12/14/18
Introducing Transfer Flow's TRAX 3™ Fuel Monitoring System!
12/12/18
Electric Powertrains Are the Future. Will Fleets Be Ready?
Most readers of Government Fleet are seasoned professionals pursuing careers either in public fleet management or in corporate roles in support of public sector fleets. For a moment, however, put aside your current career history and aspirations and try to remember when you were a younger person, weighing career options and considering just what path to take.
The public fleet industry is on the threshold of a truly cosmic shift, and it’s quite possible that young people today are looking at our industry and questioning those options. We should, as those young people may be doing, consider what this shift will mean when it occurs.
The shift will be toward a predominance of electromotive powertrain technology and away from the internal combustion engine (ICE). Is it true that the demise of the ICE is greatly overstated, or, should we, like those young people still contemplating their career paths, be reading the tea leaves and presume they portend a very different future for us?
LEARN MORE AT: http://www.greenfleetmagazine.com/channel/electric/article/story/2018/03/electric-powertrains-are-the-future-will-fleets-be-ready.aspx
12/10/18
GMC Sierra Denali - 2019
2019 SIERRA DENALI
The 2019 Sierra’s industry-first MultiPro Tailigate offers six functions and positions for enhanced second-tier loading and load-stop solutions.
NEW FOR 2019
- Redesigned from the ground up and larger in almost every dimension, including a longer wheelbase and longer crew cab body that offers about 3 inches more rear legroom than the previous model
- GMC-exclusive, industry-first MultiPro Tailgate offers six functions and positions for enhanced second-tier loading and load-stop solutions, a standing workstation and easier access to items in the cargo box
- Segment-first Multi-Color Head-Up Display projects key, customizable vehicle data on the windshield in a 15-inch diagonal display
- GMC-exclusive, industry-first CarbonPro carbon fiber cargo box was developed to increase durability, efficiency and functionality, while offering best-in-class dent, scratch and corrosion resistance
- Segment-first Rear Camera Mirror. Compared to a traditional inside rearview mirror, this rearview mirror display can function either as a traditional mirror or as a camera screen, helping to eliminate obstructions such as rear seat passengers and head restraints while providing a wider, less obstructed rear field of view
- ProGrade Trailering System with Trailering App offers a connected and comprehensive suite of trailering technologies
- Up to 360 pounds (163k) lighter than the previous model, thanks to a mixed materials approach — including aluminum for the doors, hood and tailgate, with steel for the fenders, roof and standard cargo box
- Fully boxed steel frame that is 88 pounds (40 kg) lighter than its predecessor, while offering 10 percent greater torsional rigidity
- Enhanced front and rear suspensions incorporate new, lightweight components, including composite second-stage leaf springs on the rear suspension
- Denali-exclusive Adaptive Ride control offers premium ride comfort through real-time monitoring of the road and driver inputs, reacting in milliseconds to adjust damping for exceptional body control and ride isolation
- Dynamic Fuel Management featured on Sierra Denali’s V-8 engines expands cylinder-deactivation capability with 17-cylinder activation combinations to optimize performance and efficiency in all driving conditions
- Improved brake system featuring electro-hydraulic power assist, larger-diameter Duralife brake rotors and larger brake pads
- Best-in-class cargo volume, with Sierra Denali’s 5’ 8” box offering 63 cubic feet of volume; most of that volume was created by widening the maximum width of the bed floor nearly seven inches
- Higher-strength standard steel floor: a roll-formed, high-strength steel bed floor featuring a higher-grade steel that is 50-percent stronger than the previous model
- Additional bed functionality with enhanced LED cargo lights, 12 fixed cargo tie-downs rated at 500lbs per corner and larger rear CornerStep openings
- Expanded roster of active safety features, as well as new HD Rear-Vision Camera, Lane Change Alert with Size Blind Zone Alert and HD Surround Vision
- All-New Traction Select System allows the driver to choose from preset drive modes that have been tailored for different terrain or weather conditions. Selecting one of these modes adjusts Sierra’s transmission shift points, throttle mapping and StabiliTrak to optimize performance for the situation at hand.
