Fall is the perfect opportunity to be sure your equipment is ready and protected against cold-weather failure. Even though you’ve been running a comprehensive Fleet Preventative Maintenance program, you already know what ice, snow and sub-freezing temperatures can do to your best laid plans. So, doing a double-check to make sure all your vehicles are ready requires a focus on systems especially vulnerable to winter failure. 

COVID-19 spreads mainly among people who are in close contact for a prolonged period of time. Spread happens when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks, and droplets from their mouth or nose are launched into the air and land in the mouths or noses of people nearby. The droplets can also be inhaled into the lungs. Recent studies indicate that people who are infected but do not have symptoms likely also play a role in the spread of COVID-19.

Every electrical component uses terminals to make connections, whether transferring electricity through the system from a power source or when grounding. To function properly, the terminal connection must have a sound mechanical and electrical contact to work effectively and prevent damage to the conductors. 

Let’s be honest. Though it’s really only been a few months since our nation was brought to a standstill by COVID-19, it might seem like a heck of a lot longer. And why not? Our routines have been disrupted like never before. We’ve had to make changes we just weren’t always ready to make. And as we coped as best we could, there were usually more questions than answers. 

To most people, summer time means a whole lot of fun in the sun. Those who work in it for hours on end, however, might describe the sunshine a little differently: Brutal. Broiling. Blistering. According to the National Weather Service, extreme heat kills more people than hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and lightning combined.

Clearly, getting too hot can make you sick or worse. This summer, your work crews’ ability to handle extremely hot weather will be dictated largely by acclimatization, ongoing hydration, ample shade, cooling PPE and frequent rest and recovery breaks.

As air temperatures go up, body temperatures also increase along with higher levels of perspiration. If your crews aren’t continually replacing the body fluids they lose through sweating, dehydration can take place.

Occupations that bring people into daily contact with the kind of suffocating heat most of us can escape, such as construction, vehicle repair, firefighting, factory work, present an even higher risk. Add individual worker factors such as age, weight, preexisting medical conditions and medicines that may produce negative side effects under extreme body temperatures, and you’ve got the potential for something pretty serious.

But here’s the cool thing: virtually 100% of heat-related on-the-job illnesses are preventable, from painful cases of heat rash to the far more dangerous heat exhaustion and heat stroke. But the right measure will take some understanding, planning and the commitment of your entire tea.

The best time to replace a car battery is before it dies. A lead acid car battery can last anywhere from 4 to 7 years. Know the warning signs of a weak battery, and how your driving conditions determine your battery's lifespan.