127 episodes

Go behind the scenes with the industry’s most seasoned trucking reporters. Heavy Duty Trucking’s editorial team uses decades of experience to bring you expert insights and interview industry professionals to discuss the latest news, trends, and technology that will help you run your fleet more efficiently, safely, and profitably.

HDT Talks Trucking hdtpodcasts@bobit.com

    • Business
    • 4.8 • 5 Ratings

Go behind the scenes with the industry’s most seasoned trucking reporters. Heavy Duty Trucking’s editorial team uses decades of experience to bring you expert insights and interview industry professionals to discuss the latest news, trends, and technology that will help you run your fleet more efficiently, safely, and profitably.

    How Trucking Fleets Can Get Control of False Driver Logs

    How Trucking Fleets Can Get Control of False Driver Logs

    Truck driver log falsification violations can lead to out-of-service orders, fines, bad federal safety scores, failed DOT audits, civil penalties, even nuclear verdicts. What can motor carriers do?

    Log falsifications were the fourth most common driver-related
    violation discovered in roadside inspections from 2019 to 2023. And they’re the second most common violation discovered in compliance reviews of motor carriers. Brandon Wiseman, president of Trucksafe Consulting, explains why — and what trucking companies can do about it — in this episode of HDT Talks Trucking.

      

    Learn More About False Driver Logs and Hours of Service Violations 

    Trucksafe: Controlling Driver Log Falsifications

    Personal Conveyance: Is it Worth It?

    4 Ways to Know if Personal Conveyance is Being Used
    Correctly

    5 Enforcement Metrics Fleets Should Monitor

    • 25 min
    Your Safety Manuals Could Cost You in Court

    Your Safety Manuals Could Cost You in Court

    Did you know that your fleet’s driver manuals and policies could become the detonator of a nuclear verdict against your trucking company? We’ll learn more about this plaintiffs’ attorney tactic from trucking attorney Doug Marcello in this episode of HDT Talks Trucking.

    This episode is sponsored by Scraper Systems Snow Removal by Rite Hite

    If you’re concerned about how to defend your company against aggressive plaintiffs’ attorneys who target trucking, you’ve probably heard of the “reptile theory.” But there’s another type of attack that has gotten less attention, and it means your safety manuals and policies could be a goldmine for them – and a landmine for you.

    HDT Editor & Associate Publisher Deborah Lockridge talks to Doug Marcello, longtime trucking attorney with Saxton & Stump, and chief legal officer for Bluewire, about what he calls the “Rules of the Road” tactic.

    • 15 min
    Can Microgrids Speed the Transition from Fossil Fuel to Electric?

    Can Microgrids Speed the Transition from Fossil Fuel to Electric?

    Microgrids, sometimes called distributed energy resources, are local sources of electricity operating separately from the utility grid. They typically produce electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar, but they can also be powered by hydro, natural gas, hydrogen, or even small modular nuclear reactors. 



    This episode of HDT Talks Trucking is sponsored by Scraper Systems



    Joshua Goldman, vice president of E-mobility at microgrid and DER deployment advisor Xendee, says off-grid energy sources offer resiliency from power outages while helping to level the cost of electricity supplied by utility companies. Could a microgrid kickstart your transition from diesel to BEV?

     

    Watch this Episode of HDT Talks Trucking to Learn:


    What are microgrids?
     Using energy stored during the day to charge trucks at night
    Practical applications for fleets using microgrids
    Selling stored energy back to the grid
    Navigating the design/build process
    How to plan for future growth
    What are the first steps toward energy independence?
    Take your microgrid to the next level.

     

    More About Microgrids 



    Microgrid Resources Coalition



    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory



    Xendee



    A. Duie Pyle’s microgrid



    Challenges of Charging Commercial Trucks

    • 20 min
    One Energy's First Megawatt Charging Hub in Findlay, Ohio

    One Energy's First Megawatt Charging Hub in Findlay, Ohio

    One Energy is an industrial power company and installer of
    on-site, behind-the-meter, wind energy systems. In early October, the company unveiled its first 30 megawatt battery-electric truck charging site. The site is fully developed, energized, and waiting for its first fleet customers in Findlay, Ohio.


    This episode of HDT Talks Trucking is sponsored by:

    CAT Scale — Learn more about its ⁠⁠WeighMyTruck app.⁠⁠

    And by ⁠⁠Scraper Systems⁠⁠ snow removal



    One Energy is a Utility 2.0 company. It sits between the consumer and the utility company, and because it's more agile than a utility, it can make this happen. Fast.



    One Energy went from shovels in the ground to flipping the proverbial switch, in just eight months. One Energy CEO Jereme Kent joins Jim Park to talk about the project, its potential and why he chose to build this facility in Findlay Ohio.



    In this episode:


    The difference between a utility company and Utility 2.0
    Why Findlay Ohio could be an ideal site for a megawatt
    charging hub
    Why did One Energy not build this site in California?
    Are Findlay's colder winters a barrier to success?  
    Is it okay to charge trucks in a coal-powered state like
    Ohio?
    How electricity costs will affect fleets' operating
    margins 
    How a megawatt charging hub works
    Is this concept the truckstop of the future?



    Learn more about electric trucks in HDT's Electric Truck Progress Report

    • 36 min
    How to Run a Top-Notch Safety Program and Earn Drivers' Respect

    How to Run a Top-Notch Safety Program and Earn Drivers' Respect

    Meet Sarah Cates. She's the rock-star safety director at Thomas
    E. Keller Trucking of Defiance, Ohio. Her bosses love her. Her drivers love her. And she's the recipient of HDT's 2023 Safety & Compliance award, sponsored by J.J. Keller & Associates. Cates has been the director of safety for only three years, but her success in totally transforming the company’s safety culture prompted not one, but two, of her colleagues to nominate her for the award.

    This episode of HDT Talks Trucking is sponsored by:

    CAT Scale — Learn more about its ⁠WeighMyTruck app.⁠

    And by ⁠Scraper Systems⁠ snow removal

    Cates transformed the safety culture at the company, implemented driver-facing, AI-based camera safety systems without losing any drivers, and slashed its crash indicator score. All that and more during a period when the company grew from 100 to 300 trucks.

    In this episode:


    What makes Sarah Cates tick
    How she transitioned from Logistics to Safety
    The key to earning drivers' respect
    The right way to introduce controversial technologies
    How to develop a camera privacy policy
    How she manages a multi-generational workforce

    • 29 min
    It's a Good Time for Trucking Fleets to do a 'Tune-up'

    It's a Good Time for Trucking Fleets to do a 'Tune-up'

    What can trucking fleets do now to transform their operations and be ready to take advantage of the next freight upturn? HDT's Deborah Lockridge talked to Tom McLeod about why this is the right time for a tune-up.

    This episode of HDT Talks Trucking is sponsored by:

    CAT Scale — Learn more about its WeighMyTruck app.

    And by Scraper Systems snow removal

    When freight is slower, it's a great opportunity to work "on" your business rather than just "in" your business. Tom McLeod, founder and chief executive of McLeod Software, talks about ways to give your fleet a tune-up.

    “Once you really look at the numbers, you will almost always be surprised at what's in there, and that’s golden.”

    In this episode:

    Get educated on new technologies

    How software will be affected by electric and autonomous trucks

    Are you getting the most out of your software?

    Using data to improve your fleet's operations

    • 11 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
5 Ratings

5 Ratings

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