- Next-generation GMC Infotainment systems and connectivity
- Sierra Denali is offered exclusively as a crew cab in 2WD and 4WD
- Denali-exclusive exterior elements include a bright, multidimensional grille, chrome exterior accents and body-color bumpers
- New high-intensity LED headlamps that incorporate C-shaped "light blade" signature lighting elements, LED fog lamps and C-shaped LED elements within the taillights
- 20-inch aluminum wheels are standard, with 22-inch wheels available
- Integrated dual exhaust with bright polished outlets standard
- Denali-exclusive materials, including premium Forge leather-appointed seating, authentic open-pore ash wood trim and dark-finish aluminum décor
- Heated and ventilated perforated leather-appointed front bucket seats and heated, leather-wrapped steering wheel are standard
- Premium Bose Audio System standard
- Available Technology Package includes HD Surround Vision, Rear Camera Mirror and Multi-Color Head-Up Display
- Standard 5.3L V-8 engine with Dynamic Fuel Management and an eight-speed automatic transmission
- Available 6.2L V-8 engine with Dynamic Fuel Management – the largest and most powerful V-8 engine in the class – paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. It is available exclusively with 4WD
- Available 3.0L turbo-diesel engine with a 10-speed automatic transmission (late availability)
- Dynamic Fuel Management standard
- Automatic locking rear differential is standard and reacts in milliseconds in low-traction situations to improve safety and confidence on wet, snowy or muddy surfaces
- 2-Speed AutoTrac Transfer Case standard on 4WD
- Adaptive Ride Control is standard
- ProGrade Advanced Trailering Package is standard and includes Hitch Guidance with Hitch View and Trailering App
- MultiPro Tailgate is standard
- Spray-on bedliner with Denali logo is standard
- GMC Infotainment system with an 8-inch-diagonal color touchscreen and embedded navigation, is standard. System features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone projection compatibility, advanced voice recognition, in-vehicle apps and personalized profiles
- GMC 4G LTE connectivity with Wi-Fi hotspot (includes one-month/3GB data trial)
- Remote vehicle starter system is standard
- Keyless Open and Start is standard
- Air bags: dual-stage frontal and seat-mounted side impact, driver and front passenger, and roof-rail for all outboard seating positions
- Standard StabiliTrak electronic stability control with rollover mitigation technology, trailer sway control and hill-start assist
- Standard Front and Rear Park Assist, Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert
- Driver Alert Package II is available on and includes Forward Collision Alert, Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning, Low Speed Forward Automatic Braking, Front Pedestrian Braking, IntelliBeam automatic headlamp control, Following Distance Indicator and Safety Alert Seat
- Standard Teen Driver feature and Rear Seat Reminder
12/08/18
The DECKED Brand Product Story
Born in Idaho, made in the USA, DECKED innovates products that make working in and around vehicles more efficient, safer and easier. Our manufacturing partners help us produce the highest quality products on the market right from the heartland of America.
We started thinking about DECKED in 2011, and by 2014 we were shipping our first full bed-length drawer storage systems. With a relentless eye on product quality and customer satisfaction, we are driven by the needs of the working man and woman.
See more at https://decked.com/
12/06/18
Reading Master Mechanic HD Crane Bodies
Master Mechanic™ Series Crane Bodies come in a variety of sizes and configurations to meet your particular project requirements. Built to withstand your industry's toughest environment, models range from nine feet to 14 feet in body length, 60 inches to 120 inches in cab-to-axle chassis and up to 12,000-pound weight capacity.
These Master Mechanic utility bodies offer infinitely adjustable shelving that gives you control over your storage capabilities and a modular design that reduces long-term operating costs having to repair and replace components. The Master Mechanic Series is engineered with a minimum of two horizontal cross-members for a substructure that rivals the strength and stability of any other body on the market.
12/04/18
Crane operator certification deadline
“I spoke to the directorate last week [early October] and they are still confident they can get this final rule out before then,” Graham Brent said in a phone interview in mid October.
“I’ll only say they’ve been pretty confident before and they haven’t managed to meet the deadline,” Brent added.
In fact, the day before the previous deadline of Nov. 10, 2017, OSHA published a notice on the Federal Register that confirmed a long-anticipated extension.
The operator certification requirement was included in an update to OSHA standard for cranes and derricks in construction — called 29 CFR Part 1926 — published in 2010. Most of the provisions went into effect soon after, Brent said.
Some exclusions apply
The proposed rule excludes cranes of 2,000 pounds capacity or less. “This standard applies to power-operated equipment, when used in construction, that can hoist, lower and horizontally move a suspended load,” the proposed regulations say. They specifically include “service/mechanic trucks with a hoisting device” but also exclude a “mechanic’s truck with a hoisting device when used in activities related to equipment maintenance and repair.”
Since service trucks are used primarily for repairing and maintaining equipment, the certification requirement usually doesn’t apply. However, Brent outlined a scenario where a service truck operator goes to a jobsite expecting to work on an engine and someone else on the site notices the crane and asks the operator to lift some pipe.
“Of course the guy is going to do that,” Brent said. “And that’s construction. So as an employer you want to be completely covered 100 percent of the time. And the way to do that is to have them certified.”
