WInter Wonderland

WInter Wonderland
1930's Dump Truck with Plow

Friday, December 6, 2013

MDOT BOUNCE & SCATTER TEST

The Bridge Volume 27, No. 3 is available now.

In this issue:
·  Refurbished and Multi-Use Trucks Reduce Fleet Costs
·  Update From the MDOT Load Rating Unit
·  Element Level Bridge Inspection Workshop

·  Minimizing Salt Bounce and Scatter

OOPS

INDOT snow plow truck overturned on State Road 45 in eastern Greene County early this morning.(Photo courtesy of the Greene County Sheriff's Department)
An Indiana Department of Transportation snow plow truck overturned early this morning in eastern Greene County while clearing icy roadways.
An INDOT owned 2003 Ford Sterling truck with a snow plow and driven by Rickey Laughlin, 58, of Odon, was traveling north on State Road 45 when it overturned near the intersection with Dotson Road about 12:19 a.m., according to a report from Greene County Sheriff's Department Deputy Jeff Brown.
Laughlin was trapped inside the truck from the seatbelt, but had no injuries.
"The truck did loose its load of salt from the rollover, Deputy Brown commented. "There was approximately 2 inches of snow at the time of accident,"
Assisting at the scene was personnel from the Greene County Ambulance Services and Center Township Fire Department.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Montana DOT Mowing Tractor Set-up







Roadside Mowing tractor in Montana

Probably everyone reading this post is going to think how "dumb I am", but I saw this Montana DOT mowing tractor with sidemount mower and toolbox mounted on three point hitch.  I am thinking what a great idea; the toolbox I mean.  If the three point hitch is available, why not mount a contractors box.  No matter how many tools you have on a mowing tractor, seems there is never enough; especially when you are miles from the shop.  You could carry extra blades, blade bolts, grease gun, sockets, end wrenches, etc.  Better put a good lock on it though or someone else may have your tools.  "Food for thought".

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Montana Trip & Kudos to Upturn Solutions

Trip to Montana July 2013

Traveled to Montana to work with our new Software provider; Upturn Solutions in Kalispell.  While there the software folks took us on park tour of Glacier National Park.  I would heartily recommend a visit to this part of the country to everyone.  Words and pictures do not do it justice.

Thanks to Paulsen Palmer and Jaron West from Upturn Solutions for the tour and their hospitality.   I would also endorse Upturn Solutions for your asset management software provider.  Their Sprocket software is very flexible and they are excellent to partner with.  Never once did I hear the phrase "we cannot do that".  Great bunch of folks and very creative.  



Glacier National Park


Glacier National Park


Snow in the Park July 17

Glacier National Park

Original Park Tour Bus;  1934 White Body.  

Original Body set on 2002 Ford Truck Chassis with gas V-8 engine running on propane

See the Mountain Goats?

Couldn't resist

View from road

View from road

Monday, June 24, 2013



City of Walker Hookloader Retrofit 

Hookloader Implementation in Municipal & Other Governmental Fleets

Testimonials:

We have been using Hook Lift trucks since around 1995 when we built a truck that would haul an AMZ Patching machine. This piece of equipment was not used year around so we needed to have the capability of unloading it so we could use the truck for other things. We chose the truck mounted configuration because we did not want to pull a trailer in the tight city streets. In that case we would use the patching machine as needed and switch to a container box for hauling leaves or garbage when we were not patching. During the winter months we loaded a stainless steel salter equipped with a liquid pre-wetting system which enabled us to use the truck year round. We have replaced the truck several times and would not like to be without that configuration. The City of Jackson no longer uses the trucks for patching but we have four in our fleet at this time. We have two single axle hook lifts configured with large container boxes for hauling leaves. A shorter sided box for hauling garbage/debris and a flatbed equipped with a tank for anti-icing/dust control. There is also a flatbed attachment for these trucks for hauling materials for anything from highway repairs to trees.  We also have two tandem axle trucks equipped with large leaf hauling containers and short sided heavy boxes for hauling aggregates.  Both configurations of trucks still carry salters in the winter when we need them and can quickly be switched to haul snow in between storms. When we built the larger trucks we opted for the sliding jib to allow us to carry different length boxes and also had them plumbed to carry front plows. This enabled us to utilize the same truck for plowing as needed. We have single axle trucks that will sit idle all summer but these hook lift trucks are on the road daily, winter and summer.

