Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/555101
Instant Expertise: How TMC RPs guide maintenance practices Q & A with Bobby Allen, director of maintenance for U.S. Xpress When Bobby Allen, director of maintenance for U.S. Xpress, Inc., receives a mainte- nance call about one of the more than 6,000 power units he supervises, he automatically reaches for one of several Technology & Maintenance Council's recommended maintenance practices. There's no point in reinventing the wheel, he says. "Anytime a maintenance issue comes up, I reach for the appropriate RP that is never further than my laptop. It's one of the many membership benets of TMC," Allen says. The Chattanooga-based eet has been a long time member of TMC and Allen believes the peer-reviewed research behind each RP gives him the benet of the most comprehensive, accurate information he needs to make the best-informed equipment decisions. Which TMC RPs do you use the most? I refer to to RP 237A Torque Checking Guidelines for Disc Wheels and RP 169 Road Service Diagnostic Evaluation Process. How does RP 169 assist you during an equipment breakdown? I use it to guide the driver through the safest, most eective procedures to perform during a road service call. It gives me a list of proce- dures for systematically conducting a proper diagnostic evaluation of the primary electri- cal system – batteries, starter, alternator, and cabling. Only after this process has been com- pleted, should a service provider contact the equipment user or eet for repair or replacement authorization. How confident are you in the quality of the information? I feel like this is the best, most practical guide out there because the RPs are peer reviewed and backed by research including real world experience and comprehensive testing by various committees made up of maintenance directors and other industry professionals. How do you benefit from attending TMC meetings? I've really had a chance to network with people I would have never met. When I rst became a director of maintenance, a former director said, "If you don't do anything else, now that you're a director you should be a member of TMC." I took his advice and really feel like the information presented at the meetings helps me stay current with technol- ogy changes. Plus, I take advantage of attending the committee meetings around subjects I'm interested in. For more information on the benets of becoming a member of TMC, visit http://jointmc. trucking.org For your one time only free download of Bobby Allen's favorite maintenance practices, RP 169, click here http://techandmaintenancecouncil.com/. Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: Q: A: "Anytime a maintenance issue comes up, I reach for the appropriate RP that's never further than my laptop." Bobby Allen, U.S. Xpress SPONSORED INFORMATION