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Articles by Jake Schell
SkyPSI launches app to help independent drone operators find commercial cleaning contracts
Finding customers is one of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs entering traditional service industries. While established contractors often have sales teams, market intelligence, and dedicated estimators, independent operators frequently have to rely on personal networks and trial and error to secure their next contract.
How Shinichiro Nakamura is rewiring manufacturing’s approach to AI
Take a turn around a factory floor today, and you’ll find assembly lines studded with some of the world’s most sophisticated robotics operating inside digital architectures that haven’t fundamentally changed in decades. At the same time, however, manufacturers are trapped in what experts call a ‘value void,’ investing huge amounts of time and resources into technology but falling short on productivity returns.
The Work of a Truck Technician: Looks Like Magic, Built on Skill
For more than a few, the work repair technicians perform may be seen as magic. The truck ceases to operate as usual or quits functioning altogether. The truck goes into the shop with a problem, and in most cases, comes back out working properly. How the technician knew what to fix is of little concern. The customer is simply glad the technician resolved the problem. Perhaps even more telling, the customer expected that the truck’s problem would be corrected by the tech.
Tires and Trucks: Which Support Which?
Of course we have all heard the great philosophical question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? There is no simple straight forward answer to that question. Any answer provided—be it in defense of the chicken or the egg as the first—depends entirely upon the respondent’s perspective. We could even say “pullum ex nihilo” or “chicken out of nothing” or that the chicken evolved from something.
Uncovering the Root Cause: A Technician’s Approach to Lasting Repairs
When a driver brings a truck into the shop with a concern, the expectation is simple: identify the issue and offer a solution. How or why the problem occurred matters less than getting the truck back on the road. However, for the technician, understanding the cause behind the issue is essential for performing proper, lasting repairs.
How tool organization fuels efficient truck fleet repair
Skip to content Main Navigation Advertisement Social Connect Resources Our Brand Family Published: In the world of truck fleet repair, tools are as essential as books in a library. Just as public libraries rely on the Dewey Decimal System to organize books on the shelves, technicians depend on an organized toolbox to ensure they can locate the right tools quickly. The effectiveness of the Dewey Decimal System holds true—until a book is misplaced or stolen.
A closer look at Cox Automotive's strategic acquisitions
Skip to content Main Navigation Advertisement Social Connect Resources Our Brand Family Published: As fleets expand, managers face a host of new challenges—from maintaining equipment and managing staffing to taking on tasks previously handled elsewhere. The decision to grow a business often revolves around whether to expand internally or through acquisitions. A business acquisition provides an established element that can significantly reduce the uncertainties of a business expansion.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
Skip to content Main Navigation Advertisement Social Connect Resources Our Brand Family Published: Picture, if you will, your life flashing before your eyes. How could so many images take place in mere seconds as a disaster unfolds? Decades ago, while checking out a driveline vibration, I had a truck running on a fore and aft hoist. At a most inopportune moment, the right front support on the hoist decided to slide in, turning the solid four-point system into an unbalanced three-legged stool.
Embedded finance startup Infinant Acquires Figure Pay’s Card Processing Technology
Infinant, a banking technology provider enabling banks to launch alternative growth channels, announced today that it has completed a definitive agreement to purchase Figure Pay’s Card Processing Technology, built by Figure Technologies. The companies will also partner to deliver new card products for Figure Markets as well as Infinant’s banking partners, according to a company statement. Financial details and terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
Picture, if you will, a duck walking away at a rapid gate. Stepping with its flat webbed feet and legs that are clearly not designed for extensive land locomotion, the duck’s tail maintains a constant “waddle” (a moving from side to side) as the duck propels forward. If the duck happens to accelerate into what could be considered a run, the duck’s tail end appears to lose the clear waddle and transforms to a rapid shake or shimmy.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
With the warmer days, the winter clothing layers begin their journey back into the closet for hibernation. Spring cleaning for the fleet and shop ensures that equipment is in good working order for the challenges summer brings. Maybe a building project, held off over the winter, starts to take shape. Of course, we are not the only creatures to joyfully get motivated in the spring.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
The other day, a friend approached me with a question about the engine in their car. The issue was that the engine hadn’t consumed any oil since the last check. “How far have you driven since last checking the oil level?” I asked, aware of my friend’s fanatical approach to maintenance. “I’m not sure,” came the reply, “but it has been a long time.” As our conversation unfolded, it slowly came to light that the vehicle sat mostly parked for a few months due to holidays and winter illnesses.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
Skip to content Main Navigation Advertisement Social Connect Resources Our Brand Family With today’s trucks, there are a wide range of materials being used in engines, transmissions, axles, brakes, and other vehicle systems. These materials serve various purposes, from saving weight to improving performance, increasing strength, or handling higher temperatures.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
Skip to content Main Navigation Advertisement Social Connect Resources Our Brand Family A great ventriloquist possesses the ability to bring a dummy to life. Many people find either joy, or a hint of creepiness, in a ventriloquist carrying on a heated or humorous discussion with a wooden-jawed dummy with a personality of its own. More often than not, the dummy is rather insulting to the ventriloquist, who expertly employs a good dose of self-deprecating humor.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
Skip to content Main Navigation Advertisement Social Connect Resources Our Brand Family There are many potential hazards in a truck repair shop. Vehicles being moved in confined areas, heavy objects, sharp objects, chemicals, and technicians carrying out tasks account for a few areas where dangers exist and accidents happen. Quite frankly, the shop is like running through a minefield. For the inexperienced, the dangers may be hidden from view.
