MINUTES THE INTERMODAL ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA'S MAINTENANCE & REPAIR COMMITTEE MEETING

Transcription

1 MINUTES THE INTERMODAL ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA'S MAINTENANCE & REPAIR COMMITTEE MEETING Sunday, September 18, :30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Hilton Americas Houston Ballroom of the Americas C Houston, TX Call to Order The meeting was convened at 8:30 a.m. by Committee Chairman Cliff Creech of Norfolk Southern. Committee Vice Chair Jordan Hunt of ContainerPort Group gave the safety briefing. James Morrow, IANA Staff Liaison to the Committee, conducted the roll call of members of the committee on a company-by-company basis, with designated company voters identified. Mr. Morrow pronounced a quorum. Following the roll call, Marc Blubaugh, IANA General Counsel, reviewed IANA's antitrust guidelines and limitations on permissible discussions. Approval of May 2016 Minutes Committee Vice Chair Joey Frederick of P&B Intermodal Services introduced the minutes of the May 5, 2016 Committee Meeting. Frank Sonzala of CIMC Vehicles Group made a motion to accept the minutes. The motion was seconded by Jim Reo of Consolidated Chassis Management (CCM) and unanimously approved. Task Force Reports Photographic Evidence Task Force Task Force Leader Mark Smith of TRAC Interstar introduced the business case for the Task Force and its goal statement, followed by a brief description of its work plan already completed. The Task Force is conducting the third and final survey to measure the efficacy and feasibility of using photographic evidence in place of returned tire carcasses to determine cause of failure and the responsible party. Next steps for the Task Force are to evaluate and analyze the results of its three surveys, validate the photographic criteria, finalize its recommendations and submit the Task Force recommendations to the Operations Committee. The goal is to have this done in the fourth quarter of Mr. Creech thanked Mr. Smith for the Task Force update.

2 Wheel End Task Force Task Force Lead Michael Oglesbee of J.B. Hunt presented an update for the Wheel End Task Force. Mr. Oglesbee noted that wheel roll-offs do not occur frequently but can be catastrophic when they do. The Task Force has been focused on creating a document for driver training/education and has developed a list of components drivers can view/inspect to assist in reducing the possibility of wheel end roll-offs. These include lug nuts, oil/grease, hubs, rims and tire tread. The Task Force has also identified devices which could be used to aid the inspections. The next steps include finalizing a document (including visual aids) as an instructional tool. Once agreed on, the Task Force will submit this to the Committee for its consideration. Mr. Oglesbee stated that the Task Force will complete these steps in the fourth quarter of Mr. Frederick asked how the drivers would be trained. Mr. Oglesbee responded that the Task Force is considering video and informational card options to be posted on the IANA website under the Committee Recommended Practices and Industry Tools section. The informational card would be in a downloadable format. Mr. Creech thanked Mr. Oglesbee for his report. Intermodal Chassis Mechanics Training Task Force Task Force Leader Martin Summers of CCM provided the update for the Intermodal Chassis Mechanic Training Task Force, including the goal statement and revised charter and deliverables. The Task Force has developed the inspector training material guidelines but needs to finalize the technical aspects before presenting this deliverable to the Committee. The second deliverable is to develop the Intermodal Recommended Practices (IRP). To do so, the Task Force has established nine Work Groups as part of its effort to address the federally defined Roadability Component Defects. Since the May 2016 Committee Meeting, the Task Force has held 12 conference calls and two face-to-face meetings. It has begun the process of the IRP development for over 40 components of the chassis covered under the nine defect areas. The Task Force has developed a standard template for the IRPs. Each working group has one or more Subject Matter Experts assigned, along with Intermodal Equipment Providers and M&R Vendors. They are using the IANA imeet collaborative work space environment to exchange documentation. Two Work Group drafts have been completed, three final drafts are in progress, and 36 are still to be developed. Mr. Summers provided a draft IRP as a sample. Once completed, the Task Force will present its work to the Committee for review. The next step for the Task Force is to complete the technical writing of the inspection material, which is targeted for completion by May The final IRPs are also anticipated to be completed by May The Task Force will validate its approach and make recommends to the Committee for a process to maintain and update the IRPs on a regular basis. Once completed the Task Force will discuss the training methodology and testing guidelines and research potential training options. Mr. Creech asked if the Task Force had a technical writer to aid in assisting the Task Force. Mr. Summers said that is an area where they could use some assistance. Mr. Creech also thanked Mr. Summers and his Task Force members for all the time and work that they are doing to complete this project.