Greg Lucas
City of Jackson, General Foreman


It is my belief that hook-loader equipped trucks are the future of municipal fleets. We can no longer afford under-utilized single purpose trucks. The City of Wixom owns two hook-loader equipped trucks. One is a Ford F550 the other is a Sterling L-line 5 yard dump. The F550 has one 3 yard salt box with pre-wet capabilities, one 3 yard stainless steel dump box with drop sides and four 9 yard boxes used for yard waste, compost, mulch…The Sterling has one 5 yard salt box with pre-wet capabilities, one 975 gallon anti-ice tank, and one 13 yard dump box. For a small department like ours these trucks are invaluable. Rather than having plow trucks that are parked 8 months out of the year we utilize these two trucks year round.

Mark Clancy
City of Wixom



City of Coldwater New Truck with Hook Loader


                 Fleet Creep; A Fleet Manager’s Headache

One hot topic in fleet management circles, especially governmental units, is "fleet creep", or in layman's terms the tendency for fleets to gradually increase equipment inventory over time.  Fleet creep often happens even when employee staffing is on the decrease.  There are many factors that contribute to fleet creep and no one single solution.  The essence of effective fleet management is identifying equipment by the operations it performs (i.e.: mission) and then determine if these operations/missions are “proactive” or “reactive” in nature.  Sometimes the lines separating “proactive” from “reactive” missions can be blurred which makes this process of mission defining more challenging.  As an example, I think we would all agree that winter snow & ice removal operations would be considered as “reactive” hence a piece of equipment used in this operation/mission would be considered “reactive”.  Plus snow removal is not an operation that can be delayed and rescheduled for a future date.  On the other-hand, an anti-icing operation would be considered “proactive” as you are making a chemical application prior to the predicted winter event.  If the anti-ice operation is not performed for whatever reason, there would be no resulting crisis such as there would be if trunkline snow removal operations were “skipped”.  Another factor to consider is:  could I obtain this equipment “as needed” through a short term rental rather than tie up precious equipment budgetary funds to purchase it?  Obviously, winter maintenance plow and salt trucks are not readily available as a short term rental, are used “reactively”, and in many cases, the majority of usage is seasonal; i.e. winter.  These trucks are "mission critical".   The challenge to the fleet manager is:  how do I maintain the numbers of plow trucks that are required for winter operations,  keep them busy year around for maximum utilization, all while staying within my dwindling equipment budget?  One option might be creating a multi-functional truck by adding a hook loader thus having the ability to use the same chassis in several different operations or missions. 

 A few examples of the various operations and missions for which one chassis could be utilized are:  water tanker trucks and/or liquid chloride tankers used for anti-ice applications, flatbeds and/or beavertails used to transport equipment to a job site, core drilling equipment, tool vans or tool trucks, crane trucks, salt spreaders, pothole patchers or bituminous distributor units, and many more.  