Enabling Economic Empowerment: Open Banking's Role in Bridging the Financial Divide for Gig Workers - 150sec
Featured Guest Author Riaz Syed is the CEO and Founder of Infinant. Typically, banks prefer predictable and stable customers. And yet, due to the sporadic nature of gig workers’ income, they don’t make for safe and reliable customers in the eyes of the bank. But with gig economy workers bringing in £20 billion each year in the UK alone and with the number of gig workers in Europe expected to reach 43 million by 2025, this viewpoint has started to change.
Worldcoin: Hype vs. Real-World Application - 150sec
Technology Worldcoin has generated a lot of attention lately, raised a lot of capital, and a lot of eyebrows across various countries and communities. According to CoinFund’s investment thesis, Worldcoin could onboard more than 1 billion new users to crypto, including a new segment of users from developing countries with poor access to finance. All of this sounds good on paper.
Disctopia and Semrush collaborate to launch Podcast Hosting App for podcast optimization
Disctopia, the podcast hosting and music streaming service for independent creators, recently announced a partnership with Semrush to expand the reach of podcast episodes with search engine optimization (SEO) through its Podcast Hosting application. According to a recent report, there are 464.7 million podcast listeners worldwide in 2023. This figure is expected to reach 504.9 million by 2024. This shows that podcasting is a growing part of many marketing strategies.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
Skip to content Main Navigation Advertisement Social Connect Resources Our Brand Family With each passing year, trucks and cars gain new features that enhance comfort and enjoyment for both the drivers and passengers. These improvements over the past decades have become so commonplace that we rarely give them a second thought.
Fintech Jifiti looks to disrupt business finance through new partnership with Tabit
Startups Fintechs are continuing to revolutionize the way transactions are conducted. These startups are challenging the industry status quo and reimagining the future of finance. In line with this trend, Tabit — a pioneer of the Buy Now, Pay Later payment methods for businesses — and Jifiti, a multinational embedded lending company, announced this week a new partnership to support businesses in Canada.
Marx's stance on Bitcoin: Exploring its potential for socialist goals
Technology “Changing the world, one Bitcoin at a time” is a mantra that fits into the picture of socialism, the greatest social experiment of the 20th century. But the question is, would Karl Marx, the father of socialism, embrace Bitcoin if he were to be alive today? It’s the year 1917. The Bolsheviks, by their thousands, are storming the Winter Palace with guns in their hands and a socialist ideology in their heads.
Slowing down for accurate electrical diagnoses: The importance of preliminary testing
Skip to content Main Navigation Advertisement Social Connect Resources Our Brand Family Moving work quickly and accurately through the shop remains a high priority for a successful operation. Scheduling, parts availability, service equipment and technician skill work need to happen in unison to maintain the high standards demanded in a professional shop. However, for technicians, the pressure to do more with less time and effort can lead to errors.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
Some 40 years ago, a much younger and less experienced version of me–along with another young classmate–were given an assignment in our community college diesel class to change the oil in a long out-of-service 1967 Mack cabover. Excited to finally get to work on a truck, we gathered the tools known in our automotive experience to change oil, in let’s say, a Chevy Chevelle.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
Loop a rubber band over the middle of two parallel pencils and start turning the pencils in opposite directions. As the pencils are twisted, potential energy is gathered in the rubber band. Let go of one or both pencils and the energy is now kinetic as the pencils flail about in a spectacular display of what people do when there is nothing else interesting going on.
Samaipata secures €7M funding round for Irish startup Nory, accelerating expansion across Europe - 150sec
Startups This article was originally published by Stefano De Marzo on Novobrief, an Espacio partner publication. Nory, an Irish startup that specializes in an artificial intelligence-based operating system for hospitality establishments, has raised €7 million in a recent financing round. The round was led by Samaipata, with participation from Triple Point Ventures, Playfair Capital, Circlerock, and Cavalry VC.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
The shop is a dangerous place. On top of that, the shop can also be an incredibly busy place. With that combination, there should be little surprise that the latter element, being busy, only helps to compound the dangers already present in the shop. On the other hand, it is not only hurry that leads to accidents, sometimes being lazy plays an even greater role. Well, for me being lazy is absolutely true.
