Snow & Ice: February 2015

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Snow & Ice: Is Winter Maintenance Truck Refurbishment a Sound ...

Snow & Ice: Is Winter Maintenance Truck Refurbishment a Sound ...: Refurbishment of winter maintenance trucks as opposed to replacement with new models has become a “hot topic” the last few years. I think...

Is Winter Maintenance Truck Refurbishment a Sound Fleet Management Practice?

Refurbishment of winter maintenance trucks as opposed to replacement with new models has become a “hot topic” the last few years. I think initially, at least, there was a fear by fleet managers, and deservedly so, of the impact of the newer emission standards and engine designs on engine costs and reliability. Refurbishing existing trucks allowed fleets to avoid the newer engine designs and potential problems, which is completely understandable. However, with the implementation of “downstream” exhaust treatment to meet the more stringent emission standards reducing need for increased exhaust gas recirculation and other adjustments, engine performance and reliability has returned to the engines of the “good old days”. Avoiding the newer engine designs due to fear of unreliability is no longer a justifiable decision.

I have been “accused” of having a negative opinion of winter maintenance truck refurbishment as an option when trucks are due for replacement and that is generally a fair accusation. I think the term “refurbishment” used by fleet managers and vendors does not have a common definition. What I notice is generally the trucks being refurbished have been allowed to deteriorate to almost a junk status. In these instances, refurbishment becomes restoration. In this type of scenario then I am definitely in opposition. Agencies that are engaged in this type of activity generally lack any proactive preventative maintenance program which in my opinion is a very poor business practice and misuse of public funds. I prefer not to allow trucks to deteriorate to an unusable condition by adhering and practicing a sound preventative and predictive maintenance program throughout the life of the truck.

This practice results in a couple of things: a.) spreads out the maintenance costs over the life cycle of the truck eliminating a major expenditure in a solitary budget year, b.) reduces out of service time or at least spreads it out over the life cycle of the truck, and c.) extends the service life of the major components, i.e. engine & drive train. If a refurbishment is forecast in the future of a well maintained winter maintenance truck the end result will be less work required resulting in less cash outlay and out of service time to bring the truck back to O.E.M. standards. Or you have the option of selling the truck while it still has useable service life remaining and investing the proceeds of the sale in a new truck with the newest technology, driver comfort, and safety features. If you follow this practice over time you will gain the reputation as a well maintained fleet and the trucks you sell will be in higher demand which will increase revenue from used truck sales. In my opinion, this is a far better approach.

I may be harsh, but I believe the agencies engaged in the total restoration (refurbishment by their definition) of older trucks are guilty of poor fleet management including preventative maintenance which they attempt to solve by having someone else perform all the tasks that these agencies neglected during the life of the truck.

A significant danger to refurbishment and reuse of older trucks is parts availability due to discontinuance of truck makes and models. A good example: while at MDOT we recycled two Ford L-8000 truck chassis from winter maintenance to herbicide application units. Winter maintenance is a severe duty application while roadside herbicide application is light duty and can greatly extend the usable life of a truck chassis. This worked well for us; these trucks were well maintained, they were dependable, and we saved the cost of a new truck chassis for a limited use seasonal type operation (although these were anti-ice/vegetation combination units). However, once Ford Motor Company halted production of heavy duty trucks some of the replacement parts became scarce and very expensive.

Cab body parts were one example but the best example I can provide is the dipstick tube for the Allison automatic transmission. These dipstick tubes were specific to the truck make & model and so the demand for them dropped to almost zero. We broke a dipstick tube while removing transmission pan and when we went to purchase a replacement we discovered: a. they were almost as scarce as dinosaur teeth and b.) when we did locate one our cost was $1,000.00 and the delivery time was close to a month. This is not a good situation to find yourself in and even worse if it is a winter maintenance truck during the winter season.

My advice to you; do your homework and think this through. To learn more about sound proven fleet management practices I suggest you purchase my book: "Blue Collar Fleet Management" available from the publisher www.lulu.com.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=blue+collar+fleet+management&type=

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Snow & Ice: Chuck Clark and Jim PagelsThese two guys were the...

Snow & Ice: Chuck Clark and Jim Pagels
These two guys were the...: Chuck Clark and Jim Pagels These two guys were the very first field mechanics out of the MDOT Southwest Region Central Repair Facility...

Chuck Clark and Jim Pagels

These two guys were the very first field mechanics out of the MDOT Southwest Region Central Repair Facility opened in 1996. They set the bar for all that followed and they set it very high. Collectively they covered 10 maintenance garages over a 9 county area in Southwest Michigan. They took care of business and needed no supervision to do it. Chuck once replaced a rear brake chamber on a truck broke down in an expressway turn around during a rain storm. I told him to wait until it quit raining but he said "I have a rain coat". Not many guys would do that anymore. We did an upgrade to about 60 underbody scrapers and these two guys took care of the whole process. Scheduling trucks, doing the work, etc. They told me not to worry about it, they had it covered. And they did. These two guys were special and they were not only my employees but my friends. I have a great deal of respect for them. Sadly, they have both passed on albeit way too young. I consider myself fortunate to have known them and worked with them. I do miss them....

