Insights - September/October 2017 - 34
Committees Report Progress on
Recommended Practices, Safety,
Other Issues
IANA's Maintenance & Repair and Operations Committees
met during EXPO and continued to report progress on multiple
fronts, including intermodal recommended practices.
Consolidated Chassis Management's Marty Summers said
the Intermodal Chassis Mechanics Training Task Force intends
to roll out 52 IRPs in the second quarter of 2018, of which 46
drafts have been completed. The task force's working groups
cover axles, brakes, auxiliary systems, chassis, couplers, electrical
systems, suspension, tires and wheels. The process of creating
recommendations will be done before 2017 ends, he said. M&R
Committee members will have the opportunity to review and vote
on the IRPs starting this fall after they are completed by the task
force.
The task force has been working on the IRPs for more than
two years and held 14 conference calls and two face-to-face
meetings in a recent four-month period. About one-third of the
recommended practices involve brakes, which consistently have
been prominent among intermodal equipment safety violations.
"This will be a game changer in our industry," said P & B
Intermodal's Joey Frederick. "This was a gargantuan task."
Now it's time to consider the next step, Committee Chairman
Cliff Creech of Norfolk Southern said.
"We are starting to get to the point of deciding on effective
content delivery [of the IRPs]," he said. "We've got to figure out
how to get this out beyond the walls of the committee meeting to
the mechanics. It's got to have legs."
On the Operations Committee side, the Intermodal Chassis
Driver Vehicle Inspection Reporting Standards Task Force
debuted a five-minute video and a driver information card. Both
are intended to show how and why filing more DVIRs will help
the entire industry to report and fix chassis defects, which will
ultimately result in more roadable equipment and increased
utilization.
"The ultimate goal is to improve the quality of equipment,
reduce repairs and improve turn times," said Eagle Systems'
Dave Hensal, who heads the task force. The video stressed how
spending barely a minute to file a DVIR can save another driver
from wasting an hour dealing with an unreported defect.
Committee meetings also featured a comprehensive report
on Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration activities by
Associate Administrator Anne Collins. Her presentation included
status reports on a variety of rules, such as e-logs, a pilot program
for ex-military drivers, the entry level driver rule compliance date
and other actions. In addition, she outlined FMCSA's strategic
priorities and objectives for roadside inspections.
Collins was accompanied by four FMCSA employees who
have intermodal-related responsibilities as she addressed several
34 Intermodal Insights | September/October 2017
dozen questions submitted by Committee members.
Vernon Prevatt of CSX Intermodal Terminals said the
Standard Industry Safety Rules and Procedures Task Force has
completed a template for gathering mishap data and made
progress on the OSHA Safety Program recommended practices,
with an update on additional headway slated for next year's
Intermodal Operations & Maintenance Business Meeting.
The Optimal Driver Turn Times at Intermodal Facilities Task
Force, led by South Carolina Ports Authority's Hampton Lee, has
approved a standard definition for a turn time and has begun
receiving data to validate the optimal turn time calculator. That
task force anticipates having recommendations ready in May
2018, using work groups for marine, rail and inland terminals/
depots.
Operations Committee Chairman Kevin Lhotak of Reliable
Transportation Specialists, Inc. urged members to contribute
more information for the turn time task force to broaden data
collection beyond a single terminal in each category to improve
the validity of the calculator.
Inspection Metrics Improve Overall
IANA Senior Vice President Steve Keppler presented updated
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration intermodal roadside
inspection metrics. They showed an overall drop to 16 percent
in out-of-service, or OOS, rates from 17 percent for all of 2016.
In general, the statistics showed a long-term drop in both the
number of violations and OOS orders.
The results demonstrate that the states with the most
frequent inspections, such as California and Texas, have the
lowest rate of violations, he said. For example, OOS orders in
California after inspections were 12 percent. Missouri, where
inspections are less frequent, topped the list at 44 percent.