Why the next startup stars of the old continent will come from Central and Eastern Europe?
Events Lately, there has been a lot of talk about how Central and Eastern European countries are attracting the attention of investors. According to Dealroom, CEE is one of the fastest-growing regions for VC funding in Europe, growing 7.6x since 2017.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
Skip to content Main Navigation Advertisement Social Connect Resources Our Brand Family The transformation often takes place gradually. The donning of sunglasses as the morning light glares above the horizon. Jackets hang ever longer on the coat rack. Snow melts and mud begins to dry. Spring has arrived and summer is nearly upon us. While the warmer weather is most likely a welcome relief for cold fingers and toes, it places fresh demands on vehicle systems previously coping with the cold.
Tech Companies Speak Out: UK's Online Safety Bill Threatens to Eradicate Secure Messaging Apps
Featured It is no news that technological advancements come loaded with data security and privacy concerns. I don’t think this is the first time we are witnessing Government(s) demand a “backdoor” undermining encrypted messaging protocols. The latest salvo where Meta-owned WhatsApp opposes the proposed UK’s Online Safety Bill(OSB) has once again fueled the decades-old encryption debate.
How this company is using VR & AR to enhance the age-old interior design business
The first interior decorators began appearing in the United States in the early 1900s, according to IDLNY, an association of interior designers in New York. As demand for the profession increased, and access to designers became easier for Americans across the country, interior design has ballooned to become a $26 billion industry that counts multiple trade associations as well as a whole ecosystem of businesses that feed into it.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Cliché? Well, yes, one would be hard-pressed to find a technician who does not hold a familiarity with that alleged truth. When first considered, the concept in the proverb makes good sense. Granted, the drive to improve vehicle operation has led to virtually thousands of innovations. Little chance exists that inquisitiveness will, or even should be, driven from the technical mind. But what about the “don’t fix it”?
Stage2 seeks industrial tech startups across Europe for its accelerator program
Featured This article was originally published by Bianca Damiano on Novobrief, an Espacio partner publication. Stage2, the Spanish accelerator for start-ups in the industrial space, is launching a new call for applications for its Barcelona-based technology-industrial acceleration program. The program is open to start-ups from all over Europe. The initiative aims to support start-ups in the pre-production phase.
Kuehne+Nagel uses Zeem Solutions’s electric-trucks-as-a-service model
Most of us have probably seen video clips of the annual Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, depicting images of high-strung bulls chasing several adventurous, or even crazy, people down a narrow street. The video typically concludes with the bull hooking some unlucky participant in the backside and pitching the individual up in the air like a rag-doll one or more times.
Fleet Equipment Magazine - Truck industry content for fleet owners and managers
Most of us have probably seen video clips of the annual Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, depicting images of high-strung bulls chasing several adventurous, or even crazy, people down a narrow street. The video typically concludes with the bull hooking some unlucky participant in the backside and pitching the individual up in the air like a rag-doll one or more times.
In a first, Colombian startup Wihom becomes an one-stop payments integrator for e-commerce in Latin America
Wihom, the Bogota-based fintech announced that it is making a foray to Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and the Caribbean. Founded in 2021, Wihom provides e-commerce accounting automation software for online retailers to aid with reconciliation and calculating commissions with a no-code set up.
A balancing act with tires
More years ago than I might care to admit – 44 years to tell the truth – I became aware of the independent repair shop near my home. As a sophomore in high school, the need for a future career lurked in my subconscious but being a mechanic was not in the embryonic plan. Nevertheless, when you are 15 years old, there exists an acute need for “spending money” to buy important stuff. So, the shop looked like a viable means to make a few bucks.
You're using text-to-speech wrong - 5 tips to make your audio more natural - 150sec
Opinions Timo P Kunz is Co-Founder and CEO of Aflorithmic – the AI-backed startup that enables automated and scalable audio production using synthetic media, voice cloning, and audio mastering Audio is becoming an increasingly core part of a brand’s marketing arsenal. Consumers already find voice ads less intrusive and more engaging than those they see on TV, in print and online.
10 European Healthtech Startups to Watch in 2023 - 150sec
Startups The dawn of the new decade in 2020 ensured that health and wellness never leaves the focus of our collective conscience. To say that the pandemic has forever altered our perception of wellbeing would be putting it mildly. And the numbers are there to prove it: The revenue in the healthcare segment was projected to reach $53 billion in 2022. By 2027, that will grow at 13 percent to $94 billion – a modest estimate, at best.
