FLEET MANAGEMENT During the meeting, attendees heard from top engine manufacturers about new designs and emerging technologies and toured a chassis manufacturing facility. The fleet committee is planning to meet jointly in October with the ABA Energy and Environmental committee to talk about this issue and work together to find solutions. tic regrinders, drawing anywhere from $1 to $5 per tray. Theft occurs behind bakery retail outlets and out of the backs of trucks. "Trays are disappearing at an alarming clip," said Mr. McGuire. "The ABA is redoubling our efforts to find a meaningful solution for companies to fight this," said Ms. Knowles. The committee has spearheaded the effort to bring the consequences of these losses to the attention of the industry's top management and to provide resources for attacking the problem. The committee conducted a summit with the leading tray manufacturers to examine if there are materials or design strategies that might prevent loss and theft. ABA is also working with other impacted segments of the food industry to develop common strategies. According to ABA's Web site, a key component to addressing the loss is improving the inventory and tracking. Bakers are strongly encouraged to begin using product sales and distribution technologies such as RFID to also track the equipment and pinpoint problem areas. Mr. McGuire said that the solutions to this problem are difficult because the investment in RFID technology to track every tray is too expensive at this point. More affordable technology is needed to justify the cost. But he did point out that one of the larger bakeries in the industry has made the investment in a sampling of microchipped trays to run a test monitoring trays in and out. This is a step in the right direction to fight this problem. LOSING OUT. Another ongoing struggle for the fleet sector has been the multimillion dollar loss of bakery equipment such as plastic trays and dollies. Because these trays are petroleum-based, they are a hot commodity for plas- ON THE CLOCK. Hours of service (HOS) was another hot-button topic discussed at the May committee meeting. Ms. Knowles said that the industry is currently waiting on a decision from the DC Circuit Court to see if it Members of the ABA Fleet and Distribution Committee tour a new Schwebel Baking delivery truck from Workhorse Custom Chassis. AMERICAN BAKERS ASSOCIATION. For more information, see Page 164 86 / BAKING & SNACK / July 2006