• The case study could have ended differently if the company had better records, more frequent maintenance, better accident follow-up, more complete inspections, better violation reporting, and better driver and technician training.

How could the maintenance case study have ended differently?

• Better records — If the carrier had been keeping better records of repairs and maintenance and was able to see that the brakes on the truck were continually being readjusted but no other repairs were being performed, it could have triggered a more complete check of the vehicle’s brakes.
• More frequent maintenance — The carrier was faulted for not having a regular inspection and maintenance program. If the carrier would have been using a more aggressive maintenance schedule (seeing the truck more often than they were) the accident could have been avoided.
• Accident follow up — Had the carrier followed up after the accident three days prior when the brakes did not hold, the brake problems could have easily been detected. It is a policy at many companies that any vehicle involved in an accident must undergo a maintenance inspection ASAP. This is done to check for hidden damage and to locate vehicle problems that could lead to future accidents of the same type.
• More complete inspections — If the carrier had used a more complete inspection checklist and better procedures, the worn clevises and pins could have been located. Locating and replacing the worn clevises and pins would have brought the brakes back into complete operation.
• Violation reporting — If the carrier would have had a policy that drivers must report all roadside violations to the maintenance department, who then verified that everything had been corrected, the maintenance department might have been able to locate the defective parts.
• Driver and technician training — If the technicians involved had been better trained on the basics of air brakes, in particular the basics of automatic slack adjusters, they could have detected and corrected the problem with the pins and clevises well before any accidents occurred. If the driver had been correctly trained on vehicle inspections, the driver would have spotted the worn clevises and pins, or noticed poor brake performance, and reported the problem to the maintenance department for repair.