TMC, PIT Group Unveil 2019 Collaborative Research Program

ATLANTA, March 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, American Trucking Associations' Technology & Maintenance Council and PIT Group of FPInnovations, announced the organizations will be conducting joint research projects on fuel savings and emerging braking technologies.

"TMC and PIT Group are committed to advancing and accelerating innovation in the trucking industry," said TMC Executive Director Robert Braswell.  "We're very pleased to announce today that our partnership is moving forward with two exciting and relevant research projects, the results of which stand to increase the efficiency and performance of fleets across the United States and North America."

The two groups announced in September 2018 they had formed a strategic partnership to advance innovation in trucking through field-testing and truck engineering. The first two projects they will collaborate on will be developing a fuel-saving calculator and exploring electromagnetic braking systems.

PIT Group will review and validate existing test data that was used to develop TMC's interactive Drive Cycle Calculator. This calculator is an interactive mathematical tool that's used by equipment operators to evaluate the potential fuel and economic savings of an aerodynamic device based on test data. PIT Group will also conduct supplementary testing to obtain results to fill any gaps that exist in the test database used for this tool.

The partners also flagged a multi-year study of electromagnetic braking systems as a priority for its collaborative research. The fresh analysis will entail a literature and market review, as well as testing and operational evaluation of electromagnetic brakes. The focus will be on the braking performance, maintenance, and inspection of conventional brakes compared to electromagnetic brakes. 

"We're very pleased that the first research projects under our collaborative agreement have the green light," said Dwayne O. Haug, business development U.S. consultant, PIT Group. "Our expertise in professional testing, strategic engineering services, and scientific research will benefit our subscribers as well as the TMC membership. We're looking forward to working together on these and many more projects."

PIT Group, a division of FPInnovations, is a neutral, third-party organization that focuses on testing technologies and evaluating operational effectiveness for its subscribers. PIT Group's four main areas of focus are: testing fuel efficiency of technologies using its Energotest™ program, verifying that ELD solutions meet the U.S. and/or Canadian requirements, assessing fleet operations for areas of improvements and research, testing, and developing smart mobility solutions. PIT Group's Energotest™ is recognized in the trucking industry as the gold standard for fuel economy tests and is ISO 17025 certified. Fleets across North America rely on PIT Group's insight and advice because of its operations and maintenance expertise. For more details, visit www.thepitgroup.com.

TMC is America's premier technical society for truck equipment technology and maintenance professionals. TMC features a diverse membership of equipment managers, service-dealers, owner-operators, industry suppliers and manufacturers, educators, academia and others that support the trucking industry. TMC member fleets represent the broad range of industry vocations, including truckload, less-than-truckload, municipal, private, on/off-highway, construction and other operations. Find out more about TMC online at http://tmc.trucking.org.

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight. Follow ATA on Twitter or on Facebook. Trucking Moves America Forward

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SOURCE American Trucking Associations