Another grey area is that service truck cranes are also used to hoist propane tanks. The wrinkle is that when a crane merely swaps an empty tank with a full one, that’s considered maintenance. But when a crane installs a propane tank for the first time, that’s regarded as construction.
Propane group seeks exemption
The National Propane Gas Association has called for OSHA to exempt truck-mounted crane delivering propane tanks from the regulations and asked for it to delay the Nov. 10, 2018 deadline. “This certification will cost the industry an estimated $151 million every five years,” said a posting on the association website.
The association even threatened to press the case to President Trump. “With the compliance deadline coming up in November, let’s tell The White House how much this rule impacts our industry so they will intervene with OSHA on our industry’s behalf.”
The NCCCO, in a July 5, 2018 letter to Loren Sweatt, the deputy assistant secretary of labor at OSHA, said it would “reluctantly support” another six month extension to the rule-making process. “We said, frankly, no because it’s taken us so long to get here that we think six months is probably not going to make a whole of difference,” Brent said.
He added that the delay “absolutely has maintained the risk because certification is a risk mitigator.” What’s driving the call for certification is the marketplace, he said, noting that 16 states already have their own crane operator certification requirements and that many job postings for crane operators require certifications.
“So if you’re a crane operator it’s in your own interest frankly to get certified,” Brent said.
The new rule will cover states and territories lacking crane certification requirements and create a “federal floor” that state regulations must meet at a minimum.
1,000 service truck certifications
About five years ago, the service truck industry formed a committee of manufacturers, dealers, users, trainers and others to work with the NCCCO to develop a certification for service truck crane operators. In its first year, the service truck program only certified about 75 operators. But the program has picked up steam and at last count had certified about 1,000 service truck operators, Brent said.
(Another certification body, Crane Institute Certification, has also launched a certification program for service truck crane operators.)
Since the last deadline extension on the regulations, OSHA has proposed removing a provision that required different levels of certification based on lifting capacity, although testing agencies can still do so. That’s a move the NCCCO supports.
OSHA also considered but declined to include an exemption for operators of cranes in the 5,000 to 35,000 pound capacity range. The NCCCO supports that move as well.
“What they said was the same risks are present regardless of the capacity,” Brent said, although he was at a loss to explain why that proposal didn’t also cover cranes from 2,000 to 5,000 pounds capacity.
One area where the NCCCO disagrees with OSHA is a proposal that trainers not be required to be certified operators.
In its response, the NCCCO said that “while certification may not be an appropriate ‘sole’ crit
erion or a sufficient indication of competence as a trainer, it should be regarded as an appropriately necessary condition of establishing such competence and ensuring a ‘baseline’ of knowledge and skills.”
Numbers hard to estimate
Brent said the NCCCO has currently certified about 100,000 crane operators, which he “conservatively” estimated is 80 percent of all the certified operators. But how many others are still to be certified, “frankly, nobody knows,” he said.
“We won’t really know before the whole thing shakes out,” he added. “It’s obviously more than 100,000. Is it 200,000? Probably not actually. We’ve been doing this for 23 years and we’ve been talking about it now as a federal rule for at least 15. We’ve had deadlines come and go but these deadlines have had the effect of focusing people’s attention and getting trained and certified. So we’ve had spurts along the way. I’ve got to think, though, we’re it’s only half way there.”
The rules themselves might even lead to companies having fewer crane operators because firms might decide to reduce the cost of certification and only assign specific people to operate the cranes and assign others who formerly did some crane operating to other duties. Indeed, he cited the example of an unnamed petrochemical company that he recalled doing just that.
“That’s why it’s completely impossible to estimate because as soon as you can get an accurate number right this minute, they will change or probably reduce as a result of the mandatory requirement coming in,” Brent said.
— Keith Norbury
November 19, 2018
12/02/18
VMAC - The Only Air Compressor Specifically Engineered for Commercial Vans
When making purchasing decisions, we’re seeing that commercial van customers are considering TCO over the lifetime of their vehicle. They are prioritizing ease of up-fit and customization options, proven powertrain options, and strong dealer networks. One of the most frustrating up-fit items with commercial
vans is the air compressor.
Until recently, fleets were limited to two options:
- An electric drive air compressor that takes up too much valuable cargo space, is underpowered, and plainly just not suited for commercial work.
- A gas drive reciprocating air compressor which takes up even more space, is heavy and is known to cause heat damage in the interior of vans. Further, these types of compressors cause safety issues due to exhaust fumes not being properly ventilated, and gas tanks being filled inside the cargo area.
Learn more at: https://www.vmacair.com/blog/choosing-air-compressor-commercial-van/
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