street West, Suite 400, Toronto, Ontario M9B 6H8.

The Business Magazine of Canada’s Trucking Industry

Time’s C Canada d P Prepares To Mandate ELDs

August 2019

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Contents

August 2019 | VOLUME 33, NO.8

7 9 25 26 27

John G. Smith Rolf Lockwood

10

31

32

38

Rui Fernandes Heather Ness Mike McCarron

NEWS & NOTES

Dispatches

17 Federal Focus Federal safety focus turns to ELDs, autonomous tech

18 19 20 21 22 23

Truck Sales Logbook Stat Pack Pulse Survey

Features

Heard on the Street

10 Time’s Up

Trending

Paper logbooks are fading away as Canada prepares to mandate ELDs

In Gear

By John G. Smith

31 The Road to Rodeo Big power, thick smoke, and the community benefits of Rodeo du Camion

By Nicolas Trepanier

32 Pulling for a Cause 36 Fire Down Below Minimize the threat of wheel fires

42 Michelin Man Michelin’s Bourrut discusses 3D printing, telematics, and the evolving tire

44 Product Watch

The benefits of vehicle wraps are more than skin deep when they support charities

By John G. Smith

38 Wheel Efforts, Real Results Wheel maintenance is a game of millimeters that promises big returns

By Jim Park

For more visit www.todaystrucking.com AUGUST 2019

3

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Letters Help rout out ‘extortionate’ tow fees The Business Magazine of Canada’s Trucking Industry

PUBLISHER Lou Smyrlis lou@newcom.ca • 416/510-6881 VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL Rolf Lockwood, MCILT rolf@newcom.ca • 416/614-5825 EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, TRUCKING AND SUPPLY CHAIN John G. Smith johng@newcom.ca • 416/614-5812 CONTRIBUTORS: Derek Clouthier, Rui Fernandes, Heather Ness, Mike McCarron, Jim Park, Sonia Straface, Nicolas Trepanier, John Tenpenny DESIGN / LAYOUT Tim Norton, Frank Scatozza production@todaystrucking.com • 416/614-5818 SALES AND MARKETING CONSULTANT Anthony Buttino anthonyb@newcom.ca • 514/292-2297 SALES AND MARKETING CONSULTANT Nickisha Rashid nickisha@newcom.ca • 416/614-5824 QUÉBEC ACCOUNTS MANAGER Denis Arsenault denis@newcom.ca • 514/947-7228 CIRCULATION MANAGER Pat Glionna 416/614-2200 • 416/614-8861 (fax) PRODUCTION MANAGER Alicia Lerma alicia@newcom.ca • 416/510-6845

Kenneth R. Wilson Award Winner

MEDIA INC.

5353 Dundas Street West, Suite 400, Toronto, Ontario M9B 6H8 416/614-2200 • 416/614-8861 (fax) CHAIRMAN AND FOUNDER Jim Glionna

If the authorities in and around Toronto are aware of certain tow truck operators’ extortionate fees, they need to act without delay.

On June 21, we had a minor mechanical issue with one of our trucks on Highway 401 near Weston Road. An OPP officer authorized a towing company to tow our vehicle from the highway. We had no choice. The tow took less than 20 minutes from hook to drop. The gouge fee was $2,200. Our preferred vendor would have completed the tow for $500.

On July 6, one of our trucks stalled on Highway 401 near Leslie Street. A tow truck operator rolled up and said he would johng@newcom.ca complete the tow for $800. After the tow, the operator said the charge was $3,500. I told him that was not what he had quoted. He became angry and threatened to take my transport to his yard. To release it from there would cost even more. He said he would settle for $2,700. I had no choice but to pay it.

SEND YOUR I have provided details to Toronto’s Municipal Licensing LETTERS TO: and Standards office. I urge all freight carriers to share their Newcom experiences to help rout out and address this intolerable Media Inc., behavior.

5353 Dundas — Joe Keenan Street West, Ayr Motor Express Suite 400, Woodstock, N.B.

Email:

Proposed Thunder Bay route would be dangerous

Toronto, Ontario M9B 6H8

In most cities, a designated truck route skirts around the city. Thunder Bay, Ont. proposes to direct truck traffic right toward the center of town, onto the most dangerous route.

What a mistake this designated truck route would be. Thousands of people would be unnecessarily affected by the bottleneck and the increased intersection hazards.

— Eric Harju Thunder Bay, Ont.

PRESIDENT Joe Glionna VICE PRESIDENT, PUBLISHING Melissa Summerfield CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Peter Fryters DIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION Pat Glionna

Today’s Trucking is published monthly by NEWCOM MEDIA INC., 5353 Dundas Street West, Suite 400, Toronto, Ontario M9B 6H8. It is produced expressly for owners and/or operators of one or more straight trucks or tractor-trailers with gross weights of at least 19,500 pounds, and for truck/trailer dealers and heavy-duty parts distributors. Subscriptions are free to those who meet the criteria. For others: single-copy price: $5 plus applicable taxes; one-year subscription: $50 plus applicable taxes; one-year subscription in U.S: $90 US; one-year subscription foreign: $180 US. Copyright 2019. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the publisher. The advertiser agrees to protect the publisher against legal action based upon libelous or inaccurate statements, unauthorized use of photographs, or other material in connection with advertisements placed in Today’s Trucking. The publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that in his opinion is misleading or in poor taste. Postmaster: Address changes to Today’s Trucking, 5353 Dundas Street West, Suite 400, Toronto, Ont., M9B 6H8.

Postage paid Canadian Publications Mail Sales Agreement No.40063170.

ISSN No. 0837-1512. Printed in Canada.

Member

People need to move over Re: Careful out there (June 2019) You are totally right about how professionals should do a mortality check as they move about on the side of the road.

I used to run a service truck on Highway 1 between Calgary and Lake Louise, and I shut it down due to rude, selfish, and inconsiderate drivers that would refuse to move to the left lane to give me room – and this is when there was not another car to be seen for miles.

— Michael Melville Alberta

Correction: SPIF regs apply to semitrailers A letter to the editor published in our July edition was wrong to suggest that changing Ontario rules could sideline older trucks. The referenced SPIF regulations focus on semitrailers. Today’s Trucking regrets the error.

AUGUST 2019

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Editorial

By John G. Smith

Measure and Consider Data can drive productivity gains, but numbers only offer part of the answer

I

t’s harder than ever to keep a dispatcher or safety manager in the dark.

Today’s telematics systems can track a driver’s every move.

Global positioning systems pinpoint truck locations, accelerometers trigger reports after sudden braking events or harsh turns, and video cameras offer views that were once limited to passengers in a jump seat. Dive into an engine’s electronic control unit and you can monitor everything from time on the cruise control to pressure on a throttle.

Now mandated electronic logging devices (ELDs) will focus their tireless eyes on driver activities in the context of hours of service rules.

Remember the days when trucks essentially disappeared after leaving a fleet yard? When conversations between dispatchers and drivers had to wait until a driver found a payphone? Those days are long gone. Just like the payphones themselves.

There’s no denying the benefits that these new technologies can deliver. The GPS locations can be used to automatically inform customers about changes in arrival times. Data from accelerometers and video feeds have been used to prove that drivers did everything they could in the moments before a collision, and to focus training resources where they can make the biggest difference. The ELDs, meanwhile, eliminate mindless paperwork and violations linked to things like a missing fleet address in a logbook.

High-risk drivers can’t hide behind excuses and a promise to do better. Those who don’t measure up to a fleet’s safety standards will likely be shown the door.

But the drivers who dismiss such tools as “electronic babysitters” should not be dismissed out of hand.

Such complaints often have more to do with unrealistic expectations than the data itself. Fleet managers can become so enamored with new spreadsheets, graphs and digital dashboards that they overlook the reasons why data might differ or how it might

affect people behind the wheel. Need proof of that? Consider how many fuel bonus programs have gone awry because drivers were expected to meet the benchmarks established by peers who drive different equipment or haul lighter loads.

ELDs certainly become a cause for worry when route plans are so tightly managed that there is no allowance for heavy traffic, extended dwell times, bad weather, border delays, or the time needed to find a secure parking location for the night.

Drivers are left to mask many issues like these in an era of paper logbooks. Sure, there is no official “wiggle room” in the hours of service rules, but we all know of cases where the driving time is rounded down; when the start of a duty cycle is, to use a generous term, “estimated”.

Mandated ELDs leave no such room. It will be up to fleets to find ways to recognize more of the realities of life on the road.

This won’t be the last of the truck-tracking technology that we see, either. New data points will emerge. Business strategies will continue to evolve.

Those who embrace data-driven decisions simply need to remember that numbers will only offer part of an answer. The best business strategies will always strike a balance between the drive for productivity and the lives of people who make it possible.

It’s because life doesn’t always fit within the neat confines of a spreadsheet or graph. TT

“Drivers who dismiss such tools as ‘electronic babysitters’ should not be dismissed out of hand.”

John G. Smith is the editorial director of Today’s Trucking.

You can reach him at 416-614-5812 or johng@newcom.ca.

AUGUST 2019

7

Lockwood

By Rolf Lockwood

We’re a Practical Bunch Trucking is way ahead of the four-wheeler industry in terms of forming the future

J

une was an interesting month. I spent more time than usual researching and eventually writing about advanced technologies, those with us now and those that may be coming soon. Frankly, I seem to do little else these days.

Not for the first time, I came to the conclusion that trucking is way ahead of the four-wheeler industry in terms of forming the future. I mean, in terms of sensibly conceiving how we might incorporate things like electrification and autonomy into everyday operations. The automotive world is full of outrageous claims, like Uber declaring a couple of years ago that it would produce 75,000 autonomous cars by 2019. Not even close. Now it says it will take 50 years for all Uber cars to be autonomous.

The same outlandish notions are being uttered about the rate of plug-in electric car acceptance. Sales in that sector are actually falling in North America, if not in Europe or China. Tesla’s global sales are something like 30% off last year, for instance. In fact, electric cars still represent a tiny niche and I think it will stay that way for quite a while.

Trucking is not without its optimistic predictions along those lines, and I still don’t buy some of them, but our progress is more deliberate and more surefooted. And I think our technologies, many of them derived from cars ironically, are actually being better implemented. Not least because we can more readily fit a given technology into the right application. But we’re a practical bunch anyway, and if it doesn’t make commercial sense, it just ain’t going to get traction. Can’t say that about the wild and woolly car world.

In the middle of the month I spent a couple of days with some of ZF’s brightest engineering minds at the Transportation Research Center in Ohio. As well as a new transmission, the company was showing off its latest advanced driver assistance systems, components of what are really semi-autonomous trucks available now. I spent time at the wheel trying out this latest gizmology and was duly impressed.

Speaking with a couple of those ZF engineers in a little private chat, I asked if trucks were more advanced in these terms than cars. I wasn’t surprised when they responded with an enthusiastic and unanimous “yes”.

Then I spent a day at the absolute opposite end of the techno spectrum.

Late June saw me at the Antique and Classic Truck Show in Clifford, Ont., with 300 or so old trucks – and maybe 2,000 people, the vast majority of them real truckers without a hint of artifice.

They reminded me why I love our industry. It’s changing, sad to say, but at its core it’s still comprehensively down to earth.

The people who still run it are for the most part pragmatists of the first order, not far removed from the folks who launched it decades ago. Daughters and sons in a lot of cases, many of them doing better than dad (and frequently mom, in the notfar-removed background). We all know operations in which four generations of a family play or have played integral roles.

It’s always a pleasure to spend time at such events, with people who actually know how to work a 5-and-4 transmission (I tried once, failed) and whose faces light up when they see a 60-year-old Diamond Reo, restored or not. These guys and these trucks are the very foundation of our business, but about as far removed from today’s electronic magic as you could get.

Yet their approach to trucking is still with us. The basic job is plain and simple just as it’s always been – move the freight, or haul the logs, or do whatever the work may be as efficiently as possible. We’ll buy the technology if it advances that goal. TT

“If it doesn’t make commercial sense, it just ain’t going to get traction.”

Rolf Lockwood is vice-president, editorial, at Newcom Media Inc. You can reach him at 416-614-5825 or rolf@todaystrucking.com.

AUGUST 2019

9

Time’s Up Paper logbooks fading away as Canada prepares to mandate ELDs

By John G. Smith The news ultimately came later than expected.

Transport Canada announced this month that it will mandate electronic logging devices (ELDs) as of June 2021 – more than three years after the U.S. first required the time-tracking equipment in the place of paper logbooks, and despite the fact that Canadian regulators once led the way in a bid to develop related technical standards.

