Untitled Document

Walk during lunch break leads to DEF warning decal epiphany

An employee on his daily walk during his lunch break at the Lewiston office noticed an emblem on a commercial fleet vehicle, and that sparked an inexpensive idea that could amount to significant savings per year.

Doral Hoff's idea was to add a sticker near the re-fueling tank on each truck reminding the operator not to use the wrong fuel. District 2 was still feeling the sting caused by adding flammable fuel to the emissions system of one of its trucks in the recent past.

District 2's Mack fleet was the first ITD Mack fleet that requires operators to fill a separate tank located adjacent to the fuel tank with DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid). DEF is not a flammable liquid, but is injected into an exhaust-system burn chamber because of its chemical properties. The accumulated exhaust vapors are ignited in the chamber, resulting in cleaner emissions.

"An employee accidentally put diesel in the DEF tank of a district fleet 2012 Mack, winter maintenance truck," explained Roy Hill, TSEA Operations for District 2. "This resulted in unregulated burning to occur in the chamber and resulted in expensive damage to the emission system and put the truck out of service until the repairs could be made."

Pictured, l to r: Hill and Hoff.

The damage cost more than $3,415 for the repair, not to mention the expense of down time, towing and personnel expense.

By contrast, the cost of the sticker is just $2. Hoff suggested the sticker idea to Hill, who got the stickers and attached them to the district's fleet.

In addition, the stickers are being affixed to the department's buyback loader fleet.

It is not a stretch to figure that the total cost of mis-fueling just one truck could be as much as $5,000. Multiply that over several pieces of equipment and multiple districts, and the cost could add up quickly.

Since the installation of the decals to all 52 DEF trucks in District 2, there have been no further cases of DEF contamination. District 4 is also using the stickers for its new fleet, which also uses DEF.