Published by SouthComm Business Media, Inc PO Box 803 • 1233 Janesville Ave Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 920-563-6388 • 800-547-7377 Vol. 20, No. 6 FLEET MAINTENANCE Larry M. Greenberger Group Publisher lmg@vehicleservicepros.com Tom Neil Publisher tneil@vehicleservicepros.com David A. Kolman Editor david@vehicleservicepros.com Mike Schmidt Managing Editor mike@vehicleservicepros.com Mattie Gorman Associate Editor mattie@vehicleservicepros.com Josh Smith Assistant Editor josh@vehicleservicepros.com PRODUCTION Erin Brown Graphic Designer Wes Gray Production Manager wes@vehicleservicepros.com Steve Swick Production Director ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Mike Eager Multi-Media Account Executive 262-473-9212 TOOL AND EQUIPMENT ACCOUNT MANAGERS Cortni Jones Multi-Media Account Executive - East 920-568-8391 Kylie Hirko Multi-Media Account Executive - West 920-563-1666 Diane Braden Multi-Media Account Executive - Midwest 920-568-8364 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING Kaylee Kidd 920-568-8362 LIST RENTAL Elizabeth Jackson Account Executive, Merit Direct LLC ejackson@meritdirect.com 847-492-1350 ext. 18 ADMINISTRATION Yvonne Sletten Administrative Assistant CIRCULATION Sue Hanson Audience Development Manager SOUTHCOMM, INC. Chris Ferrell CEO Ed Tearman CFO Blair Johnson COO Gloria Cosby EVP Aviation, Technology and Transportation Larry Greenberger Group Publisher/Transportation Lester Craft Director of Digital Business Development Gerry Whitty VP Marketing Eric Kammerzelt VP Technology Curt Pordes VP Production Operations SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMER SERVICE 877-382-9187; 847-559-7598 Circ.fleetmag@omeda.com PO Box 3257 • Northbrook IL 60065-3257 ARTICLE REPRINTS For reprints and licensing please contact Brett Petillo at Wright’s Media 877-652-5295, ext. 118 or bpetillo@wrightsmedia.com. Fleet Maintenance (USPS 020-239; ISSN 2150-4911print; ISSN 2150-492X) is published 10 times a year in February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and December by SouthComm Business Media, LLC. 1233 Janesville Avenue, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fleet Maintenance, PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257. Canada Post PM40612608. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Fleet Maintenance, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Subscriptions: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the U.S. to qualified subscribers. Publisher reserves the right to reject non-qualified subscriptions. Subscription prices: U.S. $46 per year, $88 two year; Canada/ Mexico $67 per year, $124 two year; All other countries $98 per year, $185 two year. All subscriptions payable in U.S. funds, drawn on U.S. bank. Canadian GST#842773848. Back issue $10 prepaid, if available. Printed in the USA. Copyright 2016 SouthComm Business Media, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recordings or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. SouthComm Business Media, LLC does not assume and herby disclaims any liability to any person or company for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the material herein, regardless of whether such errors result from negligence, accident or any other cause whatsoever. The views and opinions in the articles herein are not to be taken as official expressions of the publishers, unless so stated. The publishers do not warrant, either expressly or by implication, the factual accuracy of the articles herein, nor do they so warrant any views or opinions offered by the authors of said articles. JULY 2016 | Contents 8 16 22 24 COVER STORY 8 Is technician certifi cation worth it? Qualified technicians do faster, high-quality repairs for more uptime for fleets. T M C S u p e r Te c h 2 0 16 SPECIAL REPORT » An overview of the Technology & Maintenance Council’s 2016 National Technician Skills Competition. FEATURES 16 HEAVY DUTY An end to dead vehicle batteries? Ultracapacitor starting technology is taking a load off batteries 22 MEDIUM DUTY Cost control begins when spec’ing new vehicles Vehicle design influences operational costs. 24 LIGHT DUTY How to smooth the implementation of new maintenance management software Six pitfalls to avoid. DEPARTMENTS 6 UPTIME Disruption is driving significant industry change. 28 INDEPENDENT SHOPS Industry coding standard helps technicians ensure maintenance data integrity. 30 TIRE TACTICS It’s all about tire inflation. 32 REMAN/REPOWER/REBUILT A simple solution to increase margins without sacrificing quality. 34 MANAGEMENT It is our responsibility. 46 FLEET PARTS & COMPONENTS What’s new in products for more efficient fleet operation. 48 TOOL & EQUIPMENT A roundup of the latest tool and equipment offerings. 49 CLASSIFIEDS Product and service offerings. 50 GUEST EDITORIAL Which brake choice is right for your fleet? Cover photo courtesy of Navistar International PRODUCT GUIDE A resource directory of products, services, tools, shop equipment and much more. INDUSTRY NEWS The latest news, developments and trends impacting the industry. 35 4 FLEET MAINTENANCE ❚ JULY 2016 ❚ VehicleServicePros.com
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