Author Archives: Carlos De Sordi

OSHA Proposes Fining Companies for Role in Bridge Collapse

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proposed fining five contractors more than $86 thousand for their involvement in the March 15 Florida International University (FIU) bridge collapse that killed six.

According to reports, OSHA has cited five companies who were involved in the construction of the bridge that killed five motorists and a worker, while injuring five others. Figg Bridge Engineers and Network Engineering Services were cited for exposing employees to physical danger, Structural Technologies and Munilla Construction Management were each given two citations for failing to provide adequate personal fall arrest systems and The Structural Group of South Florida was given a single violation for the same.

OSHA is the first organization to attempt to place accountability for the incident. As of this writing, the National Transport Safety Board is still investigating the incident.

Report Predicts Most Commercial Vehicles Will Still Run on Diesel in 2040

A new report by information services firm IHS Markit predicts the majority of commercial fleet vehicles will still be using diesel in 2040.

According to the company’s “Reinventing the Truck” report, an estimated 66 percent of new medium and heavy commercial vehicles will still be diesel powered. While that is significantly less than the current market share of 80 percent, it still represents a substantial majority. While other types of vehicles will likely continue to become more popular, range and load capacity requirements for long haul trucking will most likely make diesel engines necessary long term.

The report analyzed the world’s largest trucking markets. In addition to its findings on diesel, the report also predicted a significant growth rate for battery electric vehicles, particularly medium-duty trucks.

Columbia Gas to donate $10 Million to Disaster Relief Fund After Tragedy

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts has announced it would make a $10 million donation to the Greater Lawrence Disaster Relief Fund days after issues with the company’s pipelines led to a series of fires and explosions that killed one and caused thousands to evacuate their homes.

The creation of the relief fund was announced on Monday, Sept. 17 by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker. According to reports, the funds will be directed to the victims of the Sept. 13 incident for things like housing, food and support. More than 30 thousand residents are believed to have evacuated their homes.

According to reports the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a pressure increase as a potential cause for the incident. It is estimated that emergency crews responded to between 60 and 80 fires throughout the day and as many as 18 were burning at once.

Deadly Landslide Sparks Call to end Small-Scale Mining in The Phillipines

After the impact of Typhoon Mangkhut Saturday led to widespread landslides in the Phillipnes, President Rodrigo Duterte called for an end to all mining operations in the island nation.

According to reports, the president and several other government officials in the Philippines have called for an end to mining before, particularly illegal, small-scale mining they believe has resulted in an increase in landslides. Government officials have ordered a temporary halt to small-scale operations in impacted regions.

As many as 64 people have been killed by mudslides in the nation’s Benguet province, which is known for gold mining. According to Associated Press reports, as many as 45 people were missing while 33 more were injured during the storm.

GM Issues Recall on 2015 Trucks, SUVs

An issue with electric power systems is leading General Motors to recall almost 1.2 million 2015 model-year trucks and SUVs, according to reports.

Vehicles impacted by the issue can have their power steering systems fail. The system will then return suddenly, which has led to several accidents. GM is currently aware of as many as 30 crashes that have occurred as a result of the issue, with two reported injuries. Owners will be notified of the recall and asked to bring their vehicles to dealerships, where the issue will be repaired at no cost.

Currently, the issue is limited to 2015 trucks and SUVs, including the Chevy Silverado 1500, Tahoe and Suburban, 2015 GMC Sierra 1500 and Yukon and Cadillac Escalade. Vehicles are also being recalled in Mexico, Canada and other countries

Getting your Name Out There: Establishing an Online Presence for your Shop

In today’s increasingly digital world, it is more important than ever to have an easy to find online presence. Customers are turning to the web to find the services they need quickly and easily and if they can’t find your shop online, it could be costing you money.

As the largest lubricant distributor in the United States, PetroChoice has worked with a huge range of companies both large and small. Some of the websites we see are great. Others aren’t. But we see a lot of customers who don’t have a web presence at all, particularly some of the smaller, privately owned shops we supply. This can be problematic for these shops, as it makes them difficult to find and puts them at a competitive disadvantage when compared to their rivals who are online.

Typically, the first step for customers looking for an auto service center or repair shop is going to be to open up a search engine, search “auto service centers near me” and click the first result they see. If they can’t find any relevant information, like hours of operation, services offered, cost or a phone number, they are most likely going to move on. If they can’t find your shop, you may have lost a potential customer.

So how do you get started? There are a few paths you can take, with some involving more than others. You can still build out a online presence with limited digital knowledge for low, or in some cases, no, cost.

Use a Hosting Service

Many small businesses use low cost web hosting services to help them build their websites. Most of these services offer limited functionality, but almost all of them will be more than enough to build a simple page with your location, phone number, hours, services and photos. Some even have developers that will help you build your site (though they will most likely charge extra for this). Sites built on these services can look very professional, but they do take a little more work to build and might require someone with a little more knowledge on how to do that than the other options. Learn more about hosting service options here.

