David Cullen

Top-notch technicians who are kept up to date on effective maintenance practices and compliance with safety and environmental requirements are the beating heart of any successful truck fleet. That’s even more so with electric utilities, which operate an array of specialized equipment. Finding the best techs to do the best work begins with a fleet’s […]

The hiring process for any job involves some dancing on the part of the employer and the applicant. Depending on the savvy and experience of the job seeker, the footwork gets most intense when the discussion moves to compensation, which covers everything from wages to health benefits to overtime rates and paid time off. The […]

Weighing whether to select gasoline versus diesel power for work trucks is enough to make your head spin into another dimension – of choice, that is. Thanks to advances in engine designs and greater availability of gasoline power, there is more than ever to think about when picking a gasoline or diesel option, including deciding […]

Cable reel trailers are bread-and-butter equipment for electric utility fleets. But that doesn’t mean they come in one size that fits all. Far from it. For one thing, there are at least a half dozen manufacturers producing these trailers. What’s more, these companies produce multiple models of cable reel trailers, with all being customizable to […]

A Roadmap to Autonomous Trucks The technology and steps to regulate fully autonomous trucks will evolve bit by bit over the coming years. By David Cullen The road to autonomous trucks is a long and winding one. How it’s navigated will ride on everything from how rapidly the technology advances and how quickly it is […]

It seems like every time you turn around these days, there’s a new battery-electric pickup truck being unveiled. Iconic American truck builders Ford, General Motors and Ram have begun building full-size electric pickups, while startup manufacturers – such as Rivian and Canoo – are rolling out EV pickups of varying designs. Meanwhile, Elon Musk, head […]

The outlook for fleet maintenance costs and shop operations in 2023 is again influenced by the state of the economy and the supply chain, as well as by the ongoing nationwide tech shortage. To help pinpoint the leading challenges the year ahead poses to utility fleet managers, UFP spoke with Chris Foster, manager of fleet […]

Like most everything else that’s installed in the manufacturing and outfitting of a utility truck, there’s no one-size-fits-all choice when it comes to spec’ing a truck-mounted compressor to best meet the demands of a given application. There’s a lot to think about, ranging from the compressor’s placement on the chassis to ensuring the correct flow […]

Along with controlling the wide range of equipment costs that come with running a fleet, plus the need to maximize vehicle utilization and drivers’ time behind the wheel, every fleet maintenance program should be geared toward improving safety – to reduce operating costs and, above all, to decrease the risk exposure for fleet drivers and […]

No matter how you slice it, preventive maintenance is about paying now or paying more later. The real driver of vehicle cost efficiency, as well as safety impacts and even fuel economy, is leveraging PM inspections to deliver the biggest bang for your buck down the road. Getting there requires applying best practices to track, […]