Enterprise Innovation – Truck Trailer Snow Elimination Prototype Engineering Recommendation Case Research
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Fixing issues and innovation go collectively, and nobody is aware of that greater than Tom Dravis, the inventor of an idea to take away snow from the highest of a truck trailer whereas it’s nonetheless within the truck yard so when it goes down the highway that snow will not come off the highest and kill somebody or trigger an vehicle accident or demise. Particularly, this has occurred and there have been depraved accidents and deaths within the state of Ohio throughout the winter time.
That is fairly unlucky contemplating the truck velocity in Ohio is barely 55-mph and the enforcement for truck drivers is so intensive, many easy keep away from the state all collectively as they haul freight coast to coast. Now, then once I talked with Tom Dravis, and he advised me of his concept, neither of us knew there was already a patent for such a tool. Nonetheless, after we re-configured his innovation after which discovered that patent, we famous that the earlier inventor’s idea wasn’t practically as sturdy or succesful because the one we engineered.
When Tom Dravis first talked about the concept, and requested me what I believed being as I used to be beforehand within the fleet truck washing enterprise, and knew a factor or two about enterprise innovation, I stated positive; “it is a good suggestion Tom, nice pondering there.” Then, I defined how I might engineer such an invention. I might engineer it and design it as a set unit would work the place the truck drove beneath it, to illustrate at 1-2 mph, and the snow can be pushed off the highest. The system scraper may very well be hinged in order that completely different truck heights may very well be accommodated since most all around the highway customary trailers are very related in peak [speaking of USA] and inside actually a foot in distinction is all.
The problem I see is with ice, it may well actually freeze on there slightly arduous and truck trailers will not be so sturdy between the body items up there typically sufficient. Not all of them are constructed like brick outhouses, because the piggy again logistical cargo containers are. I might suppose within the UK, Europe, Center East, Africa, Asia, vehicles are smaller so an ice sheet may destroy a automotive and kill the passengers, whereas within the US the automotive may take the hit, however it could maintain delicate to excessive beauty injury [thinking of insurance companies, as Tom did].
Tom said that; “I’m with you on the scraper and completely different heights of kit,” after which he defined his design to me. Then I stated; “Okay, however maybe, you’d want a couple of rollers prematurely to crush and break up the ice just a little, then it could come off, as a result of when the ice is on there so arduous typically it’s as arduous because the shell itself, it is superb actually. Vibrating rollers prematurely may do that, then your idea follows?” You see, it could be my competition that this whole system needs to be in a cradle, the place the cradle was held by 6 to eight twin bars, and the cradle held the implements, which would come with;
- A rubber coated scraper,
- Rollers,
- Ice scraper,
- Counter rotating brushes.
The dowels holding the cradle can be giant 2 inch in diameter just like the large pins used for farm implements in tow. The rubber coated scraper would come first within the sequence and the robber would stop it from damaging the fiberglass air dam on the entrance of the trailers or the refrigeration unit housing and meeting for reefer trailers. The rollers would transfer alongside and roll on their very own bouncing and vibrating breaking apart the eyes and as they transfer they might be related to the brushes with tears that may flip them in a counter rotating vogue, subsequently you would want no motors, hydraulics or something that would break and trigger Murphyism.
Since snow buildup will be fairly heavy the meeting must weigh fairly a bit, and its weight would assist in the method of eradicating the snow and ice. This implies the system holding it up must be constructed with a heavy metal construction in thoughts. Subsequently the idea of bolting it on to an present truck wash tunnel meeting might not all the time be attainable relying upon the model.
Subsequently it’d have to be a standalone unit however to avoid wasting house it could be put on the entrance of a truck wash. In case you wished to clean the truck if you find yourself executed eradicating the ice and snow off the highest of the trailer you may, or the truck wash meeting may very well be idle and also you merely drive a truck by way of after you take away the snow.
The primary blade must be an angle in any other case you’ll put all of the snow on prime of the trailer behind the trailer itself and subsequently it could block the doorway for the following trailer that got here by way of. The final blade needs to be barely angled the other method so that you simply shouldn’t have an excessive amount of snow constructed up on anyone aspect.
We should do not forget that this snow might not soften for a number of weeks throughout the harsh winter season and there can be snow all around the car parking zone. it’d make sense to have motes on either side of the unit, though it couldn’t deal with all of the ice and snow, if it have been heated it may melted rapidly and heights from these motes may very well be funneled into the reclaim system of the truck wash.this might imply it could adjust to the NPDES permits for the realm.
In case you’ve ever gotten on prime of a US truck trailer you’d see they don’t seem to be all created equally, so your system must be sturdy, however considerably cautious to not injury, thus, your hydraulic system would have to be correctly arrange. An excessive amount of pressure, you bend and injury the trailer, too little pressure, you scrape the lose stuff, however the ice sheet remains to be there stable till it drives and vibrates unfastened after 20-50 miles and air will get beneath and take it off suddenly in massive chunks, and with extra vehicles drafting behind vehicles nowadays to avoid wasting gas, they’re precisely within the fallacious place, with no time to react.