There is even more work to do. The new rules apply only to federally regulated carriers.

Provincial and territorial regulations have yet to be unveiled, although transportation ministers for these jurisdictions have already promised to find “harmonized” ground.

While ELDs are already commonplace for cross-border carriers, there will also be a key difference between the equipment sold in the U.S. and Canada. Suppliers are responsible for certifying that their ELDs meet U.S. technical standards. Here in Canada,

10

TODAY’S TRUCKING

such work will be left to independent third parties.

This difference will “catapult Canada ahead of the U.S. in terms of highway safety and compliance,” said the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA), which had been among groups to complain that drivers could manipulate driving time on some of the weaker U.S.-sourced systems.

“The implementation of tamper-proof, third-party ELD devices will further enhance safety and help ensure all drivers and companies hold themselves to the highest levels of compliance,” added CTA chairman Scott Smith, CEO of the Toronto-based JD Smith and Sons fleet.

Of course, paper logbooks are so prone to tampering that they’ve become known as “comic books”. A shifted line here, or an altogether fake logbook there, and some drivers are able to make it look like they are running legally even when allowable hours of service have already ticked away.

“As we learned from the previous era of paper logbooks, the non-compliant segment of our industry, while a minority, have a history of finding workarounds of the rules. We must ensure that there are no gaps or opportunities to manipulate the technology, and that compliance is the only option,” said CTA president Stephen Laskowski.

“The objective is to set up a system that’s viable, credible, and will make sure technology is tamper-proof.”

No grandfather clause for AOBRDs The differences between U.S. and Canadian regulations won’t end there. While the U.S. ELD rollout allows fleets to use pre-existing automatic on-board recording devices (AOBRDs) until this December, there will be no such grandfather period in Canada.

That worries Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC) president Mike Millian, who believes early ELD adopters could face a disadvantage. “These fleets will have to work with the supplier and hope that the device they purchased can be updated to be third-party certified or replaced with new devices,” he said. To compound mat-

ters, details about how the third-party certification will work – or even who will be allowed to certify the devices – have yet to be revealed.

While CTA had originally asked for a grandfathering period, it supports the new federal timelines.

“How can we have grandfathering of non-third-partycertified devices?” Laskowski asked, referring to the challenge of a rollout in two stages.

In the meantime, the CTA is advising fleets to request some form of written guarantee that any newly purchased equipment will be certified by a third party before the regulatory deadline arrives.

Many device suppliers themselves are already applauding the tougher certification process, too.

“Third-party certification will ensure a universal standard for ELD providers and allow regulation to achieve its objective – to make the roads safer,” said Jacques DeLarochelliere, president of Isaac Instruments. “The responsibility for device compliance will lie with those who should be accountable – the suppliers and not the carriers.”

Said federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau: “The two-year implementation period may seem quick for

Purolator’s $1B Hub PG. 14

U.S. Speed Limiters PG. 15

The Federal Focus PG. 17

Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau takes a closer look at one of the ELDs that will replace paper logbooks.

(Photo: Sean Leblanc, Kriska Transportation)

some truck owners, but I want to reassure you that this period will allow them enough time to set up and install the devices.”

Hours of service remain unchanged Teamsters Canada added its voice to those welcoming the ELD mandate.

“While today’s announcement does not fully address the issue of fatigue in the trucking industry, it at least levels the playing field for companies by finally making

drivers’ hours of service rules enforceable,” said union president Francois Laporte.

It’s an important point. The hours of service rules have not changed since 2005. The only difference is the way ELDs track driving time by the minute.

The laser-like focus on timelines can still present some new challenges, however.

Joe Ament, Home Hardware’s fleet safety and compliance coordinator, refers to the ELD data that 140 of his drivers recorded

over a single week. There were only five violations, and three of those involved driving less than five minutes beyond the allowable duty time, he says.

In the days of paper logbooks, a truck driver who had been at the wheel for 13 hours and five minutes would likely have drawn a line to record 13 hours.

A similar challenge can emerge at the beginning of a shift, too. Drivers have been known to log in for work a couple of minutes too soon.

But the difference between 28

and 30 minutes after the hour can be a violation for driving outside the allowable limits.

“Drivers are learning that it’s more important to wait three minutes,” Ament says, stressing that fleets should encourage personnel to record their comments if an ELD flags a violation in a case like this.

Home Hardware decided to leap into the era of ELDs well before the Canadian mandate was unveiled, in part because of stories about the challenges faced by U.S. carriers. The process turned out to be smoother than expected, but there were still hiccups to address.

Ament, for example, refers to relays that had to be changed to ensure equipment could be installed in the first place. One manufacturer’s choice for a new cable led to ELDs that couldn’t determine if a truck was driving or not. “Sometimes it would just show [drivers] on duty and not driving,” he explains.

New cables were also blamed for a situation when an ELD worked in one truck but not its counterpart. Strangely enough, the problem in the latter case involved the truck where the ELD seemed to work. “They couldn’t figure out why it was working.”

A staged rollout helped to limit many struggles, however,

AUGUST 2019

11

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Dispatches giving fleet trainers a chance to tweak their lessons before moving from one distribution center to the next. The first lessons were delivered when drivers were huddled around a few tablets; the next group had the chance to view a projected image. The time devoted to editing the logs increased during each stop.

Admittedly, drivers weren’t happy when Home Hardware first announced the plans. “At first it was kind of horrified and reluctant,” Arment says. “But within a week, drivers were on board with it and loved it.”

The only negative comments these days tend to involve a type of range anxiety, as drivers watch their available time tick away before arriving at destinations.

Still, opinions about ELDs can vary widely depending on a driver’s personal experience.

“Drivers have difficulty logging in.

Changes of duty status sometimes do not migrate to the mainframe. Log outs or log offs don’t always stick,” complains Steve Del Brocco, who drives for a fleet that delivers compressed gases.

He remains unconvinced that the electronic tracking will bring cheating to an end.

“Sympathetic or ‘keep driving anyways’ carriers can simply go in and edit over-hour violation drivers back into legal and compliant,” he says.

“Hours of service regulations are ridiculous anyways.”

Darren Anderson, an Ontario-based driver who runs to Colorado once a week, agrees. “They are putting you to bed when you’re not tired. So you sit there, you watch your movie, you wander around the parking lot,” he says. “I feel like I’m being babysat.”

But there are fans, too.

“I can honestly say I get more sleep now, more rest, have less stress than I’ve ever had in the trucking industry,” says Stewart Papke of Fort Macleod, Alta., who hauls cars from the docks in Delta, B.C. “E-logs are simple to use, really a push of a button in the morning and that’s it. You’re off and running.

“Any critics out there, I guess have never used [ELDs] or just don’t like change.” TT

Countdown 10 things you need to know about Canada’s ELD mandate Say goodbye to the era of paper logbooks. This June, Transport Canada unveiled plans to mandate electronic logging devices (ELDs). Here are 10 key takeaways that we know so far. n ELDs will be mandatory as of June 12, 2021. Draft rules had originally promised a rollout over four years, but regulators removed a grandfather clause for existing electronic recording devices (ERDs). Transport Canada believes older equipment can be updated through little more than a software upgrade. o All Canadian ELDs will need to be certified by a third party. Details of the testing regime have yet to be unveiled, but this is a significant difference when compared to U.S. rules that leave manufacturers to self-certify equipment. Some devices introduced under the U.S. rules have been prone to tampering.

p Existing hours of service rules, first established in 2005, remain unchanged. The only difference is that the hours themselves will be tracked using electronic methods. Some drivers and fleets argue that paper logbooks allow for some “wiggle room”, but there has never been an official allowance to change the logs.

q Canada recorded about 9,400 hours of service (HOS) convictions per year between 2010 and 2015. About 25% of those were for exceeding maximum hours, while 11% were for operating two logs at the same time or falsifying information in a log, Transport Canada reports. About 48% of convictions were for failing to maintain or produce a daily log.

Hours of service violations were in the spotlight after the fatal crash between a truck and team bus carrying members of the Humboldt Broncos hockey team. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu of Adesh Deol Trucking lacked complete logs for several of previous 14 days, failed to note the times and locations of duty status changes, and falsified log entries. The fleet owner, was charged with failing to maintain driver logs, and having multiple logs for the same period. r The new rules apply just to federally regulated carriers – for now. This means the rules apply to 157,424 of the federally regulated commercial drivers who currently have to maintain a paper logbook because they operate beyond a 160-km radius of their home terminal.

s Short-term rentals and some older equipment will be exempted from the rules. For example, ELDs will not be required in equipment rented for no longer than 30 days, or in trucks manufactured before Model Year 2000. Drivers will also be able to use a paper daily log if an ELD malfunctions. The paper entries can be used for up to 14 days, or until returning to a home terminal after a planned trip that takes longer than 14 days. After that, the ELD will have to be repaired, replaced, or fully functional before dispatching.

t Transport Canada estimates that ELDs will save the trucking industry $81 million. Estimated savings of $380.33 million are based on factors such as fewer fatigue-related crashes, reduced detention times for hours of service violations, and administrative time. These are offset by $299 million in costs linked to factors like acquiring and installing the devices, training, and monthly monitoring services.

u Cross-border truckers have had to use ELDs since December 2017, when the U.S. finalized its rules. This means that almost half (47%) of federally regulated commercial motor vehicles already have an ELD, Transport Canada says.

v Some ELD data will be automatically recorded, while other details will be entered by drivers. Drivers will need to enter information associated with their record of duty status (such as on-duty time for fueling, loading, or unloading). The ELD will automatically record things like driving time, odometer readings, and engine power-up.

w Roadside inspectors will be able to ask drivers to email an ELD record to a supplied address. Localized data transfers using USB 2.0 or Bluetooth will be optional, but not mandated. TT

Final versions of the regulations are published in Canada Gazette Part 2 at

bit.ly/31WLFJJ

AUGUST 2019

13

Dispatches > NEWS BRIEFS

Purolator plans $1-billion hub Purolator will build a national “super hub” in Toronto as part of a new fiveyear, $1-billion investment plan.

The $330-million, 430,000-sq.ft. hub will be built on 60-acres and open in 2021, the company said.

The overall investment also includes a fleet upgrade, an 110,000-sq.ft. terminal in the Toronto suburb of North York, and the opening of more consumer access points across Canada. Other regional expansion projects will be announced in coming months.

“In 2019 and 2020, more than 1,000 new vehicles with advanced technology

Get Going

will be introduced across the country,” Purolator adds.

The courier plans to roll out its first wave of fully electric vehicles in 2020, to complement an existing hybrid electric fleet.

Newcom Media, ACQ ink ExpoCam deal Newcom Media and the Quebec Trucking Association (ACQ) have renewed their partnership in the national ExpoCam truck show through an agreement that covers the next 20 years.

This partnership ensures that the ACQ fully and exclusively endorses ExpoCam as the official show of the trucking industry in Quebec.

WITH TRAILERS YOU CAN COUNT ON Newcom and ACQ established their first partnership in 2006, when Newcom first acquired ExpoCam. The seven editions of ExpoCam that have taken place since then have attracted a total of close to 75,000 visitors, averaging nearly 11,000 visitors per show.

Canada delays trailer GHG rules

1 855 327 9757 trailerwizards.com 14

TODAY’S TRUCKING

Environment Canada will delay the rollout of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for trailers by one year, responding to a court challenge against similar rules in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals stayed the rollout of U.S. EPA Phase 2 trailer rules on Oct. 27, 2017. This means the Canadian rules – based on those proposed south of the border – would have been introduced before those in the U.S., the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) reports.

Lawmakers are looking to reduce the environmental impact of trailers, requiring van trailers to be outfitted with things like aerodynamic skirts, automatic tire

NEWS BRIEFS

inflation systems, lighter-weight components, and low-rolling-resistance tires.

Even flatdecks would need to be fitted with things like low-rolling-resistance tires and automatic tire inflation systems.

Ontario Trucking Association chairman David Carruth.

Brake Week to focus on hoses, tubing

The Volvo Group will invest US $400 million over six years to upgrade its truck plant in New River Valley, Va. The

Volvo to upgrade Virginia truck plant

< Dispatches

location produces all Volvo trucks sold in North America.

“This investment is another sign of our confidence in that future, and will help us prepare for even more exciting products – powered by both diesel and electric drivetrains – in the coming years,” said Peter Voorhoeve, president of Volvo Trucks North America.

The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) is scheduling its annual Brake Safety Week for Sept. 15-22, and will place a particular focus on brake hoses and tubing.