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Snow & Ice: Restored Michigan Department of Transportation 194...

Snow & Ice: Restored Michigan Department of Transportation 194...: Indian in the Snow by Pat Miller; MDOT retired The story of the sno-go, 040904, began in 1947 when the United States Government...

Restored Michigan Department of Transportation 1947 Osh Kosh Sno Go in action

Indian in the Snow

by Pat Miller; MDOT retired

The story of the sno-go, 040904, began in 1947 when the United States Government established a contract with the Oshkosh Motor Truck Company. The contract (N160-2605) was made to provide twenty-eight heavy duty four wheel drive trucks with rotary sno-blower attachments to help aide in snow removal and daily maintenance of the roads. The Sno-go was assigned to the Army Corp of Engineers at the time to help aide in daily maintenance of the Alcan Highway in Alaska. In late 1959 or early 60 the Sno-go was sold to a used equipment dealer in Midway, Washington, which was then purchased by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for $1,846.65. On February 11, 1960, the Sno-go, which arrived in the standard federal yellow color, along with two others arrived in Kalkaska, Michigan to update the state’s fleet of heavy snow-movers. Once the sno-go became property of MDOT, it was then painted highway orange the color it is today.

The sno-go now had a new roads and a new home in Kalkaska, it was now blowing the Northern part of District three, and these roads were from Elmira Hill on US131 between Antrim and Charlevoix County, US31 across from the Charlevoix airport and M72 east of Kalkaska. Major storms swept through Michigan in 1967 and in 1978 leaving the sno-go with new territory to plow. The sno-go was as far south as Lansing, Brighton and Niles, Michigan. During the 1967 storm, Max Campbell, was working near Kalamazoo when he was stopped by a sheriff deputy, the deputy asked Max to blow down a county road to help aid an ambulance with a heart attack victim. After Max received approval from the District Engineer, Max was able to plow the road saving the victims life.

The storm of 1978, the sno-go was gone for approximately five weeks, running twenty-four hours a day clearing and widening roads in the Southern part of the state. When the sno-go returned the 8’ cutter bar on the right side of the blower had the paint worn off right down to the metal indicating it had been working in snow drifts that exceeded eight feet tall. During that same storm while out blowing East of Honor, Michigan on US31, widening a section on the west bound shoulder the blower’s sheer pins gave way bringing the entire unit to a sudden stop. After some investigation the operator, Rocky Morrow, found an abandon compact car buried completely in the snow. Amazingly after hitting the car he quickly found that no damage was done to the sno-go and only minor damage to the abandoned car.

The winter of 1981 & 1982 was unusually brutal and the years of use began to show, so in the fall of 1982 the sno-go saw its next update. As the mechanic, Louie Hunt who was under the direction of Jerry Hodge, were preparing for winter, updates to the sno-go were performed, the rear engine was beginning to weaken and parts for the old Climax gas engine were becoming scarce and the amount of fuel it used was tremendous (100 gallons in 8 hours) so it was then decided to replace the old gas engine with a rebuilt diesel engine, this changeover was done in record time due to the winter season approaching.

After more than ten years of less than average snow fall, the sno-go rested comfortably in the MDOT storage barn in Kalkaska. In the spring of 2006, the sno-go was then called upon to perform a special project as a part of the celebration of MDOTs 100^th birthday. The sno-go was needed to escort the department director, Gloria Jeffs, in the National Cherry Festival’s, Heritage Parade which occurs the first weekend of July in Traverse City, the only problem was it looked as though it had been setting for more than ten years. That May, Pat Miller began to restore the sno-go back to its original condition on his own time making sure it was spotless for its stroll in the parade. The sno-go was in need of a major facelift, painting began to restore the highway orange color, new stickers and graphics were placed on the freshly painted body and the engine was tuned up so it was running just like new. Since then it has been seen in many local events around the area, Pat Miller even received the directors award for his hard work restoring the sno-go.

The future of this grand old Indian is much in doubt, if sold at an auction it will no doubt be dismantled, having the rear engine removed to power a generator set or pump water. The axle and transfer case could be used to build a swamp buggy and/or monster truck. Not a very fitting end to a long and luxurious career that has saved a person’s life, kept roads clear and safe for drivers and has become such an icon for MDOT. This truck has played a major role in the transportation history of Michigan. My hope is that it can be put on display so that its rich history can be shared with everyone who has driven or drives Michigan roads…