Jeff Harris of USA Truck named chairman, treasurer for ATA maintenance council

Jeff Harris, vice president of maintenance at Van Buren-based carrier USA Truck, has been elected the 2018-2019 general chairman and treasurer of the American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council. On Sunday (March 4), Harris was named to the council at the organization’s annual meeting.

“Jeff has been a model TMC member and an example of the type of professional standard our council strives to set,” said Robert Braswell, TMC executive director. “I’m pleased to see him elected as TMC general chairman and treasurer.”

Over the past year, Harris was vice chairman and chairman of meetings for the organization and will succeed Glen McDonald, director of maintenance at Ozark Motor Lines Inc., when the TMC’s annual meeting ends Thursday (March 8).

“Being recognized like this by my peers in TMC is a tremendous honor, one I am humbled to receive,” Harris said. “I want to thank the membership of TMC for the opportunity and thank Glen for his service to our organization.”

“This year has been an incredible honor for me, and I want to thank my fellow TMC members for it,” McDonald said. “As I hand off the chairmanship of TMC, I want to congratulate Jeff on his election and wish him luck. I’m sure he will be an outstanding leader for our council.”

Following are other TMC officers for 2018-2019:

Vice chairman and chairman of meetings: Kenneth Calhoun, fleet optimization manager for Altec Service Group in Conway; chairman of study groups, Stacy Earnhardt, director of fleet maintenance for Best Specialized; chairman of membership and publicity, John Adami, principal for NW Heavy Duty Sales; chairman of associates, J. David Walters, manager, warranty and field service for Alcoa Wheel and Transportation Products; immediate past chairman McDonald; and executive director Braswell.

Directors at large include, Todd Cotier, director of maintenance for Hartt Transportation Inc.; Scott Bartlein, fleet manager for Barry Trucking Inc.; David Foster, vice president of maintenance for Premier Transportation Inc.; Duane Lippincott, senior project manager for UPS; Randy Obermeyer, terminal manager for Batesville Logistics; Randy Tumbarello, executive vice president for Genox Transportation Inc.; Peter Savage, director of fleet solutions for Clarke Power Systems Inc.; and Jill Gingrich, vice president and managing director for WheelTime Network LLC.

ONLINE DASHBOARD LAUNCHED
FleetNet America, a company of Fort Smith-based ArcBest, worked with American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council to establish an online fleet maintenance program. On Sunday (March 4), the maintenance company and organization announced the launch of TMC/FleetNet Vertical Benchmarking Program.

It will allow carriers and fleets to compare unscheduled roadside repairs with other fleets via an online dashboard. The program is expected to help carriers better understand the efficiency of their maintainece operations as a result of tracking the systems that are failing and comparing this data to similar fleets.

“The TMC/FleetNet Vertical Benchmarking Program is an exciting new benefit for the TMC fleet members,” said Robert Braswell, TMC executive director. “All TMC fleet executive level members will receive quarterly benchmarking reports — generated from program data — by virtue of the council membership. Fleet members whose companies contribute data to the program will also get the added value of access to the program’s online analytic dashboard which features more in-depth reporting tools.”

Companies that participate in the program will have access to a tool that compares the miles their fleets run between breakdowns to similar fleets of other companies. The tool will be updated each quarter, allowing carriers to monitor their progress.

“Our analysis indicates that most fleets are experiencing more unscheduled roadside repairs than they should,” said Jim Buell, executive vice president of sales and marketing for FleetNet. “Using data from the TMC/FleetNet vertical benchmarking program will help fleets pinpoint opportunities to improve. This will help them reduce costs, improve their customer service and improve efficiency.”

The program will be discussed at the TMC’s 2018 Annual Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition during the S.5 Fleet Maintenance Management Study Group Session, “The Application of VMRS to Big Data Benchmarking and How It Helps Fleets,” taking place 2:30 p.m. Tuesday (March 6).

The program is open to TMC fleet executive level members and FleetNet America customers. The data provided in the program will be cumulative and not specific to a fleet. Click here for more information.