Brake hoses and tubing need to be properly attached, undamaged, leak-free, and flexible, says the association that governs roadside truck inspections.

Brake-related violations accounted for 45% of all out-of-service vehicle violations during last year’s three-day Roadcheck inspection blitz. Brake-related violations also accounted for six of the Top 20 most frequently cited vehicle violations in 2017, the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) adds.

U.S. bill calls for truck speed limiters A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate is looking to require trucks to have speed limits set at a maximum of 105 km/h.

The move comes a decade after Ontario and Quebec became North America’s first jurisdictions to mandate the settings.

An Ontario Ministry of Transportation study revealed that speed-related, at-fault collisions involving large commercial vehicles fell 73% after speed limiters were required. That study compared data from 2006-08 to 2010-12.

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Commercial plate costs rising 2% Commercial plate prices in Ontario will increase 2% per year between July 2020 and 2023.

“While no one ever wants to pay more in fees, a measured and planned approach like this allows the industry to work with other members of the supply chain to discuss these plate increases in advance of them taking effect,” said

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Dispatches The federal government is looking for ways to protect vulnerable road users around heavy vehicles.

Federal Focus Federal safety focus turns to ELDs, autonomous tech

By John G. Smith Transport Canada’s Michael DeJong says the nation’s transportation system is undergoing a “major transformation” – and the federal government wants to support technologies that could enhance highway safety in the midst of it all.

Automated technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT), and cybersecurity are all “major, transformative, disruptive trends,” the director general of multimodal and motor vehicle safety explained during a recent Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC) conference. Each of these examples represents different opportunities and challenges.

The overall safety landscape is improving, of course. Fatal collisions involving commercial vehicles dropped 20% between 2008 and 2017. And while Canada’s numbers are trending downward, the U.S. has seen an increase in such fatalities, he told the crowd. (“We’re also better at basketball,” he quipped, referring to a championship win by the Toronto Raptors over the

Golden State Warriors.) But despite these gains, commercial vehicles still play a role in one in five road user fatalities in Canada.

Commercial vehicle safety was clearly a “point of emphasis” when the Council of Ministers responsible for transportation met earlier this year, he added, referring to a meeting in the wake of the multifatality Humboldt Broncos crash.

A coroner’s report into that same crash echoed the ministers’ commitment to finalize a technical standard for electronic logging devices (ELDs). Such technology, now enshrined in the National Safety Code, will be mandated by June 2021.

It’s expected to make a difference.

Between 2010 and 2015, Transport Canada recorded 9,400 hours of service violations, and about ¼ of those were for exceeding allowable hours. “The final regulation will help reduce the risk of fatigue-related collisions by 10%. This is significant,” DeJong said.

Meanwhile, annual work under the

Regulatory Modernization Act is exploring possible exemptions to rules that could support new technologies like truck platooning.

Research into adaptive cruise control at a test center in Blainville, Que. is “yielding some very promising results,” said Ibrahim Sow, director – road safety programs. There’s a focus on automated emergency braking as well. “If paired with forward collision warnings, those technologies will permit some very significant results with respect to protecting Canadians that are on our roads.”

Europe has already mandated these technologies in passenger vehicles.

Another pilot project run over the last two years has been testing a Mobileye system that can detect pedestrians and cyclists, often referred to as vulnerable road users. A final report to come later this year will account for how well such systems might work in Canada, given challenges such as seasonal operating conditions that aren’t always ideal for sensors.

The Council of Ministers highlighted the broader need just over two years ago, when it published a report on 57 safety measures available to protect vulnerable road users. But most of the cited measures were drawn from examples in the U.S. and Europe. A follow-up report to come in 2020 will look at strategies applied in Canadian jurisdictions alone.

“We all have a responsibility when it comes to protection of the [vulnerable road user]. It’s not just incumbent on the trucking industry,” Sow said.

The ministers have also committed to developing a national truck driver training standard by January 2020. A working group that includes provinces and territories is now addressing this, and national consultations will continue through the summer, DeJong said.

The national standard will build on mandatory entry-level training already in place in jurisdictions including Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

“We’ll be able to knit together these programs for a cohesive national standard,” he said, adding that the federal government is also looking at ways to offer some of the training online. TT AUGUST 2019

17

Dispatches

Has Class 8 truck market reached an ‘inflection point’?

ACT Research says the Class 8 truck market has hit an “inflection point” and expects truck sales to decline in the months to come.

“Signs of decline will become apparent as we move through 2019’s second half,” says Kenny Vieth, ACT’s president and senior analyst.

The coming months will be particularly telling when it comes to sales forecasts for the year ahead. “Ordering for 2020 is expected to begin in June, with several OEMs expected to start taking orders for next year,” explains Don Ake, FTR vice-president of commercial vehicles. “Orders for the next couple of months should be a good indicator of fleet confidence about 2020.”

Freightliner dominated Canada’s Class 8 sales in May, accounting for 1,014 out of the 3,357 units sold, WardsAuto reports. Peterbilt led the way in Class 7 with 267 out of the 679 retail sales. In Class 6, Freightliner secured 53 of the 159 units sold.

Ford continues to dominate Class 5 truck sales in Canada, selling 258 units in May.

Canada – May 2019 SALES CLASS 8

18

U.S. – May 2019

MARKET SHARES

SALES

May

YTD

May %

YTD %

CLASS 8

Freightliner Kenworth Volvo Truck International Peterbilt Western Star Mack Other Total CLASS 7

1,014 532 443 373 409 345 241 0 3,357 May

4,456 2,183 2,037 1,795 1,510 1,158 812 0 13,951 YTD

30.2 15.8 13.2 11.1 12.2 10.3 7.2 0.0 100.0 May %

31.9 15.6 14.6 12.9 10.8 8.3 5.8 0.0 100.0 YTD %

International Peterbilt Freightliner Hino Kenworth Ford Total CLASS 6

170 267 79 95 62 6 679 May

1,092 909 542 472 224 32 3,271 YTD

25.0 39.3 11.6 14.0 9.1 0.9 100.0 May %

Freightliner Hino International Ford Peterbilt Isuzu Kenworth GM Total CLASS 5

53 43 40 7 16 0 0 0 159 May

260 235 170 32 16 11 8 0 732 YTD

Ford Hino Isuzu Dodge/Ram Freightliner International Mitsubishi Fuso GM Kenworth Peterbilt Total

258 176 116 134 10 3 0 0 0 0 697

1,356 721 456 454 17 4 0 0 0 0 3,008

TODAY’S TRUCKING

www.total-canada.ca

MARKET SHARES

May

YTD

May %

YTD %

Freightliner Peterbilt International Kenworth Volvo Truck Mack Western Star Other Total CLASS 7

8,517 3,855 3,168 3,653 2,722 1,814 695 0 24,424 May

42,312 16,598 16,070 15,608 10,665 7,543 2,536 0 111,332 YTD

34.9 15.8 13.0 15.0 11.1 7.4 2.8 0.0 100.0 May %

38.0 14.9 14.4 14.0 9.6 6.8 2.3 0.0 100.0 YTD %

33.4 27.8 16.6 14.4 6.8 1.0 100.0 YTD %

Freightliner International Peterbilt Kenworth Ford Hino Total CLASS 6

2,383 1,217 657 405 162 110 4,934 May

12,074 6,146 2,991 2,054 1,169 753 25,187 YTD

48.3 24.7 13.3 8.2 3.3 2.2 100.0 May %

47.9 24.4 11.9 8.2 4.6 3.0 100.0 YTD %

33.3 27.0 25.2 4.4 10.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 May %

35.5 32.1 23.2 4.4 2.2 1.5 1.1 0.0 100.0 YTD %

International Ford Freightliner Hino Kenworth Isuzu Peterbilt GM Total CLASS 5

2,342 2,556 1,334 701 256 126 23 76 7,414 May

10,770 9,537 8,856 2,932 1,213 464 35 613 34,420 YTD

31.6 34.5 18.0 9.5 3.5 1.7 0.3 0.0 100.0 May %

31.3 27.7 25.7 8.5 3.5 1.3 0.1 0.0 100.0 YTD %

37.0 25.3 16.6 19.2 1.4 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0

45.1 24.0 15.2 15.1 0.6 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0

Ford Dodge/Ram Isuzu Freightliner Hino GM International Kenworth Peterbilt Mitsubishi Fuso Total

4,761 1,242 562 577 192 191 30 1 0 0 7,556

21,528 5,369 2,256 2,038 1,031 392 64 25 4 0 32,707

63.0 16.4 7.4 7.6 2.5 2.5 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 100.0

65.8 16.4 6.9 6.2 3.2 1.2 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 100.0

Source: WardsAuto

Dispatches

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19

Dispatches

StatPack 200,000 300 TREES FOR HEROES Volvo Group sponsored the first 300 trees to be planted as part of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign. The project will ultimately plant 117,000 trees along the 170-km Highway of Heroes between CFB Trenton and the coroner’s office in Toronto.

It was the same route taken by all 159 Canadians killed during the war in Afghanistan.

The 117,000 trees match the number of Canadians lost at war since 1812. Another 1.8 million trees will be planted in surrounding communities.

CANADIAN-MADE TRUCKS Paccar has manufactured the 200,000th truck at its medium-duty plant in SteTherese, Que. The Kenworth T270 was presented to Miller Industries, a longtime Kenworth customer. It came with a 300-hp Paccar PX-7 engine and an Allison automatic transmission.

$72 MILLION IN EQUIPMENT Ritchie Bros.’ latest auction in Edmonton secured more than $72 million in sales, and about 70% of the equipment was sold online. More than 10,000 people from 49 countries registered for the auction, which kicked off June 10. Highlighted sales from the event included two unused 2018 Western Star 4700SB hydro vac trucks ($802,500 combined), a pair of 2012 Volvo A30F 6×6 articulated dump trucks ($407,500 combined), and a 2014 Kenworth C500 T/A 385-inch WB bed truck ($275,000).

11 COMMUNITIES LOOKING FOR NEWCOMERS Eleven communities will participate in a new Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, which is looking to attract newcomers to work in occupations like truck drivers.

The selected communities are: Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Timmins, and North Bay, Ont.; Gretna-Rhineland-Altona-Plum Coulee and Brandon, Man.; Moose Jaw, Sask.; Claresholm, Alta.; and West Kootenay and Vernon, B.C. “As baby boomers leave the transportation industry, a gap is being created that our local labor pool cannot sufficiently fill,” said Doug Sutherland of Sutco Transportation Specialists.

200 TEDDY-TOTING TRUCKS About 200 trucks participated in the Teddy Bear Convoys in Newfoundland and Labrador this June, raising close to $75,000 for the Janeway Children’s Hospital Foundation. The events in St. John’s and Corner Brook were organized by Just for Kids, a charity formed by transportation industry volunteers.

20

TODAY’S TRUCKING

77 MORE TRUCKS

In the last two decades, Ontario has recorded a 77% increase in large truck registrations – reaching 291,155 large trucks overall. While truck-related fatalities dropped 67% during the same time period, large trucks are still involved in about one in five such deaths.

“When things happen with big vehicles, big things happen,” says Richard Robinson of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s carrier enforcement branch.

Dispatches

Pu se Reader Survey Tell us your thoughts on ... ELDs

Transport Canada will officially mandate electronic logging devices (ELDs) as of June 2021, following in the footsteps of U.S. regulators. In this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reader survey, we asked your views about ELDs and hours of service rules.

Will ELDs monitor hours of service more effectively than paper logbooks?

Does your fleet already use ELDs?

Will truck drivers be able to manipulate the information recorded by ELDs?

YES YES

58 YES

77

NO %

23 %

Do existing hours of service rules help to reduce driver fatigue?

YES

52

48

YES

44

42 % How do you think ELDs will affect driver pay?

9% %

Will ELDs help to reduce fatigue-related crashes?

Drivers will make

MORE ELDs will NOT affect driver pay..... 38%

NO %

72 %

NO

NO %

28

%

NO %

56 %

Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Trucking Pulse surveys are conducted once per month, covering a variety of industry issues. To share your voice in future surveys, email johng@newcom.ca.

53 % Drivers will make

LESS

Do existing hours of service rules give drivers and fleets enough flexibility to operate?

YES

NO

51% 49 % Will ELDs force shippers to address issues like extended dwell times and other delays?

