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It’s no secret that underinflated tires consume more fuel. Given that the price of diesel is rising more often than falling these days, today’s fleet maintenance managers must check tire pressure more regularly — and then actually do something about the results.

Those in our industry can make whatever excuses they want for not using EOBRs. The bottom line is they haven’t wrapped their minds around how to make money legally. I mean, they might as well be bootlegging whiskey. It’s the same damn thing.

We live in an age of electronic information. Computers, the Internet, iPhones, iPads, GPS . . . all these technological wonders work to make our lives easier, reduce paperwork and give us all more time to do other things.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration continues to be dead set on forcing every commercial vehicle in the United States to carry an electronic onboard recorder — better known as an EOBR — despite the device’s hefty price tag and general uselessness as a safety tool.

Advanced transportation management systems (TMS) have long provided automation and functionality that help plan, optimize, manage and execute transportation more accurately and productively than — to be blunt — a human being.

It takes a significant effort on the part of suppliers and customers alike to ensure that strains on key supplier-customer relationships are avoided, and there is a common focus on the contributions that create value.

The country’s recent economic climate certainly illustrates how essential and strong the transportation component is to our way of life, but trucking has needed to navigate regulatory challenges as well.

Let’s face it; nobody likes to make the same mistake twice. Maintenance professionals in particular always should be looking for procedures that have prevented downtime and failures in the past.

Appointment scheduling is common in today’s transportation industry. It allows for the orderly receipt of shipments, reduces waiting time and increases routing and operations productivity. When all goes according to plan, the supply chain flows with optimal efficiency.