3 Information Services Advisory Group Update Dennis Monts of IANA reported there would be three IANA Information Services briefings each day on the EXPO floor. The Street Interchange program, which was deployed in June, improves motor carrierto-motor carrier equipment exchanges by verifying UIIA status and transferring liability at the time of the exchange. The Gate Control program addresses box and chassis separation for UIIA verification. The Road Ready Chassis related systems strive for a standard format to identify bad order equipment and to make information aware to those who need it so chassis can be road-ready. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Inspection Metrics for Intermodal Equipment Stephen Keppler of IANA presented the report on the FMCSA s Inspection Metrics. In the first half of 2016, over 12,000 chassis inspections were completed. In that period, 41 percent of inspections had one or more violations, continuing a downward trend. Jurisdictional breakouts of inspections and violations were consistent, with California and Texas leading the total number of inspections. Violation totals trended in a similar pattern, with California and Texas leading. Chassis out-of-service rates were 17.4 percent in the first half of 2016, also continuing a downward trend. Responding to requests for jurisdictional breakouts of out-of-service rates, Mr. Keppler provided data on the highest chassis OOS rates, showing Pennsylvania at 38.2 percent, Michigan at 37.8 percent, South Carolina at 37 percent, Tennessee at 36.5 percent and Connecticut with 35.1 percent. Brakes and lighting continue to be the leading causes for violations. On the low end, California came in at 12.9 percent, followed by FMCSA at 13.2 percent, Texas at 14.2 percent, Virginia at 19.4 percent and New Jersey at 21.6 percent. Mr. Keppler wrapped up the discussion of specific data points with recommendations which included providing and publishing more data to give a better view of safety and compliance and identifying educational products designed around the highest areas of violations. These could be in the form of webinars, job aids, hand-out cards or instructional videos. The third potential option is a web-based knowledge assessment tool. Russel Graef of ContainerPort Group expressed a desire to see data on chassis that had been upgraded to LED lighting. Mr. Monts indicated that beginning in December additional equipment characteristics would be tracked as part of the GIER system. It was also noted that later on in the Committee meeting, an update on LED lighting will be discussed. Education Session How to Use FMCSA Data to Improve Your Systematic Maintenance Program Fred Marsicano of ContainerPort Group presented the education session designed to identify M&R data available through the FMCSA web portal and how to use that data to recognize trends and improve safety, compliance and CSA scores. Mr. Marsicano went through the FMCSA portal to explain what data is available and how to access it. He noted the capability to drill down to obtain data by driver, location and state. He further went on to

4 discuss how to operationalize some of the data and additional tools that are available for this purpose. Recommended action items included developing a trend analysis from the data, creating awareness of violations and educating drivers. Mr. Marsicano recommended management involvement/recognition and counseling with drivers as appropriate. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Update Darrell Ruban, Regional Field Administrator of FMCSA, recognized other FMCSA staff present and began a discussion of FMCSA s roadability audits over the prior fiscal year which is ending at the end of September. These included Port Everglades, Memphis, Kansas City, Seattle and New Jersey. We see an improvement with IEPs complying with the requirements, Mr. Ruban noted, though FMCSA still sees the same types of process breakdowns such as a lack of proactive, systematic inspection programs. FMCSA also looks at whether the people at the facility have been trained. Mr. Ruban acknowledged improvements and levels of commitment that FMCSA sees during its investigations. Mr. Ruban observed that on-site inspections drive what FMCSA requests relative to documentation, etc. Mr. Ruban pointed to a need to have systems to track, identify and act on vehicles that need an annual inspection. He further discussed the agency s transition from a national to a regional-based program. FMCSA has trained its staff in four regions around the country and are anticipating an October 1 rollout. The work approach will be similar to what has been done to date. The future may bring more focus on drivers and motor carriers, Mr. Ruban commented, ending with an acknowledgement of the work already done and the steady improvements. Old Business Update on LED Light Conversions Mr. Creech moved on to old business and an update on LED light conversions. The update was provided by Jim Reo of CCM, Jordan Hunt of ContainerPort Group, Dave Esposito of Direct ChassisLink (DCLI) and Tom Slattery of Flexi-Van Leasing. At its May 2015 meeting, the M&R Committee approved the recommended practice for light theft avoidance which is posted on the IANA website. Mr. Reo provided a summary of CCM s experience converting to LED lighting. Changing lights on an as-needed basis, overall results for CCM pools has shown a drop in replacement needs of approximately 60 percent. Light replacements per gate move were down, which takes into account any drop in chassis utilization due to lower freight volumes, Mr. Reo noted. Mr. Hunt went through his company s experience, highlighting in 2015 that they saw a 24 percent decrease in light spend per chassis, and in 2016 saw a 38 percent decrease. These numbers include labor, materials and road service costs. Mr. Esposito and Mr. Slattery provided a status update on their conversation to LEDs, noting that they are not to a point yet in their programs to be able to see definitive results. Open Discussion on M&R Issues Mr. Creech opened the floor to discussion. He began the discussion noting that the top item on the FMCSA violations is brakes and asked Mr. Summers how close the Task Force was to having the brake sections of the chassis mechanic training recommended practices available. Mr. Summers

5 responded that the Task Force was close to completing the section, but he did not have a specific completion date. Mr. Morrow noted Interactive Committee Polling had been implemented to assist the committee with issue identification. Mr. Morrow showed initial responses and urged participation to help shape issues the M&R Committee can work on. Current trends in responses favor regulations that impact intermodal and safety, chassis issues and new technologies, Mr. Morrow noted. Mr. Creech asked for Committee member input on areas that the M&R Committee should address in the future. Alan Cohn of Pressure Systems International suggested some examination of greenhouse gases and their impact. Mr. Creech stated that Committee Leadership will review Mr. Cohn s topic suggestion. Mr. Creech, based upon FMCSA Data Metrics on violations and out-of-service presented today, stated that the Committee should review the defect elements relative to brakes. Mr. Summers noted he would like to see a Task Force of IEPs and motor carriers to discuss how to educate not only IEPs but also motor carriers on out-of-service issues such as drivers completing DVIRs. Mr. Creech said he would like to table that discussion until the reports from the DVIR-related Task Force of the Operations Committee makes its report and return to the topic as necessary. Separately, he emphasized that two Task Forces will be completing their recommendations during the fourth quarter. The results will be distributed to the Committee members for review and comment. It is important that M&R Committee members respond. It is the Committee Leadership s intention to conduct electronic voting on the recommendations prior to the May 2017 meeting. Adjournment With no further discussion from the floor, Mr. Creech called for a motion to adjourn at 10:09 a.m. Mr. Reo put forth the motion which was seconded by Mr. Graef. Committee adjourned.