YES

NO

69 % 31 % Next month:

Truck features and options AUGUST 2019

21

Dispatches

Heard Street on the

Helene Svhan

Svhan named Haldex CEO Helene Svhan has been named the new CEO of Haldex, a global manufacturer of air brake systems for trucks, trailers and buses. Svahn was already a board member and a professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, and is currently head of research and innovation at Permobil, which makes wheelchairs. She replaces Åke Bengtsson, who has been CEO since 2017.

Two Canadians are top techs at Ryder Two Canadians secured top positions on the podium during the 18th annual Ryder Top Technician competition in Indianapolis. Ken Bilyea of London, Ont. secured first place and the $50,000 cash prize to go with it. Wade Robinson, also of London, placed second and earned a $10,000 prize as a finalist. Finalists advanced through three rounds of written tests and hands-on competitions.

Young to support Fuso dealers Peter Young is the new director of dealer network development for Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America, in a role that will focus on the Fuso dealership network in the U.S. and Canada. Brian Shantz, who manages the Canadian operations, had also been responsible for the network development and operations group before the roles were divided.

Mulroney named third transportation minister in a year Caroline Mulroney – a lawyer and one-time contender for

Caroline Mulroney

22

TODAY’S TRUCKING

the leadership of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party – has been named the province’s transportation minister in an extensive cabinet shuffle by Ontario Premier Doug Ford. This makes her the third person to oversee the portfolio in just a year. Jeff Yurek and John Yakabuski held the role before her.

Prior to the shuffle, she was attorney general of Ontario, and she will continue to oversee francophone affairs as well.

Praxair, John Deere drivers in Hall of Fame The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC) has added two members to its Hall of Fame for Professional Drivers. Allan Huffman, a driver assigned to John Deere’s private fleet, has run more than 8 million km without an accident or violation during his 46 years on the road. He joined CPC Logistics in 2005.

David Judge of Praxair Canada has been driving for 39 years, 33 of which have been at Praxair. Based in St. John, N.B., he has traveled more than 4.8 million accident-free and violation-free kilometers.

Dispatches

Trendingg on Could drivers consume pot without knowing it?

She believes the pending legalization of edible marijuana products will be a particular challenge in the workplace. Compounding the problem is that those who use drugs in these forms – whether it’s a gummy bear, a square of chocolate, or potato chip – tend to overindulge, SniderAdler said.

Some drivers use edibles on the job because they think the pain impairs them more than the marijuana itself, she added.

Cannabis Market Data released by the federal government shows the number of medical marijuana users has increased from just 477 in 2002 to nearly 360,000 in 2018. That number is expected to top 400,000 by 2024, dealing a major blow to safety-sensitive industries, where 22% of Canadians are employed, Snider-Adler said.

Heather Devine was sporting a sling when she approached the podium at the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada’s annual meeting, and she brought a related cautionary tale with her.

A friend had recommended a pain-relieving rub known as Buddha Bar, purchased at a local flea market. There was nothing on the list of ingredients that triggered any warnings, just the promise of things like “essential oils”, so the lawyer with Isaacs and Co. tried it out. It seemed to work, too.

Only when she went to order more of the rub online did she find out that it was infused with THC – the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Arm, back and neck injuries are prevalent among longhaul drivers, Devine said, asking what they may be using to manage their pain. The wrong choices could run afoul of drug testing regimes.

“For DOT drivers, it is black and white,” DriverCheck’s Dr. Melissa Snider-Adler stressed in a later presentation, referring to cross-border drivers who are included in testing programs.

“No cannabis use is accepted legal or not, medical or not. It is an absolute zero tolerance.”

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Legal

Supreme Court ruling puts Driver Inc. model at risk

By Rui Fernandes

A

recent Supreme Court of Canada decision used a “business risk” test when distinguishing employees from independent contractors – and if the test is applied in the transportation industry, it could represent a final nail in the coffin for the “Driver Inc.” business model.

Driver Inc. refers to fleets that incorporate drivers who do not actually own or lease their vehicles, but pay these individuals as independent contractors. Since the payments are made without source deductions, the practice opens the door to possible tax evasion by those engaged in it.

While the Supreme Court decision referred to a cleaning service, there are some common themes to consider.

The case – Modern Cleaning Concept Inc. v.

Comité paritaire de l’entretien d’édifices publics de la région de Québec, 2019 SCC 28 – involved a claim for $9,219.32 in unpaid wages and other benefits for cleaning services performed by Francis Bourque. Modern Cleaning Concept provided cleaning and maintenance services in Québec through a network of franchises. At issue was whether Bourque was an employee, or an independent contractor through his franchise.

The following factors suggested Bourque was an independent contractor: he owned his

own cleaning business; he acted as a subcontractor for Modern prior to becoming a franchisee; and Bourque hoped to enlarge his business. Factors suggesting he was an employee included his inability to negotiate the terms of the franchise agreement; Modern’s ongoing supervision of his work; and the fact that Bourque’s clients paid Modern, which then paid Bourque.

A trial judge concluded that the contract intended Bourque to be an independent contractor rather than an employee. The Court of Appeal disagreed. So did the Supreme Court of Canada.

This is where the “business risk” test came into play. The critical factor distinguishing employees from independent contractors was said to be the respective degree of risk and the ability to make a profit. The independent contractor, in attempting to generate profit, accepts the business risk. Employees, on the other hand, do not.

The Court held that the relevant risk is the business risk – not simply any risk accepted by the worker in relation to his or her working conditions.

Employees, by virtue of their independence, will always have a degree of autonomy and will likely accept some risk in structuring their work. Even in circumstances where the worker owns his or her own

The critical factor distinguishing employees and independent contractors is the respective degree of risk and ability to generate profit equipment and is characterized as an independent contractor by tax law, a worker may nonetheless be an “employee” in a legal sense.

It means a working relationship has to be examined in its entirety to determine who bears the business risk. If the worker bears the business risk, then he or she is properly characterized as an independent contractor. If not, the worker is an employee.

This was the latest Supreme Court of Canada directive around the test to determine whether someone is an employee or independent contractor. And through

this test, someone using the Driver Inc. model will never be found to be operating as an independent contractor.

Trucking companies should be aware that there are risks in dealing with employees in business relationships like these. For companies whose trucks cross provincial borders, the Canada Labour Code will apply. TT Rui Fernandes of Fernandes-Hearn LLP practices all aspects of transportation law, and is included in the Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide as one of the leading 500 lawyers in Canada. He can be reached through info@fernandeshearn.com.

AUGUST 2019

25

Compliance

Deadlines and tips for dealing with the HVUT

By Heather Ness

A

new U.S. Heavy Vehicle Use Tax (HVUT) tax year began on July 1, and there are several things carriers need to know about the tax to keep an operation in good standing.

The HVUT applies to vehicles that operate on a U.S. public highway and have a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more. Related filings are due at the end of the month that follows the month in which a vehicle is first used during the tax year.

Put another way, carriers that operate a taxable vehicle in July would traditionally need to file and pay the HVUT

by Aug. 31. (But with that date falling on a Saturday, and the following weekend being a legal holiday, the July filings are actually due on Sept. 3 in 2019.)

Taxable vehicles that begin running in the U.S. after July will have their taxes prorated for the remaining months.

HVUT enforcement When working with U.S. carriers, state vehicle licensing offices track and enforce the HVUT. Proof of the tax payments have to be provided before vehicle registration credentials are issued.

Canada-based carriers face a different approach because the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) doesn’t expect provincial licensing offices to enforce a U.S. tax. When entering the U.S., these carriers have to provide proof of

26

TODAY’S TRUCKING

a tax payment or filing, or a written declaration in place of that proof.

Carriers that are U.S. “regulars” could choose to file and pay right away. However, the carriers based in Canada are allowed to observe the same filing timeframes as their U.S. counterparts – with filings and payments due at the end of the month following the vehicle’s first miles on a public roadway during the tax year.

This means that those subject to the HVUT in July will have until Sept. 3 to file and pay the tax. If the carrier operates in the U.S. before the HVUT is filed, a driver can carry a written declaration up until the Sept. 3 deadline.

Any written declaration must include: Name, address, and taxpayer identification number of the person liable for the tax imposed on the vehicle; Vehicle Identification Number (VIN); Date on which the vehicle was first used on public U.S. highways during the taxable period (or a statement that the current entry is the first use); Acknowledgment by the person liable for the tax imposed on such a vehicle that the willful use of the declaration to evade or defeat the tax will be subject to a fine and/or imprisonment; and Signature of the person liable for the tax imposed on the vehicle.

Drivers at the wheel of a truck that operates in the U.S. after Sept. 3 must carry proof of the HVUT payment or filing (a stamped Schedule 1), and present it to a U.S. Customs official upon request.

There is some other advice to consider as well.

First, look into the option of a tax suspension. If a carrier believes that a taxable vehicle will operate in the U.S. 5,000 miles or less during the tax year, the carrier can suspend the tax. This means that the HVUT is filed, but no tax is due. If the vehicle ends up traveling more than 5,000 miles during the year, an amended filing is required along with the HVUT payment.

While e-filing is required when dealing with 25 or more vehicles, it’s also a good idea for carriers of all sizes to file electronically for accurate and timely returns.

And ensure that drivers carry the proof of filing or a written declaration in the

vehicle, to present to enforcement teams.

How and when you file and pay, or whether you’re able to suspend the tax, will depend on the extent of your operations into the U.S. The filing process for the HVUT is relatively easy to complete, but the requirement to carry proof of filing, a proof of payment, or a written declaration in vehicles has added another level of compliance.

Carriers can lose their ability to operate into the U.S. if they fail to address their HVUT obligations.

Visit www.irs.gov/truckers for more details on the tax, including forms and instructions, and a listing of e-file providers. J. J. Keller and Associates is an e-file provider. Visit them at www.2290online.com. TT Heather Ness is the editor of Transport Operations at JJ Keller and Associates. Contact her at transporteditors@jjkeller.com.

Open Mike

It’s time to embrace your digital transformation

By Mike McCarron

I

t should be no surprise to anyone that big tech companies are set on disrupting the fragmented trucking sector. Ordering something may happen with the click of button, but the pick-pack-and-truck process is another story.

It takes time. It’s laborintensive. There’s paperwork involved.

According to a recent PwC study, only 28% of the transportation industry can claim a high rate of successful digital implementation.

That number is overinflated. You know it, I know it, and so does Silicon Valley.

As a fleet owner or manager, it’s easy to look at blockchain, artificial intelligence, automation, and other game-changing technology and feel like you want to disconnect completely.

In fact, your company’s digital transformation (for the newbies) should be a series of incremental steps and investments that, one day, will allow you to confidently place your order for a fleet of drones and run the whole operation from the seat of a golf cart.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you manage the digital transformation at your business.

Cultural indifference According to that PwC study, nearly half of transportation businesses say company culture and the cost to implement digital technology

are their biggest deterrents to change.

Hogwash.

Think back to when ELDs were first legislated in the U.S. Drivers and dispatchers worried about “big brother”; some threatened to quit. The

control (weather, traffic, etc.).

When we do have control we have to be efficient.

Automating core functions or repetitive tasks like order entry, load planning, and customer service can improve productivity and strengthen

cost of the hardware, installation, and training seemed staggering.

But for years we knew that ELDs were going to be rammed down our throats regardless.

So what happened? Many carriers implemented ELDs well in advance of the deadline and used the time to work out the bugs with their employees, customers, and ELD providers. Instead of being hindered by cost or culture, the technology eliminated an inefficient paper process and helped fleets show drivers that they value their time.

margins. It can also make it easier to attract employees, especially millennials, who want to do more than push paper all day.

Core processes Trucking is affected by so many factors that we can’t

1-10-100 rule The 1-10-100 rule—a pillar at FedEx—is something I embraced when I owned trucks.

Simply put, the rules states that a problem caught at the source costs $1 to fix. If it creeps into another department, the cost jumps to $10. If it affects a customer, it’s $100.

Whenever you evaluate tech products or services, ask one simple question: How will this help us eliminate mistakes? The impact on ROI is potentially huge.

Customer experience I’m amazed at the way carriers can be so vague about their delivery times. “Three days from when we pick up your shipment” doesn’t cut it with digitally wired customers who value accurate, precise, instantaneous information.

According to a Walker Consulting study, customer experience is fast becoming more important as a brand differentiator than price and product. Some of the industry’s leading carriers have done an incredible job to create seamless, memorable, online experiences. Those with antiquated customer interfaces and systems that are slow to give a rate quote, track a shipment, or solve a billing question will have trouble staying relevant.

