Sean M. Lyden

As you evaluate your truck and van specs, where do you see the best opportunities for improvement? Perhaps you could take weight out of the vehicle to reduce fuel costs or increase legal payload. Or upgrade your equipment to be more efficient and ergonomic, improving crew productivity and safety. Or electrify your onboard equipment to […]

Ready or not, EVs are coming to your fleet. Governments have mandated it. Automakers have committed to it. And recent federal legislation has earmarked billions of dollars for it. But the colossal changes in vehicle design and “fueling” infrastructure will undoubtedly create numerous potholes on the road to electrification. Will there be enough models available […]

As a fleet manager, ensuring efficiency and safety is paramount in your daily operations. But how can you effectively balance these priorities without sacrificing one for the other? One solution may lie in an unlikely place: the checklist. In “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right,” surgeon and Harvard Medical School professor Atul Gawande […]

As you spec your next round of bucket trucks and digger derricks, what are some safety technologies that may not have been available for your previous orders but are now? UFP spoke with Altec’s (www.altec.com) Michael Newman, digger derrick market manager, and Ryan Hulleman, aerial device market manager, to get their advice. They recommended considering […]

Aggressive driver behaviors. Improper use of equipment. Distracted driving. These are just a few issues that increase a utility fleet’s risk of preventable accidents that can lead to multimillion-dollar payouts and ignite a public relations firestorm. So, what can you do as a fleet manager to help protect drivers, the public and your company’s reputation? […]

A “close call” in late 2020 set things in motion to address a slip-and-fall hazard shortly after New York City’s energy provider, Con Edison, replaced 10 steel trailers with aluminum trailers. “An employee was trying to secure a load on a very windy day. But the aluminum surface was wet and slick,” Richard Stewart, ConEd’s […]

Most vehicles in a utility fleet have strobe lights to protect workers and the public from a collision with a stationary vehicle. But with numerous strobe options to consider, how do you evaluate what will work best for your fleet? UFP spoke with Nebraska Public Power District’s fleet superintendent, Rob Barbur, and fleet supervisor, TK […]

All major automakers have gone all-in on an all-electric future. But can the U.S.’s aging grid handle the upcoming surge in demand for charging? And what about resiliency during power outages when you have less access to fossil-fueled generators? Industry experts point to vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology as a potential solution to help address these concerns […]