My point is this:  one truck chassis spec'd for your specific needs equipped with the correctly spec'd hook loader becomes a multi-functional truck which is capable of carrying multiple different types of attachments.  Mount your water tank or anti-ice tank, your salt spreader,  tool van body, truck crane, pothole patcher, bituminous distributor, flat bed, dump body, you name it, on a subframe and you are ready to go to work.  One truck now has the ability to perform all these functions.  Truck chassis wears out, no problem, transfer hook loader assembly to new truck chassis and retain existing equipment attachments and you are still in business.  You have the ability to efficiently extend the usable life of your attachments from chassis to chassis.  You have the ability to share low usage attachments with neighboring agencies in compliance with Governor Snyder’s initiatives for more intergovernmental cooperation and resource sharing..  You can virtually eliminate all low usage, mission critical, job specific type truck chassis without compromising your ability to perform these mission critical maintenance obligations.  There are several Michigan municipalities and County Road Commissions already incorporating hook loader equipped trucks in their fleet.  I challenge you to evaluate your fleet and see where a multi-functional hook loader equipped chassis could reduce your inventory of low usage truck chassis and save your constituents money.  




Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has announced the 2013 recipients of the MDOT Director's Award - the department's highest honor for outstanding service. For more than 20 years, the annual award has recognized those employees who exhibit leadership and exemplary public service.
"Each year, the Director's Award recipients represent some of the best of MDOT," said State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle. "Their hard work and dedication demonstrate a real commitment to quality, teamwork, integrity, and customer service. We are proud that these dedicated public servants are a part of MDOT."
The Director's Award program represents the various work categories within the department, representing the respective job responsibilities and levels. While MDOT employees nominate their peers, committees comprised of workers from each category make the final recommendations to the department.

I , Mark Lester, am proud to announce Janine Cooper, Assistant Region Engineer in Southwest Region, was the 2013 Director's Award Recipient in her respective category.  Janine is the example of "what is right with government and specifically with MDOT".  Definitely well earned. Congratulations Janine!

Accolades and rewards are few and far between in governmental agencies; seems as if there cannot be a ribbon cutting ceremony attached to an event then politicians are not interested.  The Director's Award is the venue for well deserved recognition from one's counterparts, supervisors, and the Director within Michigan Department of Transportation.  There is no monetary reward and no expense to the taxpayer, but rather a very visible show of appreciation to those that go above and beyond the "call of duty".

I have been blessed to have been honored with the Director's Award in 1997.  My former MDOT supervisor and very good friend, Dave Budd, was director's award recipient in 1999.  Three well deserving MDOT Southwest Region Paw Paw Central Repair employees received the Director's Award;  Pandy Chiddister in 2001, Sandy Aernie in 2006, and Mark DeVries, the current Southwest Region Fleet Manager, in 2010.  My wife, Robin, was Director's Award Recipient in 2002.  Janine joins a very distinguished and dedicated group.  Excellence begets excellence.  Congratulations!  Now, let's party!

Saturday, May 4, 2013

Truck & Trailer Specialties Howell Store Crew with Genessee County Tri-Axle Truck they built.

Genessee County Tri-Axle Winter Maintenance Truck

The new Truck & Trailer Specialties branch in Howell is turning out truck build-ups.  Pictured is the second of 5 tri-axles they are building for Genessee County Road Commission.  This is a "sweetheart" of a truck.  Has front steerable tag axle that is mounted so as to slide forward for summer operations providing a 9 foot axle spread.  By re-positioning the tag axle for summer operations (i.e. chip seal, gravel hauls, paving/asphalt transport, etc.) this truck can scale almost as much as a quad axle.  Truck & Trailer Specialties has similarly built trucks at Kalamazoo County Road Commission.  This truck has a midmount patrol wing, reversible front "mouse-ear snow plow", and stainless steel dump body.  This is a well designed unit for productivity, efficiency and long service life.  As always, this truck displays the quality craftsmanship of the Truck & Trailer Specialties talented buildup personnel which our customers expect and which separates us from the competition   

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Rocky Branch; southern Indiana treasure- 4-wheeler excursion 2013

 Rocky Branch on the Asdell farm in southwestern Indiana.