Sorry, gotta run. The shirt I bought on Amazon last night arrived as I was booking a round of golf on Underpar while checking Waze to find the fastest route to the course. Since I plan on having a few pints I will Uber home and order dinner from SkipTheDishes, which I will eat while watching Hulu. TT Mike McCarron is the president of Left Lane Associates, a firm that creates total enterprise value for transportation companies and their owners. He can be reached at mike@ leftlaneassociates.ca, 416-551-6651, or @AceMcC on Twitter.

AUGUST 2019

27

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Dispatches Western Star Corral

Dodge 1970 Model 900

Mack 1965 Model B-61

International 1955 Model K200

Clifford’s Classics Annual classic truck show draws record numbers

By Rolf Lockwood A record 305 trucks were on display over the Canada Day weekend at the 10th annual Antique and Classic Truck Show in Clifford, Ont., two hours northwest of Toronto. That’s a far cry from the 80 trucks present at the first show a decade ago.

Organized by the Great Lakes Truck Club, the event never fails to disappoint. Led by club president Chris Hall, the show holds no pressure – except for the many volunteers who put it together – because there’s no competition for prizes, and only a handful of low-key vendors. An easy-going atmosphere is the result, and the 2,000 or so visitors just wander the field, lazily inspecting some very special vehicles and stopping for chats with new and old friends about veteran trucks and long-lost engines they loved or maybe hated. There’s a mix of ages in the crowd but they’re all truck lovers through and through.

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TODAY’S TRUCKING

GMC 1967 Model 8500

My personal favorite, though that’s a tough call with so many cool machines on the field, was probably Wayne Swinson’s 1970 Dodge 900 tractor. Not a glammed-up Peterbilt, just a beautifully restored workaday truck.

Also in attendance, as usual, was Charlie Tackaberry, owner of a spectacular collection of vintage trucks in Athens, Ont. This year he was pulling around a fire truck that he just added to the mix.

This year’s featured nameplate was Western Star, and in the “Western Star Corral” was a great collection of trucks made in Canada in days gone by, including Billy Baker’s latest build, a 1973 White Western Star.

Of course, every truck was a star in its own right. TT

Dispatches Rodeo du Camion brings the roar of big block engines, billowing exhaust, and community support to Notre-Dame-du-Nord, Que.

asked what the locals think about Rodeo du Camion.

“I think they are more and more happy about the work we do.”

Local pride

The Road to Rodeo Rodeo du Camion remains a trucking spectacle like no other

By Nicolas Trépanier It all began in 1981, when a dozen truckers decided to add a sense of excitement to a local fishing tournament by organizing a friendly race in NotreDame-du-Nord, Que. Thirty-nine years later, Rodeo du Camion has grown into an annual event that attracts tens of thousands of spectators, all drawn by the deafening roar of big block engines and demonstrations of hill-climbing power.

The community also continues to reap rewards that emerge through the billowing clouds of truck exhaust. About $5.6 million in donations collected since 1986 have supported various organizations in the surrounding AbitibiTemiscamingue region, Montreal, and elsewhere in Quebec.

“We should reach $6 million for the 40th anniversary next year,” says event general manager Julien Allaire Lefebvre, who has helped organize Rodeo du Camion for 19 years. Each year more than 600 volunteers from throughout the Abitibi region also keep Rodeo’s wheels rolling forward, while spectators come from around the world. About 75% of last year’s 80,000 visitors came from outside Quebec, including Columbia, Finland, and China.

“They visit the surroundings and visit

the museums. According to a study done two years ago, we are talking about a total of $9.5 million in economic benefits thanks to the Rodeo du Camion,” Lefebvre says.

An evolving event The event is also evolving with the times.

To help offset the environmental impact of soot-laden exhaust, Rodeo du Camion has partnered with local nurseries to plant trees throughout the municipality. Even the event’s office adopts environmentally friendly practices.

“We have also made a lot of improvements to the safety of our facilities,” Lefebvre adds. Fences are now used to control crowds. Barriers are constructed using the same concrete blocks that the Ministry of Transportation uses on Quebec highways.

Further measures at the entrance to the site and a related campground help to keep the crowds under control. A full medical team arrives on the Wednesday night before race weekend, and another 85 security guards support local firefighters and paramedics.

“Festivals are sort of imposed on citizens, so we involve them throughout the process with committees and information sessions,” Lefebvre says, when

Racers are certainly happy with the work.

“Notre-Dame-du-Nord is my hometown. I grew up in it and I always dreamed of doing that,” says Guillaume Bergeron. When it’s Rodeo time, he parks the 2015 Kenworth W900L that he drives for TFI International’s Contrans division in favor of a 1984 Western Star.

The truck has a historic connection to the race in its own right. It once belonged to legendary racer Donald Vachon, now retired.

“More and more, those who can afford it have two trucks,” Bergeron says, referring to the financial commitment to racing. “One for work and one for racing, because race trucks are often broken.”

He admits some local residents aren’t race fans, but stresses that others have come around.

“There are a lot of volunteers involved, and in recent years the Rodeo has become a more family event, a little less rock and roll,” he says.

Natural partner There is even business to be conducted.

Temisko, a trailer manufacturer located in Notre-Dame-du-Nord, has been involved in the Rodeo since the very beginning. “It’s a natural fit for us,” says president and CEO Nelson Pouliot.

“There are many former employees who are involved in organizing the Rodeo. It’s the biggest truck festival in Quebec, and it’s always good to be associated with something that’s a winner.”

Pouliot describes the Rodeo as a unifying event that reinforces the sense of pride in the community. “It’s not easy to organize such a big event,” he explains.

“Many people would not know NotreDame-du-Nord if it was not for the Truck Rodeo.”

This year’s Rodeo du Camion runs Aug. 1-4. TT AUGUST 2019

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Joanne Mackenzie says the Pinkie Truck’s vehicle wraps helped to open many discussions about the fight against breast cancer. It illustrates the power of vehicle graphics that support a charity.

PULLING for a CAUSE Vehicle graphics draw attention to growing array of charities

By John G. Smith

T

he Pinkie Truck has completed its journey.

Driver Joanne Mackenzie shared the news with Trucking for a Cure supporters last month, after her pink-clad Peterbilt was handed back to Paccar. Highland Transport – her employer and the fleet that embraced vehicle graphics as a tool in the fight against breast cancer – closed on June 28.

The truck’s lease had come to an end.

“We are still running our events each year, and we will continue to drive towards a cancer-free future,” Mackenzie stressed, referring to the broader Trucking for a Cure organization. “The Pinkie Truck truly brought awareness and exposure to this terrible disease for five amazing years and I was honored to be behind the wheel.”

It was an emotional day. Any driver can become attached to a truck, but there’s

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something special about driving equipment that promotes a charitable cause.

Vehicle graphics like these certainly deliver a message to a wide audience.

According to 3M, which supplies vehicle wrap film, a single intra-city truck can generate up to 16 million visual impressions a year. Research for the American Trucking Associations determined that a typical van trailer makes 10 million impressions a year, and up to 14 million impressions when using the reflective

films that deliver a visual pop at night.

But charity-related graphics also deliver an underlying message about the fleets that pull them.

“It’s a method to reinforce their culture, to show employees, to show customers, to show the general public that they’re more than a trucking company – that they’re members of the community and giving back,” says Pete Dalmazzi, president of Trucks for Change, which organizes and showcases trucking-related charitable works.

Building on the image The most effective campaigns build on the image itself, he says. “The next level is what they do along with that – when they combine [vehicle graphics] with events and what I would call employee engagement.”

Dalmazzi rattles off a long list of truck fleets that have accomplished this very thing. Motive Media and Apps Transport, for example, joined forces to wrap a truck with “Get Loud” graphics as part of a fundraising campaign to support Toronto’s Sick Kids hospital. Fleets such as Arnold Bros. and Roseneau Transport wrapped rigs in plaid as part of the Plaid for Dad campaign to fight prostate cancer. Trucking companies raised more than $90,000 for the latter cause in the last year alone. The list goes on.

The rolling billboards certainly attract attention in their own right.

“We’d get people slowing down, and waving at you, and passengers trying to take a picture. You see the shadows of people in the tour buses waving, which is pretty good,” Mackenzie says. Crowds

Arnold Bros. and Rosenau Transport are among fleets to support Plaid for Dad.

Pulling for a Cause were even known to assemble in truck stops. “I have to remember when opening my curtains to peek out first because tour buses would be parked there, and people would be waving away. It was pretty comical.”

It’s why Mackenzie says it was always important to be a “good girl” when on the highway. If the truck was being noticed, she wanted to ensure it wasn’t remembered for the wrong reasons.

Interactions could be emotional, too.

When parked at show ‘n shine events, men would often approach the Pinkie Truck and share stories of mothers and wives who faced their own fights with breast cancer. That’s where the Trucking for a Cure volunteers focused on sharing information. The pink truck could open the door to a conversation, but volunteers seized on the opportunities to spread details that make a difference.

Don Smith, a driver with Highlight Motor Group, has been spreading his own cancer-related messages through Bikers Battling Cancer. And he was in for a surprise when he recently approached his fleet to help support the cause in some way.

“Don has driven for us for four years now, and I know him to be a great employee and a great man. When he approached me to help support his charity, I was more than happy to chip in,” said fleet president Kirk Kalinitchenko.

“Everyone at Highlight is a big family and we back each other as best as we can.”

“I was floored,” Smith says, referring the day when Kalinitchenko offered to wrap a new truck in the charity’s messaging. “This gesture brought tears to my eyes because I knew how much awareness this will bring to our cause.”

The charitable vehicle wraps don’t need to be limited to Canada’s largest fleets, either.

Small fleets, big impacts Mike Murchison of Faith Trucking in Coaldale, Alta., recently decided to wrap his 2013 Great Dane reefer to support Wounded Warriors – a national organization that supports ill and wounded veterans and first responders.

He had never done anything like this before. Graphics were usually limited

to the business name. But Murchison reached out to Wounded Warriors’ national director of fundraising in Whitby, Ont. They helped work on the look. Paul Stowick of Great-West Kenworth and his body shop manager, Barry Porter, even repaired road scars on the tractor itself, to ensure the final image popped. AV Brake in Lethbridge, Alta. added lights underneath, and Calgary’s Industrial Graphics did the rest.

Murchison invested $3,200 to complete the project.

It takes a village, as they say.

The tractor-trailer now rolls between Lethbridge and Idaho, as well as Winnipeg and North Dakota. And he occasionally pulls the equipment off the revenue routes to ensure the message

RAPTORS

WRAPS

Motive Media’s Kate Glassow was among millions of Canadians who held their breath during the final 0.9 seconds of the Toronto Raptors win over the Golden State Warriors. But the nerves didn’t end there. She and the rest of the team had a deadline to meet.

The fleet graphics house was responsible for wrapping vehicles that would carry the Raptors through downtown Toronto during a victory parade. And in a hurry.

A 53-foot retrofitted trailer to be parked at Nathan Phillips Square was just the beginning. There were five double-decker buses to carry the players, a fleet of 19 Ford vehicles, a retro TTC bus, trolley bus, and even banners for the stage.

“We were informed that there was the potential of this when they got to the final round of the playoffs,” said Glassow, the Motive

appears at events like the Canadian Trucking Show, or at the pancake breakfast hosted by a local member of parliament.

Like Mackenzie and the Pinkie Truck, he uses the attention to open discussions.

The truck cab is always stocked with Wounded Warriors marketing collateral.

“I’m only one person, but I’m going to do what I can,” says Murchison. He never had the opportunity to serve in the military for medical reasons, but this way he feels that he is serving in his own way.

It’s something he shares in common with the larger fleets. There always seems to be a personal connection behind such graphic displays.

Says Dalmazzi: “Those that do it, do it from the heart.” TT

Media account manager who supports Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Raptors.

The artwork was prepared, and the 8,000 square feet of material was in stock by Game 3.

Then they waited.

“We got the go-ahead the minute the game stopped,” Glassow said. “I was just so nervous because there was so much at stake for us. It was so nerve-wracking, and it was an incredible opportunity. We had all hands on deck … we’ve got three people in production, and they were basically working

around the clock.”

With the help of 15 installers, they had everything ready just before 1 a.m. on Sunday.

Motive Media president Kathy Cartan said she didn’t stop to realize how big the job was until someone from Ford came to the company’s yard to take pictures.

“When I saw them start off, I thought this was huge.”

“It was quite the moment.

We feel so fortunate that we were able to be included in it,” Glassow says. “We’re a small part of history … I think [the Raptors] have a new Number 1 fan.”