Several M&R Committee members discussed the impacts
of the recent hurricanes and how to identify and address
environmental-related chassis damage, particularly to wheel
ends, stressing the need for careful inspections and determining
how much of the equipment actually was submerged in water.
"We are all looking at the Weather Channel to figure out when
to pull the trigger on preventive measures," like moving chassis
to higher ground, said Bernie Vaughan, executive vice president
at FlexiVan. "Some chassis got nine feet of water and some got
none. It's hard to tell how to check whether a unit was under
water. Motor carriers and warehouses could help by telling us
what happened. We don't want to change ECUs on a unit that had
just an inch of water."
For the Operations Committee education session, BNSF
Railway's Brant Ring described the potential benefit of using
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - September/October 2017
IANA News
EXPO Attendees Encounter Better Market, Technology Promise, More Show Features
Passion, Professionalism among Wide Range of Qualities Intermodal Employers Stress
Sleep Apnea, Fatigue Continue to Be Key Safety Concerns
Freight Report
Intermodal Prospects Brighten Despite Disruptions, Participants Say
Intermodal Technology Efforts Gain, More Coordination Needed
International Market Shifts Force Providers to Adjust
Cross-Border, Mid Range Intermodal Markets Could Spur More Intermodal Growth
As ELD Compliance Date Approaches, EXPO Panelists Stress Driver, Technology Implications
Committees Report Progress on Recommended Practices, Safety, Other Issues
New Approaches to Safety
Government News
Intermodal Information Services News
People News
Welcome New Members
Intermodal Calendar
Insights - September/October 2017 - Cover1
Insights - September/October 2017 - 2
Insights - September/October 2017 - 3
Insights - September/October 2017 - IANA News
Insights - September/October 2017 - EXPO Attendees Encounter Better Market, Technology Promise, More Show Features
Insights - September/October 2017 - 6
Insights - September/October 2017 - 7
Insights - September/October 2017 - 8
Insights - September/October 2017 - 9
Insights - September/October 2017 - 10
Insights - September/October 2017 - 11
Insights - September/October 2017 - 12
Insights - September/October 2017 - Passion, Professionalism among Wide Range of Qualities Intermodal Employers Stress
Insights - September/October 2017 - 14
Insights - September/October 2017 - 15
Insights - September/October 2017 - 16
Insights - September/October 2017 - 17
Insights - September/October 2017 - 18
Insights - September/October 2017 - Sleep Apnea, Fatigue Continue to Be Key Safety Concerns
Insights - September/October 2017 - 20
Insights - September/October 2017 - Freight Report
Insights - September/October 2017 - 22
Insights - September/October 2017 - 23
Insights - September/October 2017 - 24
Insights - September/October 2017 - Intermodal Prospects Brighten Despite Disruptions, Participants Say
Insights - September/October 2017 - Intermodal Technology Efforts Gain, More Coordination Needed
Insights - September/October 2017 - 27
Insights - September/October 2017 - International Market Shifts Force Providers to Adjust
Insights - September/October 2017 - 29
Insights - September/October 2017 - 30
Insights - September/October 2017 - Cross-Border, Mid Range Intermodal Markets Could Spur More Intermodal Growth
Insights - September/October 2017 - 32
Insights - September/October 2017 - As ELD Compliance Date Approaches, EXPO Panelists Stress Driver, Technology Implications
Insights - September/October 2017 - Committees Report Progress on Recommended Practices, Safety, Other Issues
Insights - September/October 2017 - New Approaches to Safety
Insights - September/October 2017 - Government News
Insights - September/October 2017 - Intermodal Information Services News
Insights - September/October 2017 - 38
Insights - September/October 2017 - People News
Insights - September/October 2017 - Welcome New Members
Insights - September/October 2017 - 41
Insights - September/October 2017 - 42
Insights - September/October 2017 - 43
Insights - September/October 2017 - Intermodal Calendar
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