So, in case you had these rollers in entrance of Tom’s system are vibrating, breaking apart the ice, you may be simulating the highway bouncing of the primary 20-50 miles of driving to assist it come free. In case you use sizzling steam spray, with a scraper blade of a non-damaging however extraordinarily agency materials, this might work. In case you use alcohol like de-icing a aircraft, then that would harm the decals and logos, until you rinsed the truck too, which is why it’d make sense to make use of an computerized truck washing kind system.
Tom Dravis, famous that he would not be hostile to working at the side of truck washes or different providers the place it made sense. Thus, Tom may connect his system to the entrance of a cross member on the entry to a truck washing system already within the yards, mount it on that kind of body. Or, make a field body the place the truck drove by way of? 7 1/2 foot broad, 15-foot excessive, 15 foot lengthy? Mount it previous to the truck wash, even in case you did not wash the truck, the ability is already there, and in case you did wash the truck you’d have already got the ice off?
Mr. Dravis, stated he appreciated, “the concept of it being an adjunct,” and this might be one option to proceed with such an idea. Certainly, nevertheless understand that the truck washing gear trade has its personal set of distributors and distributors, they usually have the shopper checklist that will probably be wanted. Plus they’ve had a extremely tough go of it during the last couple years as a result of fallout within the transportation sector after the financial disaster. They’re trying proper now for work, this might hit the spot for them.
They’d even have contacts for financing and leasing corporations for smaller trucking corporations. And they’d additionally be capable to set up these models with none downside, in spite of everything was loads easier than a truck wash tunnel. A value of $5-8 USD is smart for carriers to pay at a truck cease? And there are many trucking corporations that may wish to have such a system of their truck yards or would pay for such a snow removing service at truck stops. Corporations corresponding to; JB Hunt, Swift, Covenant, Fed Ex, Yellow-Roadway, UPS, Schiender, Werner, Conway, and so forth, all good potential purchasers, though proper now it is perhaps tough making an attempt to promote them a lot of something until, they might get a wink from their insurance coverage carriers to decrease premiums 1% in the event that they put in these techniques at their truck yards?
And what about Budweiser, Coke, Pepsi, Frito Lays, and so forth. Distributors. And all the businesses that haul their very own merchandise and distribution; Wal-Mart, grocery Retailer Chains, Specialty retailers, meals franchises, and so forth? Heck even the USA put up workplace doesn’t need their distributors throwing ice? And such as you talked about earlier than Toll Highways, maybe a number of the truck inspection stations in Northern Climates? WY, ND, SD, NE, MI, MO, IO, ID, MT, OH, IN, NY, IL, PA, VT, NH, ME, MA, NJ.
What about toll-ways and their security focus? You see, I imagine in case you obtained one main toll method in the USA to go for this such because the Pennsylvania toll-way system you’ll have a significant coup d’état, as a result of no Division of Transportation or authorities company desires to be accountable within the media for the killing of motorists, on they’re maintained and managed highway.
The per-unit price for a service at a big terminal and truck yard of $4-5 is smart. And it may very well be hooked up to the in-yard truck washing system. Amortized over the lifetime of the gear and set up prices, upkeep (needs to be comparatively restricted in case you maintain it easy) and chemical substances if used.
Additionally, take into account buses too, I recall considered one of our transportation service cleansing corporations handled the snow points on buses. That could be a big concern too; within the USA we’ve Greyhound, Tour Buses, giant cities with buses, legal responsibility is a severe concern, after all you’d want a rounded scraper blade that contours to the floor, since it could not be a very flat floor, however they nonetheless have the identical downside with ice chunks, even faculty buses. And with International Cooling coming and the approaching Ice Age, you may have a hell of a future enterprise world-wide?
Now then, when you may have a superb idea or invention like Tom Dravis, what’s the subsequent step after you have recognized the necessity, buyer, and market? Properly, here’s what I’ve to say about that. The subsequent step needs to be:
First, we must always most likely focus on this some extra in larger element and get a reasonably good concept of what the primary prototypes ought to appear to be. Then compile a couple of sketches, and focus on these, we will do that on-line. Then, I would counsel that we make a 3 to five web page mini marketing strategy – which would come with the associated fee to construct a prototype, advertising and marketing, goal clients, completed merchandise legal responsibility insurance coverage prices, and the seasonality of when to launch the corporate, for example it is perhaps too late this yr as a result of by the point you bought executed it could now not be a problem, thus, making it more durable to promote to the end-users.
Properly, I hope you have loved this weeks Enterprise Innovation Case Research. In case you are desirous about investing in Tom Dravis’ idea, contact him in Ohio, as a result of I feel this idea is a winner. Please suppose on it.