AUGUST 2019

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DATA DRIVEN Crunching the numbers can generate real-world fleet safety improvements

J

By John G. Smith

ohn Deere’s truck fleet already has an impressive safety record. Its trophy case includes no fewer than seven annual private fleet safety honors from the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC). But there’s always room to improve. The data doesn’t lie.

While the fleet operated by CPC Logistics Canada knew that speeding accounted for just 2% of overall travel time, a closer look at the numbers showed that the worst offenders were speeding around 10% of the time.

It’s why speeding became the first target for a fleet safety program anchored in telematics.

“We found that speeding was what we really wanted to frame this program around,” said Matthew Carr, CPC Logistics Canada’s senior director of safety and operations, during a data-related panel discussion at the PMTC’s annual meeting.

Rather than adopting an off-the-shelf telematics system, the fleet opted to develop a model of its own. The goal was not only to generate customized data, but to present it through an app that would engage drivers, offer consistent data for operations teams, and evaluate performance in real time. The underlying gamification would encourage truck drivers to monitor progress toward quarterly safety bonuses.

The change was dramatic. Speeding incidents dropped 74.4%, down to a mere 0.53% of driving time overall. It looked great. But, again, data doesn’t lie. Another challenge emerged.

“We were reducing our total time speeding, but what we weren’t doing was reducing our excessive speeding,” Carr said, referring to reports that flagged the number of actual traffic violations. Back into the numbers they went, and training efforts focused on the worst offenders.

As important as high speeds had become, the next focus was on sudden stops – the high-speed braking events that take place above 80 km/h. John Deere drivers averaged 56 such stops per 1,600 km, once safety teams separated the outliers who recorded 100-200 high-speed braking events. When track-

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TODAY’S TRUCKING

ing and coaching were refocused, the drivers dropped to an average of 31 high-speed stops per 1,600 km.

Hard-braking has almost been eliminated as well, dropping from 24 events per 1,600 km down to a low 0.2.

But as valuable as the telematics data proved to be, there were also human factors to consider. One driver who recorded more than 250 hard braking events per 1,600 km was a good employee by other measures. The data led to questions that helped to determine he was a nervous driver.

“He was getting in the right lane and he wasn’t moving for nothing or anybody,” Carr said. In just a month, though, his number of hard braking events dropped to 100 thanks to a bit of coaching. “We changed his habits to feel comfortable getting in and out of a lane.”

A clear picture through dashcams Even the best data can leave gaps in a story. It’s why Paul Quail Transport has introduced dash cams, recording videos during situations like hard-braking events and comparing all the available information at the same time.

A hard-braking event can be linked to speeding, following too close, or being inattentive – but it can also occur when a car unexpectedly cuts in front of a truck, said operations manager Leanne Quail. In a situation like that, she applauds drivers who hit the brakes while maintaining as much space as possible.

Like other telematics data, though, the video needs to focus on the right areas to make a difference. To Quail, this means aiming the lens in a way that picks up fender mirrors and pavement markings to help show things like whether or not a driver is in their lane.

The view came into play when a state trooper hit a guardrail and then bounced into the side of a Paul Quail Transport truck.

His original accident report blamed the collision on an imaginary vehicle that didn’t exist.

Data Driven ules that don’t require a heavy foot on the throttle, he said as an example.

Then there’s a matter of controlling how the growing volume of data is consumed. It needs to be presented in a form that delivers information people can act upon, and edited so that important information is not overlooked.

Quail stresses the value of presenting data based on the way people consume other details. Some might prefer a spreadsheet; others a visual dashboard. “That’s the way they see their world,” she said, referring to the way the properly presented information will be better understood.

Fleets also need to consider how much information is shared and when. While Sharp Transportation offers everyone a live view of reefer temperatures and locations, fault codes are fed to the fleet president and drivers every 30 minutes, said Kimberly Biback, the fleet’s corporate and public relations specialist. There isn’t a single approach to sharing data with customers, either. Some want more data than others. The best answer will involve considering the client’s needs and desires, she added.

And when things like fuel bonuses are anchored in the data, redundant systems will need to be established to ensure any questions are answered, she stressed.

Successful programs will depend on how well everyone understands the way data will be acted upon, too.

The ultimate goal, however, is to see CPC Logistics Canada developed a custom app that lets drivers monitor data as a tool to help predict the future. performance as it relates to bonuses.

“We have data on everything,” said And the insights do not end there.

George Lesko, FedEx Ground’s manager of safety and performance analytics.

“We’re very good at talking about what’s happened in terms of service, in terms of safety.” But the way “It brings a sense of reality to our driver scorecard, and I find it’s divided and combined will offer true insights – the “red it’s treating our drivers more fairly,” Quail said, referring to the flags” about risks to come. video reports. “I have a lot more confidence in the decisions FedEx Ground monitors everything from the driving hours that I’m making with our drivers.” tracked by an ELD, to GPS locations, and even external data More telematics to come with ELDs like weather conditions. He would like to see a Waze-style app that offers dynamic information, considering everything from A growing number of fleets are expected to tap into telematics traffic conditions to weather patterns. data in the months to come.

No single data point will tell the full story, after all. Good “What’s really going to drive it more than anything is this drivers can be involved in collisions, Lesko said, and poor drivELD mandate,” said Ward Warkentin, CEO of Fleetmetrica. ers might escape collisions by luck alone. When compared to “It’s going to drive more interest to analyze that data, and it’s predicting on-time service, he says predicting safety is more of going to drive more interest in having accurate data.” a “grey area”.

But acting on such data in a meaningful way will involve But he’s confident that growing advancements in telematics more than safety managers alone. While it’s important to tell data will help to clarify the view. TT drivers not to speed, this needs to be backed by delivery schedAUGUST 2019

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In Gear

38 42 43 44

Wheel Maintenance Michelin Man ZF’s New Transmission Product Watch

EQUIPMENT NEWS, REVIEWS, AND MAINTENANCE TIPS

Fire Down Below Most causes of wheel end fires are completely avoidable

By Jim Park Wheel end fires, while uncommon, are not rare. They usually make the papers and the TV news websites, though. They can produce dramatic footage of thick black smoke and flames consuming an entire trailer – and the tractor, if the driver can’t get the two units unhooked fast enough.

The resulting damage often makes a forensic examination impossible. Was the fire caused by a brake, bearing, or tire problem?

The underlying cause for these fires is always excessive heat that manages to ignite a tire or some stray oil or grease at the wheel end.

In a presentation last September to the American Trucking Associations’ Technology and Maintenance Council, Michelin field engineer Phil Arnold said that rubber compounds begin to break down when tire temperatures exceed 250 F. At 500-550 F flammable vapors develop. And if an ignition source is present, the rubber will start burning at 650-700 F. Spontaneous

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TODAY’S TRUCKING

combustion will occur at 850-900 F. To put that into perspective, the normal operating temperature range for tires is a between 100 and 150 F. “Tires contain a great deal of potential energy,” he said. “They are like high-grade coal when they start to burn, and they are very difficult to extinguish.”

When a tire comes apart while driving, it’s usually because of underinflation.

Heat generated within the sidewalls of a flexing tire weakens the casing’s steel belts, softening the rubber to the point that it eventually breaks down and the tire blows apart. With tire fires, the heat source is the wheel end. Heat travels through the hub’s metal and through the wheel, where it contacts the tire bead.

Since the bead is built differently than the upper sidewall, its rubber just gets hotter and hotter until at some point it begins to burn.

The source of that heat is always friction, caused by something like dragging brakes.

“There are a lot of different reasons

a brake can drag to a point of a thermal event occurring,” says Joseph Kay, Meritor’s director of brake engineering.

“In general, it takes a rather large force applied to the brake shoes on a drum brake, or brake pads in a disc brake, to generate substantial rubbing forces that cause the brake system to get hotter and hotter as the vehicle is driven.”

Kay points to several potential sources, including: driving with the parking brake applied; a failed parking chamber diaphragm not compressing the parking spring; brakes not releasing after a brake application; corrosion-related binding of the camshaft or disc brake caliper; malfunctioning slack adjusters; or excessive swelling of the brake linings.

“In most cases the driver will not be able to detect one or maybe two brakes that are dragging because of the engine power and weight of the vehicle,” Kay says. “This is where the driver needs to be aware of excessive smoking from the brakes or any handling differences, such as unusual pull or deceleration.”

Trent Siemens, general manager of Oak Point Service in Winnipeg, agrees.

“I’ve known drivers to mistake a dragging brake for a heavier-than-usual load, a headwind, or even terrain that seems to make the engine work a little harder.”

Siemens says the brake pedal itself could be the problem, noting that the truck treadle valve or the brake pedal hinges (in floor-mounted pedals) can stick or seize. “I’ve seen those seize up over time, and the driver won’t always know unless someone flags him down to let him know his brake lights are always on. Keep the brake pedal clear of debris and well lubricated.”

Literally any moving brake part could be a suspect. Valves might not fully exhaust their brake application pressure because of fouling or corrosion. Broken parking brake springs might keep the push rod from fully retracting. S-cams and slack adjusters might need lubrication.

In Gear “Proper preventive maintenance and inspection of all wheel end components is critical, as is the proper specification and condition of brake linings,” says Keith McComsey, director of marketing and customer solutions – wheel ends, at Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake.

In other words, each wheel end’s braking system needs to be carefully inspected and confirmed to be in working order, Siemens says.

“If you find any auto-slack-equipped brake out of adjustment, do not just adjust them up and kick it out the door.

If they are out of adjustment, diagnose [a] root cause for why the adjuster is over-stroking. It’s probably not the slack adjuster that is at fault.”

There are a lot of moving parts at the wheel-end.

If anything restricts the release of the brake, it could be setting you up for a wheel end fire.

The interface of the axle and hub is another potential heat source. Highquality wheel bearings, properly installed, properly lubricated, and operated according to the product specifications, seldom fail on their own. Unfortunately, much can go wrong down there due to neglect, oversight, or even the best intentions gone wrong.

Wheel-bearing-related fires can almost always be traced back to a lack of lubrication or improper maintenance – whether the lube is lost due to an outright seal failure, or a seal damaged by water or debris in the bearing well.

Any situation that might increase friction between the axle spindle and the hub needs to be addressed during the installation and maintenance of the wheel end assembly.

“Over tightening the bearing can limit the lube film, which will generate heat, though perhaps not to the level

where there’s a risk of a fire,” says Ean Dickerhoof, an application engineer for mobile on-highway products at Timken.

“Conversely, excessive endplay can affect seal alignment, compromising seal life, which can allow debris to enter the system or the lubricant to leak out.”

Obviously, seals and lubes need to be inspected at regular intervals, Dickerhoof adds.

“Some people think packing the cavity full of grease is better than partially filling it,” says Michael Gromosiak, Timken’s chief application engineer for mobile products. “There’s a certain percentage fill that’s recommended. If you overfill the cavity you can overheat the bearing because there’s no heat dissipation.”

Timken says bearings typically run less than 175 F under normal driving conditions. Running at 250 F or higher for extended periods of time increases the risk of bearing damage. In the case of complete lube depletion, temperatures will continue to rise, causing a series of damage until the wheel end assembly

Drivers should be trained to inspect hub cabs for proper condition. This is over-filled with lubricant.

This hub should have never been on the road. An obvious failure of the driver’s trip inspection.

Wheel bearings

either fails completely and separates from the truck, or it heats the surrounding materials to a point where the tire catches fire.

PM and the driver While procedures differ for various wheel end assemblies and lubricants, technicians and drivers should at the bare minimum watch for signs of leaking lubricant. Oil-lubricated hubs should be checked every time a trailer enters the shop. The lube should be checked for signs of water contamination (a milky appearance), and smelled to see if it has been subject to high temperatures (it will smell burnt). Also, the condition of the sight glass should be checked.

When working with grease-filled hubs where the lubricant is not visible, the wheel should be jacked up and rotated to check for signs of rough rotation, stiffness or looseness. If the hub cap is removed, verify the correct lube levels to ensure they’re not over-filled, and check for contamination and corrosion on the outer bearing.

Drivers are the last line of defense against wheel end fires, but they can’t be expected to notice everything or even know what to look for without proper training. It also takes extra time for drivers to complete thorough pre-trip, post-trip, and en-route inspections.

They should be instructed to touch and smell the wheel hub area to spot excessive temperatures and telltale odors linked to overheated brakes or wheel ends. TT AUGUST 2019

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In Gear Wheels do not require much maintenance, but corrosion, curb strikes, and improper wheelnut torqueing can take their toll. Regular and thorough inspections are imperative.