10 European Health & Wellness Startups to Watch in 2023 - 150sec
Startups The dawn of the new decade in 2020 ensured that health and wellness never leaves the focus of our collective conscience. To say that the pandemic has forever altered our perception of wellbeing would be putting it mildly. And the numbers are there to prove it: The revenue in the healthcare segment was projected to reach $53 billion in 2022. By 2027, that will grow at 13 percent to $94 billion – a modest estimate, at best.
Why’s & How’s: European Startups and the Passwordless Future - 150sec
Startups Passwords are on their way out, and new, simpler, faster, and more secure methods to log in to accounts are already well-established and are gaining momentum. Recently, Paypal, Microsoft, Apple, and Google all switched to passkeys, ending the long-ruling reign of passwords. All technology companies and organizations are expected to follow the big tech trend.
Equal play, equal power: All-women teams selected for ISDI Start accelerator program - StartUp Beat
These startups will be accepted into the ISDI Start incubator, an intensive program designed to commercialize their ideas and launch them to market. Can you venture a guess for how much the global wealth would increase if women had a greater role in the economy, working in paid jobs and earning equal wages as men? $160 trillion. That’s a rough estimate from four years ago – where that would stand now can be an easy guess given that women form 67 percent of the total European workforce.
When lubricating truck hub bearings think like a Dippy Bird
Not long ago, someone asked how I come up with ideas for these articles. How exciting it would be if I could claim the topics rolled from my mind because of vast personal technical knowledge and experience. Granted, to a degree the article ideas are the result of some 40 years in the industry. Nevertheless, the story ideas generally have their origin in the things I see during an otherwise typical day. Click Here to Read More For example, the Dippy Bird.
Removing security locks can be frustrating. For example: Lunch time!
I grab the bread and begin to unwind the bag twist tie only to discover it grows tighter. Maybe the wire in the tie got knotted together? Or maybe someone thought twisting the tie 50 times would be funny. Am I tightening the tie instead of loosening it? Turning the tie counter-clockwise to the left should be releasing the miserable piece of wire. Click Here to Read More But wait! The tie is getting more twisted, not less.
A hospitable approach to truck maintenance
As summer draws towards a close, many of us are anticipating those final, enjoyable outside gatherings before the weather changes. Preparing for these events will include a list of those who we hope invite. Getting ignored or left out from a party can leave some a bit miffed, which does not help for lasting relationships. Being hospitable takes a bit of effort.
Keeping truck tires cool in the heat of summer
As a kid, you’ve probably experienced the adventure of crossing over the hot pavement during the summer months. Walking on one’s heals in a rapid penguin shuffle is a common approach to surviving the journey. In those desperate times, sitting on the ground with your feet temporarily lifted off the scorching ground provides a brief respite–at least until other less toughened areas insist on action to move on.
A Common sense approach to prevent tool loss
Looking through engine service information recently, a caution statement to “remove all tools after work is completed” brought about a reflection of loss, namely the loss of hand-tools. No technician wants to lose any tools. Not only are tools expensive, the tech depends on them to get the job done. Click Here to Read More Nevertheless, when working on vehicles, somehow tools get lost from time-to-time.
Truck service to smooth out a harsh truck ride
Those yellow rubber bumps on the curbside of a grocery store can be annoying, but they’re there to let the visually impaired know where the sidewalk ends and the roadway begins. These bumps can also serve as shoe scrapers, decorative talking points, or shopping cart speed bumps for shoppers in a rush. The bumps can be great fun for kids riding in the shopping cart–there’s nothing like a bone-jarring ride to bring out giggles and excitement in the kids.
Getting back to the basics with truck maintenance data points
My wife, Janet, loves to count lines contained in road sign letters. This is a habit instituted by her grandmother during long road trips, no doubt to occupy the time of an energetic and bored young girl. How she determines what constitutes a line in each letter remains an analytical metric that continues to escape my comprehension.
20 European AI Innovators to Watch in 2022 - 150sec
Uncategorized It is expected that over the next few decades, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will transform economies and impact human life in ways that we are only beginning to understand. European enterprises across industries – from education, to logistics, to finance, to healthcare – are innovating with technologies like AI, machine learning (ML), and robotics to attract venture capitalists’ interest and help accelerate the rapid evolution of the tech industry.
Chicago's South Side: Quantum tech's great migration to the 'Silicon Prairie'
With a slew of regional resources, large-scale investments, a devoted accelerator, and a bustling community of startups, the Windy City is winding up to become a national hub for quantum technology. In stark contrast to just $977 million from three venture capital funds in 2016, Chicago is now home to 17 venture capital funds, who raised a combined total of $7.42 billion in 2021. As a result, there are now 26 Chicago-based companies valued at over $1 billion, an increase from just eight in 2016.
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