Problem solving and innovation go hand in hand, and no one knows this better than Tom Dravis, the inventor of a concept for removing snow from the top of a truck trailer while it’s still in the truck yard, so That when I go down the road that snow won. Don’t come off the top and kill someone or cause a car accident or death. Specifically, this has occurred and there have been serious accidents and deaths in the state of Ohio during the winter.
That’s pretty unfortunate considering truck speeds in Ohio are only 55 mph and enforcement for truck drivers is so intense that many simply avoid the state entirely while hauling cargo coast to coast. Now, when I talked to Tom Dravis and he told me his idea, neither of us knew that there was already a patent for such a device. Still, after we reconfigured his innovation and then found that patent, we realized that the previous inventor’s concept wasn’t as robust or capable as the one we designed.
When Tom Dravis first mentioned the idea and asked what I thought, since I was previously in the fleet truck wash business and knew a thing or two about business innovation, I said yes; “That’s a good idea, Tom, very well thought out.” Then I explained how he would design such an invention. He would design and engineer it as a fixed unit that would work where the truck would go under, say 1-2mph, and snow would be pushed off the top. The system scraper could be hinged to be able to accommodate trucks of different heights, since most standard trailers across the highway are very similar in height. [speaking of USA] and within really a foot of difference is all.
The problem I see is with the ice, it can really freeze in there pretty hard and truck trailers aren’t that sturdy between frame pieces often enough. Not all of them are built like brick latrines, as piggybacking shipping containers are. I think in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia the cars are smaller so a sheet of ice could destroy a car and kill the passengers whereas in the US the car could take the hit, but it would stay mild to extreme. cosmetic damage [thinking of insurance companies, as Tom did].
Tom said that; “I’m with you on the scraper and different heights of equipment,” and then he explained his design to me. So I said; “Okay, but maybe, you’d need a few rollers up front to crush and break up the ice a bit, then it would come off, because when ice is that hard, sometimes it’s as hard as the shell itself, it’s really amazing. The rollers advance vibrators could do this, so follow your concept?” You see, it would be my argument that this entire system should be in a cradle, where the cradle was supported by 6-8 double bars, and the cradle held the implements, which would include;
- A rubber coated scraper,
- roller skates,
- ice Scraper,
- Counter rotating brushes.
The pins holding the cradle would be large, 2 inches in diameter, similar to the giant pins used for trailer farm implements. The rubber coated scraper would come first in the series and would be prevented by the thief from damaging the fiberglass air dam at the front of trailers or the refrigeration unit housing and assembly for refrigerated trailers. The rollers would move and roll alone bouncing and vibrating breaking the eyes and while they move they would be connected to the brushes with tears that would rotate them in the opposite direction, therefore you would not need motors, hydraulics or anything. which could break and cause murphyism.
Since snow accumulation can be quite heavy, the assembly would need to be quite heavy, and its weight would aid in the snow and ice removal process. This means that the system that supports it would have to be built with a heavy steel frame in mind. Therefore, the concept of bolting it to an existing truck wash assembly may not always be possible depending on the make.
So it may need to be a freestanding unit but to save space it would be placed at the front of a truck wash. If you wanted to wash the truck when you’re done removing ice and snow from the top of the trailer, you could do so, or the truck wash kit could idle and just drive a truck after removing snow.
The first blade would have to be at an angle, otherwise it would put all the snow on top of the trailer behind the trailer itself, thus blocking the driveway for the next passing trailer. The last sheet should be slightly angled to the opposite side so that too much snow does not accumulate on any one side.
We must remember that this snow may not melt for several weeks during the harsh winter season and there would be snow all over the parking lot. It might make sense to have specks on either side of the unit, although it wouldn’t be able to handle all the ice and snow, if it got hot it could quickly melt and the heights of these specks could be funneled into the truck wash recovery system. this would mean that it would comply with the NPDES permits for the area.