Wheel Effort, Real Results Wheel maintenance is a game of millimeters that promises big returns

By Jim Park Wheels do not require much maintenance, but they do suffer their share of problems. From the damage during tire service, to cracking and bending from daily wear and tear, and corrosion, your wheels are under constant attack.

Recognizing that wheels won’t last forever is the first step in improving service life, followed by diligent inspections for wear and damage every time the wheels come off the truck.

Steel and aluminum wheels are equally susceptible to fastener-related damage such as elongated or distorted stud holes.

This sort of damage is usually caused by fasteners that were under-torqued during installation and come loose over time. Loose fasteners are often the result of improper wheel service procedures such as improper torqueing or failing to clean the mounting surfaces between the wheel and the hub. Loose paint, rust, dirt, and other debris prevent a flush mount – and when that material eventually

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TODAY’S TRUCKING

dislodges it will leave a gap between the hub’s mounting face and the wheel. Once there’s a gap, the fasteners can’t help but come loose.

“Technicians should always clean the mounting faces of the hubs and the wheels with a wire brush or an abra-

sive disc on an air tool,” says Accuride Corporation field engineer Brandon Uzarek.

Once the surfaces are clean and free of foreign material, the fasteners should be properly torqued, using a drop of oil between the nut and the flange. Torque requirements are listed by wheel manufacturers, but usually run 450-500 lb-ft.

“A one-inch impact wrench is not a torque wrench,” Uzarek stresses. “Use a calibrated torque wrench to achieve the proper clamping force, and make sure the wheels are retorqued shortly after they are reinstalled, usually within 50-100 miles [80-160 km]. Hardly anyone does this, but it critical to preventing wheel damage and possible wheel separations.”

Some maintenance experts recommend recording any on-road tire service in the driver’s daily inspection reports, so the maintenance department has a record of work and a prompt to retorque the wheels at the earliest opportunity.

Additionally, anytime a tractor or trailer comes into the shop for repair or service, the wheels should be routinely inspected and retorqued, says Darry Stuart, a fleet maintenance consultant and frequent moderator at the ATA’s Technology and Maintenance Council meetings.

“If you use those lug-nut position indicators, it’s useful to know that if they have backed off by as little as one-quarter

Wheels are exposed to road de-icing chemicals, and therefore corrosion. It dulls and pits aluminum and can structurally damage steel wheels.

In Gear

SAVE WHEEL MONEY THROUGH REFINISHING The wheel is visually inspected again once it’s stripped to the bare metal, before applying the electrostatic powder coating. The powder is positively charged and air-sprayed onto the wheel, which is negatively charged, causing the powder to cling to the metal. This step requires the coating to be applied evenly, taking care to keep the thickness to a maximum of 3-3.5 thousandths of an inch.

“The coating cannot be any thicker, especially on the mounting surfaces and between the bolt holes,” Schmidt warns. “Excessive coating thickness can lead to a loss of clamping force, and eventually loose nuts, and possibly a wheel separation.”

After the coating is applied, the wheel is cured in an oven for 15 minutes to a temperature of 380 to 420 Fahrenheit. This liquifies the coating and bonds it to the wheel. The wheel cools before a final inspection that includes testing for coating thickness.

“Some shops are now offering a zinc undercoating for additional protection against corrosion,” Schmidt says.

“There’s a limit to how may times wheels can be refinished because each time it goes through the blaster to remove the old finish, some of the metal comes away, too. The undercoating can extend the miles before it starts looking scabby again.”

Damage that went unnoticed under the previous coating is exposed after the coating is stripped away in a blasting cabinet.

N

asty-looking wheels, all covered in rust and cracked paint, are pretty well an invitation to a roadside DOT inspection.

They may not reflect the attention to detail your fleet usually brings to the maintenance game, but they certainly don’t send the right message to the creeper cops.

Refinishing offers a cost-effective alternative to new wheels, and it comes at about half the price of a new steel wheel.

Simply brush-painting the wheels can hide defects such as cracks or deep corrosion that would otherwise be revealed by stripping away the current coating. But many commercial tire shops offer proper refinishing services. Last year, Kal Tire alone refinished about 50,000 wheels in its three shops that offer the service.

“It’s an attractive option for larger fleets that can take tires and wheels out of service for a short period of time,” says Norm Schmidt, director of retreading at Kal Tire in Chilliwack, B.C. “It’s harder for smaller fleets because they often don’t have tires and wheels in inventory, but we sell new wheels, too.”

Schmidt says the refinishing process begins with an inspection for obvious defects, like cracks, elongated bolt holes, bends along the flange, or an out-of-round condition.

If the wheel passes the preliminary evaluation, it’s placed in a blasting cabinet where the previous coating is removed, and the wheel is cleaned and degreased using media such as steel shot, sand, or glass beads of varying sizes.

“The media is chosen for coating removal and paint preparation,” he says. “You can shortcut the process by using larger, more aggressive media, but you run the risk of pitting the wheel or possibly peening thin cracks closed. Use too fine a media, and the process takes longer.”

Some shops use a chemical bath to dissolve the coating, others may use a bake oven. Both are fine as long as the wheel isn’t damaged in the process.

Special tools can measure coating thickness. If the coating thickness exceeds 3.5 mils, the clamping force of the wheel nuts can be compromised.

AUGUST 2019

39

In Gear of an inch, you have lost about 150 lb-ft of torque on that lug nut,” Stuart offers.

Everyday wheel damage Wheels can sustain damage through excessive heat or overloading during everyday operations. Cracking between the hand-hold holes is a good indicator that the wheel has been overloaded,

says Brian Thomas, marketing communications manager at Arconic Wheel and Transportation Products (formerly Alcoa). “Cracks that extend from one bolt hole to another often stem from over-torqueing or excessive loads.”

Any wheel that has been subject to high temperatures, such as those associated with a dragging brake or a

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Rim-flange damage is less harmful to the wheel than to the tire. Sharp edges can damage the tire bead. It’s more common with aluminum wheels and it can be repaired if detected in time.

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40

TODAY’S TRUCKING

wheel-bearing failure should be removed and inspected – and probably scrapped.

Heat can alter the molecular structure of the metal alloy, cautions Chris Putz, principal engineer in the commercial vehicle and military wheel products division of Maxion Wheels. “For that same reason, we caution against using a bake-off oven to remove old wheel finishes on steel wheels. Temperatures can exceed 1,200-1,500 degrees. It’s a neater process than shot blasting, but the heat can be damaging.”

Wheels should also be inspected for physical damage, such as out-of-round conditions and bends from things like curb strikes. The simplest way to check, though it may not be the most accurate, is to simply roll it across a flat surface and listen for the dent, says Uzarek. “We recommend using a run-out gauge to identify deformities. Steel wheels have a tolerance of .003 inches, while aluminum wheels can go up to .007 out of round.”

The ATA’s Technology and Maintenance Council has several Recommended Practice documents related to wheel maintenance and outof-service conditions, including RP 222C, User’s Guide to Wheels and Rims. And wheel manufacturers can supply all the criteria you need to determine wheel fitness.

The threat of wheel corrosion Corrosion is probably the most common problem seen in truck wheels, particularly steel wheels. It’s a problem with

In Gear aluminum wheels, too, but to a lesser extent. In the latter cases it’s seen as a white powder on the wheel surface, and it causes polished wheels to become dull over time.

“Look for corrosion around the valve stem,” says Thomas. “Once salt and road chemicals settle under the O-ring, it starts eating away at the metal, and that can eventually compromise the wheel.”

Corrosion is a little more obvious on coated steel wheels. Even the smallest break in the coating will allow road chemicals to enter. Refinishing the wheel is the obvious solution here, but there are limits to the number of times a wheel can be refinished. Corrosion eats away at the metal structure of the wheel, and if the metal becomes too thin it will have to be scrapped. Refinishing with a shot blaster will remove even more of the surface metal, possibly exacerbating the problem.

“If the DOT stamp and/or manufacturers’ marks are illegible, or the wheel is damaged, it should be scrapped,” says Putz. “There are minimum standards for metal thickness. If the corrosion has gone far enough, the wheel will have to come off.”

Last but not least, tires themselves may be damaging your wheels. Rim flange wear, more prevalent in aluminum wheels but still possible with steel wheels, is caused by the tire bead moving against the inside of the rim flange.

Shifting cargo weight causes the walls of your tires to rub back and forth against the wheel flange, creating wear. After a while, the abrasion erodes the flange surface and causes sharp edges that damage the tires. It can also be caused by abrasive material such as sand collecting in the groove between the tire and the rim flange. Eventually it starts to wear away at the metal.

Arconic and Accuride both offer guides on how to repair the flange, provided the damage has not progressed too far. They each offer a gauge with a profile that shows the extent of the damage.

“Affected wheels should be repaired quickly as the sharp edges created by the wear can damage the tire bead,” says Thomas. “You are most likely to find rim flange wear on steer and trailer tires, and

if you find it on one wheel, it will be there on others.”

Accuride and Arconic both offer coatings or treatments they claim can mitigate rim flange wear (Accuride’s AccuFlange and Arconic’s Dura-Flange Wear Protection). These are available on new wheels only. In the steel wheel space, premium coatings such as Maxion’s

MaxCoat, which involves an undercoating of zinc-phosphate, followed by a mid-coat of epoxy electro-deposition primer and finally a premium topcoat, can improve wheels’ resistance to common maintenance problems. These are more expensive than standard offerings, but they will save cost and grief in the long run. TT

Never stop evolving.

It’s time to future-proof your fleet.

For more than 20 years, the companies of Trimble Transportation have been helping fleets across the country stay ahead of the technology curve.

Now PeopleNet, 10-4 and TMW are evolving together under one purpose: To make the movement of freight and goods all throughout the supply chain safer and more efficient than ever before.

Take it from all of our real customers. To maximize the performance of your business – you should never stop evolving. And with Trimble, you never will.

“If you’re doing it the same way you were five years ago, you’re doing it wrong.”

- Robert Hoehler Schwerman Trucking

AUGUST 2019

41

In Gear

Michelin Man Michelin’s Bourrut discusses 3D printing, telematics, and the evolving tire

By John G. Smith Laurent Bourrut is clearly focused on Michelin’s Unique Puncturethe future of tires.

Proof Tire System As Michelin’s executive vicepresident – long distance and urban transportation business lines, and a member of the tiremaker’s group executive committee, it’s his job. But the future of tires involves more than tracking sales trends. Michelin is exploring ideas that could radically transform the rolling rubber.

Picture tires made with sustainable materials, running without air, replenishing treads with 3D printers, and sharing information over the Internet of Things.

Those ideas all came together in 2017 in the form of the Vision concept tire, and some of the underlying concepts are already on a path to reality. During the recent Movin’On summit on sustainability, Michelin unveiled the UPTIS (Unique “This is good for the Puncture-Proof Tire planet,” he said. “Twenty System) that will enter percent of the tires never production as early as 2024 meet their end of life through a partnership with [because of premature General Motors. failures]. That means 200 Rather than filling a million tires per year. This chamber with air, the UPTIS is about 2 million tonnes of features a series of open ribs raw material.” around the circumference Michelin executive The tires themselves of the wheel. The structure vice-president Laurent Bourrut aren’t the only thing to itself is made possible change. Michelin is also through new materials such rethinking the way fleets might purchase as enhanced rubber compounds and a tires – approaching them almost like a resin-embedded fiberglass. service rather than a product.

“We are focused on passenger car, sec“We do not sell rubber, we sell kilomeond stage maybe vans and light trucks,” ters,” Bourrat said. “This is well-installed Bourrat said of the initial UPTIS appliin Europe, in major countries, and this cations, in an exclusive interview with is also progressing step by step in North Today’s Trucking and Transport Routier.

America.”

Similar models for heavy trucks aren’t on The approach undeniably requires a the horizon. Not yet. close focus on tire management, maxiIt’s an approach that could theoreticalmizing the distance that can be traveled ly deliver benefits in the form of uptime on every tire that’s installed. and reduced waste.

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TODAY’S TRUCKING

“We have specific competencies, personnel to do so in each location of each fleet, so this is very sophisticated,” he said.

Dealing with the telematics data that can be generated by a tire is a perfect example.

“Telematics is a basic layer. You get the data, you cleanse the data, you go through algorithms, and at the end you get the predictive analytics – getting to the predictive maintenance, optimizing your tire, your maintenance costs, your maintenance structure,” he said. “This is really where we’ve already invested and are going to invest.”

“More than 80% of our tires are equipped with RFID already, so we are entering now in the Internet of Things.”