Website Builders

In addition to hosting services, you can also find free website builders online. These sites are a little more user friendly and can also make some good-looking pages. However, most of them won’t allow you to remove their branding from your site or their name from your URL (IE: instead of www.myshop.com, you would have www.myshop.websitebuilder.com) which can come off as unprofessional and turn some customers off. You can learn more about website builders here.

Use Social Media

If you don’t want to invest the resources into building a site, you can always establish a social media account for your shop. Facebook and LinkedIn are both relatively easy to use and allow you to create pages for your business. These can help you gain more exposure for no cost at all. However, customers won’t be able to see the full details if they don’t have an account or aren’t logged in and their functionality is limited.

Putting your shop out there on the web may seem like a daunting task. Chances are your automotive care center doesn’t employ a web developer or have a huge budget to build out an online presence. While working through this process, remember:

Your site doesn’t have to look like the big guys – If you are the owner of a small shop, don’t feel the need to build a site that looks like it belongs to a huge corporation. Those companies have dedicated teams and plenty of funding. You are just trying to establish a foothold and get your information out there
Search for Yourself – Do a quick web search for your business before making any decisions. Don’t be surprised if you find automatically generated pages about your shop. While they are better than nothing, these pages don’t contain enough information to adequately help customers and can sometimes be inaccurate. Plus, they are usually very far down in search results, so most people won’t see them at all.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help – While most of the solutions offered are fairly simple, they still do require some computer knowledge. Maybe you are pretty good with a PC and can figure it out yourself. If you are, that’s great. But if you are completely computer illiterate, reach out to someone, be it a friend, family member or even employee who might be able to help. The person doesn’t need to be a web developer, but some computer skills may be required.

Taking your shop online can help bring in new customers and increase revenue. While you may end up incurring some costs, ensuring customers can find you online is critical in the digital age.

Service Restored to Subway Station Destroyed in 9/11 Attacks

The MTA New York City Transit has restored service to the World Trade Center Cortlandt Station, which will resume operations for the first time after it was Destroyed in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The original station’s tracks and tunnels were destroyed when the World Trade Center Towers collapsed. The MTA began rebuilding the station in 2015, which is situated along the 1 train subway line. Several organizations, including the MTA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey contributed to its new design.

The station will provide a key hub for the cities subway system, as it will be close to the World Trade Center Transportation Hub. The hub connects to 11 other subway lines, as well as the Port Authority Trans-Hudson service.

Hurricane Causes Automakers to Temporarily Suspend Facility Operations

Several automakers have announced they plan to temporarily cease production at their South Carolina facilities in anticipation of Hurricane Florence’s impact.

Both Daimler AG and Volvo, based in Charleston, have decided to suspend operations, while BMW, based further inland in Spartanburg, has decided to continue operations according to reports.

If Florence continues on its predicted path, the storm stands to make a major impact in North and South Carolina, both hubs for automobile and tire manufacturing. More than 1 million people were ordered to evacuate their homes, including those in the area around Volvo’s facility. Daimler, manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz and other brands, opened their Charleston facility just last week.

Florence is currently tracking as a category 4 storm, with winds reaching up to 130 miles per hour. According to the national Hurricane Center, it is expected to make landfall between Thursday and Friday. President Donald Trump has already signed declarations of emergency for both North and South Carolina.

Chamber of Commerce Construction Report Shows Confidence, Concern

The latest U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index (CCI) report shows contractors are still confident that they will find new business opportunities over the next 12 months, despite increasing concern over a lack of skilled workers.

According to the quarterly report, which is released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with USG, 51 percent of contractors are very confident they will receive new business in the next 12 months, with 47 percent saying they are moderately confident. About half predict their revenue will stay flat, while another 47 percent believe they will see revenue increase. Of the respondents that predicted an increase, 70 percent were from companies with revenue over $100 million.

While there seems to be little concern over new business, many respondents believe that finding skilled employees will be a struggle. 55 percent of respondents say they are “highly concerned” about the skill level of the workforce with 34 percent saying they are moderately concerned. More than half of the respondents, 58 percent, consider the lack of skill the top safety risk factor in the industry.

Kelly Blue Book Report Shows Increase in Average Transaction Price

A new report by Kelly Blue Book shows a year-over-year increase in the average transaction price for passenger vehicles, with prices up 1.8 percent from 2017.

According to the report, the average transaction price increased $643 from a year ago, reaching a $35,541 for August 2018. Prices stayed relatively level from month to month, with only a .1 increase from May. Honda vehicles led the way with a four percent year over year price increase and Nissan was the only major automaker to see the average price drop.

While most vehicle segments saw a small increase in average transaction price, subcompact SUVs and crossovers saw a small decrease, with prices dropping .6 percent.