 Mariah Sutton with dog Skunk followed by Dave Budd traveling up Rocky Branch
 Mark Lester leaning on "stripper pole" tree in front of large rock out cropping
 Mariah Sutton and Skunk the dog next to "stripper pole" tree,
 Coming down into Rocky Branch
 More Rocky Branch pictures

 Uncle Kenny Asdell, owner of Asdell farm and Rocky Branch.  Soon to be 86 years old and leading the 4 wheeler excursion through Rocky Branch.  WW II Navy veteran and 50 year member of Ironworker Local 22 in Indianapolis.
 Dave Budd, retired MDOT Southwest Region Road Maintenance Superintendent.  Former boss and friend.
 Lookout
 Kenny Asdell and Skunk
Mariah Sutton and Skunk

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Green warning lighting for snow removal vehicles.


In a prior post, I shared information concerning a test evaluation by Ohio DOT seeking to determine if green strobes were more visible in snowy conditions or fog than the amber strobes currently in use universally.  I have no contacts in Ohio Dot so have not seen the results of the evaluation.  Truck & Trailer Specialties provided a green strobe light to Gary and Buzz at the city of Livonia awhile back.  Evaluation of this light has been limited to the parking lot at the Livonia DPW, but early indications are promising.  Per Gary, Livonia will be receiving two new snow plow trucks this year which will be equipped with both green and amber warning lighting, which will allow for a true determination to be rendered.  It will also be interesting as to how visible these lights are during summer road maintenance operations?

There is another obstacle hanging out there before agencies could utilize the green lighting and that is legality.  Michigan Motor Vehicle Code limits Michigan agencies engaged in snow removal or road maintenance operations to amber lighting only.  On a positive note, green warning lighting is not mentioned in the Michigan Motor Vehicle Code so it has not been designated to other agencies.  Stay tuned for more details............

Wednesday, March 27, 2013



A good friend of mine sent me this picture of a snowblower at high pass close to Yosemite.  Locals told them the snow gets so high you cannot see over it whole driving.  Reminds me of the 1978 blizzard in Michigan.  Some roads were drifted over cab high on pickups.  

Monday, March 25, 2013

A little self promotion is in order today.  I updated and revised my Blue Collar Fleet Management publication.  I have shared my 30+ years of experiences in the equipment repair and fleet management arena in just 90 pages of easy and entertaining reading. I totally understand the feeling one gets when on Friday they are the employee responsible for repairing and maintaining the equipment and the next Monday are the manager responsible for the equipment and those charged with the repair and maintenance.  Talk about being moved out of your comfort zone!  I wrote this book in order to help you attain success in your new position.  It is filled with simple yet effective techniques which have a proven successful track record.  I keep the book simple and inexpensive.  I don't want you to become bored or broke.  You may obtain your copy from www.lulu.com.  Thanks

Friday, February 8, 2013

Revision Blue Collar Fleet Management

I found some grammatical errors in the first edition of Blue Collar Fleet Management so I removed it from the marketplace while I fixed those errors and cleaned up some verbage.  Once I receive a copy to proof, the book will be released for distribution,  If you have already purchased a copy, don't fret, I really made no changes that impact the subject matter.  And if you feel strongly that he first edition copy is unacceptable, contact me and I will trade the new version for the one you purchased.

I did write and publish another book.  It is simply titled "Mom".  It is tribute to my mom and has quite a few photos.  This book is published in color so as to do justice to the photos.  However, color ink does significantly add to the cost.

And of course there are two other books available that I wrote and published.




Saturday, February 2, 2013

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/mlesteratttspecdotcom.  My "author's spotlight where you can preview all the books I have published at Lulu publishing.

http://www.lulu.com

Check out my books.  You can find my Blue Collar Fleet Management Book and my newest, the tribute to my mom, titled quite appropriately "MOM".

My books are all available on Amazon but you will get better pricing at Lulu.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

What do you think of this baby?  1,300 gallon liquid capability, 650 gallon each side.  Dual wing plows.  Accu Place zero velocity salt application unit mounted under auger.  Brown County Dual Wing Expressway Truck.  Even has dual auger hopper.