And with the right insights, fleets would be able to focus their attention elsewhere.

There are clearly obstacles to overcome, not the least of which is traditional business habits.

“With such telematics, predictive analytics, predictive maintenance, you need different competencies at the fleet level,” he said. “We need to evolve in this field, bringing fresh competencies.”

These are clearly some blue-sky concepts, but that was the whole idea behind the annual Movin’On summit, which Michelin has supported as a leading sponsor.

“We are really focusing on sustainability,” Bourrat said, adding that isn’t only about building a sustainable business model. “We also need to be sustainable environment-wise because this is in our DNA.” The company was experimenting with green tires as early as the 1990s, when it began replacing carbon black with silica, improving rolling resistance in the process. And they’re the type of things that continue to separate Michelin from the suppliers of value-priced brands, he said.

“We bring competence, we bring sustainability, and we are respectful of the planet and the people. This is why we are different.” TT

In Gear

ZF R&D ZF’s new automatic transmission is merely a sample of the tech to come

By Rolf Lockwood ZF showcased a series of new technologies to journalists this June, including an all-new automatic transmission that uses a torque converter – making its PowerLine a direct competitor to the Allison 2500 transmission series.

The new shift-by-wire ZF gearbox is unique in that the same basic mechanicals and electronics are used to create models for everything from Class 3 to “baby 8” trucks. In fact, ZF calls it a “muscled up” version of a passenger-car transmission that has seen 24 million km of service. It will be in production next year, and at least one un-named OEM has reportedly signed up to offer it.

The transmission itself was launched during a press gathering at the Transportation Research Center near East Liberty, Ohio. Also shown off were ReAX adaptive steering (along with a fully electric prototype version), plus OnTrax Lane Keep Assist and Lane Change Assist.

All but the ReAX electric steering will be on the market next year or the year after. There was even a demonstration drive involving a completely autonomous International tractor on a set route with unmarked pavement, managing positions through GPS. The PowerLine itself is an eight-speed transmission good for a gross combination weight rating up to 57,000 lb., with gear ratios from 4.89 all the way up to a long and lazy-cruising 0.64. Torque capacities range from 480 to 1,000 lb-ft, and its left- or right-side PTO is good for 485 lb-ft.

In operation, it has an “adaptive” starting gear that will automatically start in second gear if the load is light, and it will skip shift as appropriate through the gears. It also offers “adaptive” shift strategies providing Economy, City Drive, or Highway Drive modes. ZF claims a 10% fuel economy advantage over its existing competition, not to

mention up to 30% improved acceleration and a 45% weight savings. The PowerLine only weighs 328 lb.

It sports “Hill Start Assist” as well, a useful feature that might save a driver’s bacon in some situations. I tried it by stopping in the middle of a 23% uphill grade with a payload of 22,000 lb. in a Peterbilt 337 straight truck. I did slip back slightly and very slowly, but how often is anyone going to encounter such a steep climb?

On the maintenance there are extended oil-change intervals, and the oil filter is good “for life”. It also features a fully integrated transmission control unit inside the casing, with no external sensors or harnesses.

detector, it will help prevent accidents of a sort that happen all the time. I tried it for a few laps around a 12-km oval track in a tractor-trailer at about 90 km/h, with a small car following and occasionally sneaking into my blind spot.

If you signal a lane change but fail to see there’s a vehicle in your blind spot, the system will generate a haptic alert through the steering wheel, namely the feel of rumble strips. A more basic Lane Keeping Assist system will be in production next year with a major OEM. This characterizes ZF, the biggest company that you probably know very little about. The truck-maker that offers Lane Keeping Assist in its databook will probably call it something else and not acknowledge ZF. Might well be the same with the PowerLine transmission.

ZF Friedrichschafen AG, its full name, is based in Friedrichschafen, Germany but has operations on every continent and 149,000 employees.

The commercial division’s product portfolio includes automated and manual transmissions as well as drive

If you signal a lane change but fail to see there’s a vehicle in your blind spot, the OnTrax Lane Change Assist will warn you – but not prevent the maneuver.

That should help with durability.

Looking at the offerings up front, ReAX is an electronic control for hydraulic steering systems, also developed from the passenger-car sphere. It’s said to make a truck easier to drive and thus reduce driver fatigue. One of the best things is that it automatically self-centers the steering wheel after you stop.

The commercial version will be in production next year.

With OnTrax Lane Change Assist there are actually two ReAX systems to create redundancy. Adding OnTrax Lane Keeping Assist and Blind Spot Radar

components such as clutches and electric drives, and all manner of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) technology. Then there are complete chassis systems, chassis components, and steering systems for vehicles from almost all commercial vehicle manufacturers worldwide.

Perhaps the thing that most marks ZF is its commitment to the future. It devotes a whopping 6.5% of revenue to research and development, when most companies top out at about 2%. That alone puts it in a position to shape the future of transportation in significant ways. TT AUGUST 2019

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PRODUCTWATCH WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEW AND NEWS FROM SUPPLIERS

For more new product items, visit PRODUCT WATCH on the web at todaystrucking.com

TRUCKS

Volvo updates driver assistance Volvo has unveiled the latest generation of its Volvo Active Driver Assist (VADA) collision mitigation system, which will be standard in VNR and VNL models and available in the VNX. VADA 2.0 integrates radar and camera readings to monitor surrounding traffic and activate alerts or emergency braking if required.

The system will be available in the third quarter of 2019, while several updates will roll out through the year to follow.

The latest version of automatic emergency braking will operate across multiple lanes of traffic, while updated lane departure warnings include adjustable volume and mute settings and will allow drivers to turn the system off for up to 10 minutes at a time.

Highway departure warning and braking will slow a vehicle by a pre-defined speed if a driver doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t act on a lane departure warning. Adaptive cruise control with cruise-auto-resume will automatically return a truck to cruise speeds when the vehicle begins to move above 16 km/h.

A driver awareness support system builds on this with an in-cab windshield-mounted camera that combines images and data to support activities like driver coaching.

Future updates will include adaptive cruise control with traffic-stop-and-driver-go, and lane change support with adjustable audible alerts.

www.volvotrucks.ca

BUMPERS

SCALES

TELEMATICS

Latch system improved for tube bumpers

Blue Ink Tech scale weighs in real time

Road Ready system adds Stemco tech

Magnum Trailer and Equipment has unveiled an improved latch system for its tube bumpers, redefining the locking system and addressing the inevitable vibrations that occur as trucks go down the road.

The redesigned locking cam is fastened in place with a retractable knob that secures the latch. When the hood needs to open, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a matter of pulling out the spring-loaded knob and lifting the latch. Everything locks back into place once the latch is closed.

The new system is available on all Magnum tube bumpers, and retrofit kits are available as well. www.magnumtrailer.com

Blue Ink Techâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s BIT Air Scale offers drivers access to axle and gross weights in real time, through a related app.

Using just two wireless sensors mounted on T-fittings, the scale can install in less than 15 minutes, the company says. The sensors themselves are installed directly into the suspensionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s air line without any additional wiring.

Once sensors are in place, drivers weigh the truck when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s empty and full, and enter those weights into the app. From that moment on the system will read axle and gross combination weights with a 99% accuracy, and even calculate the weights on steer axles. www.blueinktech.com

Stemcoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wireless monitoring technology is now being integrated into Truck-Liteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Road Ready telematics system through a second-generation SmartBridge Integrator.

The integration means fleets will be able to access information about Stemcoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wireless products through Road Readyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s web portal, which will now offer alerts about low tire pressure, inflation, and mileage events. The wireless products themselves include the AirBat tire pressure monitoring system, Aeris automatic tire inflation system, and TracBat hubodometer.

The Road Ready system wirelessly monitors trailers, delivering real-time alerts, notifications and reports. The data is even available when trailers are untethered. www.stemco.com

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TODAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TRUCKING

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Meritor 47 meritor.com/brakes Meritor 6 MeritorPartsXpress.com North American Commercial Vehicle Show 28-29 www.nacvshow.com Peterbilt back cover www.peterbilt.com Road Today & Truck News Jobs Expo 16 www.rttnexpo.com

Surface Transportation Summit 24 surfacetransportationsummit.com Trimble 41 transportation.trimble.com/evolve Total Canada 18 www.total-canada.ca Trailer Wizards 14 www.trailerwizards.com Vipar 15 www.vipar.com

COMPANIES IN THE NEWS A Accuride Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Andy Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Apps Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Arconic Wheel and Transportation . . . 38 Arnold Bros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Ayr Motor Express . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 B Bendix-Spicer Foundation Brake . . . . . 36 Blue Ink Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 C CPC Logistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 D DriverCheck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 F Faith Trucking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 FedEx Ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Fleetmetrica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Ford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Freightliner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 H Haldex. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Highland Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Highlight Motor Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Home Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I Isaacs and Co.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 J John Deere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22, 34 K Kal Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

M Magnum Trailer and Equipment . . . . . . 44 Maxion Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Meritor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Michelin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36, 42 Mitsubishi Fuso Truck of America. . . . . 22 Mobileye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Motive Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 N Newcom Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 P Paccar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Paul Quail Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Peterbilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Praxair Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Purolator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 R Ritchie Bros. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Rosenau Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Ryder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 S Sharp Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Stemco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 T Temisko . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Timken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 V Volvo Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15, 20 Volvo Trucks North America . . . . . . . . . . 44 Z ZF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

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AUGUST 2019

45

Faces Andreea Crisan, COO and executive VP of Andy Transport.

(Photo: Sonya Messier)

Andreea’s Ascent Andreea Crisan grew alongside Andy Transport. Now she leads it.

By Sonia Straface In trucking, there’s no shortage of father-son stories. What’s rare are father-daughter stories. But a noteworthy and special father-daughter tale is the one that belongs to Quebec’s Andy Transport.

Ilie Crisan started Andy Transport with just one truck in 2001. Today, the trucking company boasts over 350 tractors and 800 trailers. And while Crisan grew the company, his daughter Andreea was growing right along side of it.

Andreea began working for Andy as a pre-teen. When her father added a second driver she was in charge of payroll.

Then, as he was out on the road more, she began to help pay the bills. From there, her responsibilities increased with the company as she gained an understanding of the business and the trucking industry.

Eventually, when it came time for Andreea to pursue post-secondary education, she decided to go to law school at the University of Ottawa. She was the first in her family to graduate university, and

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TODAY’S TRUCKING

now has a law degree to show for it.

“I never had the intention of being a lawyer necessarily … but some people said I should go to law school because anything you learn there will be applicable to life one way or another,” she says. “At the time, I already had the experiences with Andy, and building and growing the company with my father. Really, what I was looking forward to in university was grasping all the experiences and opportunities that were available to me. Which is why, at University of Ottawa, I did the co-op program. So I did two internships in law.

And I got to work with a judge in New York City, and then I got to work for a law firm in China. That gave me exposure to the law profession.”

At the same time she was studying law around the globe, she was also working with Andy Transport during her down time, helping her father and the executive team with bids, contracts, and other projects.

This balancing act, she said, helped her decide between continuing to work for Andy and practicing law permanently.

“By the last year of law school, I told my father I would like to join the company and take my job to the next level,” she said.

Today Andreea is chief operating officer and executive vice-president of Andy Transport, and is a large part of why the fleet is so successful today. The business has been in the news several times over the last year, announcing new terminal spaces, a new power-only fleet, and a new maintenance center operation. Most recently, the company also announced a new scholarship program for its employees’ children, something that Andreea holds very close to her heart.

“It’s a project that I’ve been thinking about for many years,” she said. “I was the first person in my entire family to graduate university. And in my first year, I got by with a scholarship and it was a big help for me. School is so expensive these days, so I’ve been thinking about giving back that way for a long time.

So internally we have a committee and everyone has been able to contribute and put this program in place, and I’m very excited about it.”

Giving back is a way for Andreea to thank the employees who play such an important role in Andy’s success.

“One of the reasons we keep growing is because we hire people with a lot of potential and we promote them,” she says. “Whenever we hire someone, we are clear that they can start as a driver and they can become a director one day. And that day won’t come in 10 years when someone retires. It could be as quick as they want, and show us. We don’t hire people to drive trucks. We buy trucks to hire and grow our people.”

In the future, Andreea is optimistic that Andy will continue on its path of success and growth. And she hopes that more of the new hires are women, too.

“My hope is that I can inspire other women and girls to consider trucking when thinking about their career options,” she said. “Trucking is an industry that’s changing, and it’s moving at a fast pace. It’s a great career choice for someone young who is willing to make a name for themselves.” TT

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