If you’ve ever climbed on top of a US truck trailer, you’ll see that not all are created equal, so your system would need to be robust, but somewhat careful not to damage yourself, therefore , your hydraulic system would need to be set up correctly. Too much force bends and damages the trailer, too little force scrapes things loose but the ice sheet is still there solid until it wiggles and vibrates loose after 20-50 miles and the air gets under it and takes it all away once in big chunks, and with more cars behind trucks these days to save fuel, they’re in exactly the wrong place, with no time to react.
So if you had these rollers in front of Tom’s system vibrating, breaking the ice, you could be simulating road bouncing for the first 20 to 50 miles of driving to help loosen it up. If you use a hot steam spray, with a scraper blade of extremely firm but non-marring material, this might work. If you use alcohol like to defrost a plane, that could damage the decals and logos, unless you also rinse the truck, so it might make sense to use an automatic truck wash system.
Tom Dravis, noted that he would not be opposed to working in conjunction with truck washes or other services where it makes sense. So Tom could connect his system to the front of a crossbar at the entrance of a truck wash system that’s already in the yards, mount it to that kind of frame. However, make a box frame where the truck went through? 7 1/2 feet wide, 15 feet high, 15 feet long? Mount it before the truck wash, even if you didn’t wash the truck, the installation is already there, and if you washed the truck, would you already have the ice?
Mr. Dravis said he liked “the idea of it being an accessory” and that this would be one way to proceed with that concept. In fact, however, he does note that the truck wash equipment industry has its own set of distributors and suppliers, and they have the customer list you’ll need. In addition, they have had a very hard time during the last two years due to the consequences in the transport sector after the economic crisis. They’re looking for a job right now, this would hit the spot for them.
They would also have contacts for financing and leasing companies for smaller trucking companies. And they could also install these units without a problem, after all it was much simpler than a truck wash. Does it make sense for carriers to pay a price of $5-8 at a truck stop? And there are many trucking companies that would want such a system in their truck yards or would pay for snow removal at truck stops. Companies like; JB Hunt, Swift, Covenant, Fed Ex, Yellow-Roadway, UPS, Schiender, Werner, Conway, etc. all good leads, although right now it can be hard to try to sell them just about anything unless you can get a wink from their insurance companies to reduce premiums by 1% if they installed these systems in their truck yards?
And what about Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Frito Lays, etc. distributors And all companies that transport their own products and distribution; Wal-Mart, supermarket chains, specialty retailers, food franchises, etc. Heck, doesn’t even the US Post Office want their vendors dumping ice? And as you mentioned Toll Highways before, maybe some 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 roads and their approach to security? You see, I think if you had a major turnpike in the United States for this, like the Pennsylvania turnpike system, you’d have a huge coup, because no Department of Transportation or government agency wants to be held accountable. in the media for the killing of motorists, in them they maintain and control the road.
The cost per unit for a carrier in a large terminal and truck yard of $4-5 makes sense. And could be connected to the truck wash system in the yard. Amortized over the life of the equipment and the costs of installation, maintenance (should be relatively limited if you keep it simple), and chemicals if used.
Also, consider the buses too, I remember one of our transportation services cleaning companies dealt with snow problems on the buses. That’s a big problem too; in the US we have Greyhound, tour buses, big cities with buses, liability is a serious issue, of course you would need a rounded scraper blade to suit the surface as it would not be a totally flat surface, but still so they have the same problem with ice chips, even school buses. And with the arrival of Global Cooling and the Ice Age imminent, could you have a big business in the future all over the world?
Now, when you have a good concept or invention like Tom Dravis, what is the next step after having identified the need, the client and the market? Well, this is what I have to say about it. The next step should be:
First, we should probably discuss this in more detail and get a pretty good idea of what early prototypes should look like. Then compile some sketches and discuss them, we can do it online. Then you might suggest that we do a 3-5 page mini business plan, which would include the cost of building a prototype, marketing, target customers, finished product liability insurance costs, and the seasonality of when to launch the business, for example. example. it may be too late this year because by the time I finish it it won’t be a problem anymore so it will be harder to sell to end users.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this week’s business innovation case study. If you are interested in investing in Tom Dravis’ concept, please contact him in Ohio, because I think this concept is a winner. Please think about it.