Looking for a Career? Think Diesel

by Jim Knowles, Managing Editor of the San Leandro Times

The following article, which ran in the San Leandro Times on March 21, provides a number of reasons why a career in diesel would be worth pursing for a motivated student.

When Clint graduates from college he won’t have to wait around for the economy to recover. Most likely, if he studies and learns his stuff in the one- or two-year program, there will be a job waiting for him - a job that pays better than most recent college grads can expect. Clint is going to diesel college. The current high school student will go to Universal Technical Institute (UTI) in Sacramento in June to learn to be a diesel technician.

“I graduate from high school on June 13 and I start at UTI in June,” said Clint, a driven young man who works two jobs while going to high school and hopes to buy his mom a house someday. Clint and around thirty other students came to a career day on Saturday, March 9, at Peterson Cat in San Leandro, a joint program by Peterson and UTI to show students the opportunities open to them in diesel mechanics.

Several of Peterson’s mechanics were on-hand to speak and answer questions and talk honestly about the field, both the good and the bad. It’s tough work that isn’t for everybody, but a hard-working mechanic not only is well paid, he can get lots of overtime and travel—a lot of jobs are in Antarctica, Alaska, Guam, and around the South Pacific: remote places that need diesels to run generators for electricity.

“This day and age it’s all about electricity,” Peterson Trucks Service Manager Ted Fleming told the students. “All backup electricity runs off generators. If you want to work hard, you got a job.” Right here in the Bay Area, a lot of businesses need backup generators run by diesels: hospitals, TV and radio stations, supermarkets, and computer Companies... Any operation that can’t afford to lose power.

“Not all the diesels come into the shop in trucks and tractors. Diesel mechanics have to go where the generators are—on the tops of buildings, for instance—to do what they call field work, which means plenty of overtime.

“There’s a need for mechanics right now, and that will only grow in the future,” Fleming said. “As the economy comes back, there will be a huge demand for people in this industry.”

And diesel mechanics isn’t an old-fashioned occupation. It’s as computerized as any field these days. The first thing a technician does is hook up a computer to the diesel. Industrial-strength Dell laptops are on stands all around Peterson’s shop, ready for use. “The technology is always advancing, so you’re constantly going to school to learn each new technology that comes out,” Fleming told the students. “Mechanics have to know how to figure it out on their own, to diagnose the problem and fix it,” said Joseph Junta, a technician at Peterson.

Junta later led a group through the shop, where truck and tour buses sat waiting to have their engines pulled out and repaired. All the new diesels are equipped with special filters to reduce emissions. The filters are then healed to bum off the particles, Junta explained. Of course, these new filters have problems and need repairs, but that’s more work for diesel technicians.

“The pay is hourly, not a flat rate for each job, so there is no incentive to rush or cut comers; it’s more important to do the job right,” Junta told the students. “The job is a combination of working with everybody as a team and being able to solve it on your own,” he said. Junta said he did well by taking the jobs that nobody else wanted to do. Repairing RVs is tough because the engines are hard to get to, and the owners don’t want the inside of their vehicles to get dirty. So Junta said he volunteered to take every RV that came in. “I decided to take the jobs nobody else wanted and that paid off,” Junta said.

To learn more about pursuing a job with Peterson, visit http://www.petersoncat.com/employment.

Peterson Power Helps Work Boats Meet California Emissions Requirements

Replacing the prime engine in a seafaring vessel to meet modern emissions laws can be a major challenge. Clearances inside a ship’s hull are cramped in the best of circumstances and almost unbearably tight in the worst, so replacing an outdated engine can seem near impossible. However, Peterson marine customers using Cat 3500 series engines have an additional option: they can purchase an Emissions Upgrade Group (EUG) parts kit and have Peterson Power Systems install it for them... Without removing their old engines!
 
Marine Engine PSSR Randy Richter describes the benefits of EUG kits: “Putting a new engine in an old ship requires major changes to the ship’s hull,” Randy says. “Caterpillar knew its customers weren’t thrilled about this, so their engineers analyzed certain popular engines to determine which parts they could swap to lower the engine’s emissions output without changing the core.” Eventually, Caterpillar came up with EUG kits: each one includes an upgraded turbocharger, ECM, nozzles, cylinder packs... Everything needed to make an older engine run as clean as a new one.
 
“When all the new components are installed, the old engine meets today’s requirements. The customer doesn’t have to take his vessel out of the water, get the hull cut, and have the old engine removed to fit an engine with a different footprint than the one it replaces,” Randy explains.
 
Caterpillar makes EUG kits for several engine models, and they’ve been verified by the Air Resource Board (ARB), meaning that the State recognizes them as emissions reducers and considers a post-EUG engine to be Tier compliant.
 
Peterson recently finished the first EUG overhauls in North America to be completed without direct supervision from Caterpillar. “Cat engineers have been working with dealers pretty closely on these overhauls for the past year or two,” Randy said, “but we’re now at the point where they trust us to do everything correctly and we can offer this valuable service to our customers—they’ve been waiting for this service for a while now and are excited to overhaul their engines.”
 
To learn more about Peterson Power’s marine service capabilities, visit: http://goo.gl/cdQo1

Peterson Power a Complete Emissions Solution Provider

Adhering to California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations can be complicated, especially when different regulations apply to different types of equipment. But from standby power generators to off-road tractors, businesses are required to implement approved emissions solutions on the majority of their diesel engines.

Peterson Power Systems is available not only to help customers understand current CARB requirements, we can also deliver an emissions solution that's right for your equipment, even if it means building it from scratch. Peterson engineers recently designed, built and installed a customized diesel particulate filter (DPF) for a customer with a standby power generation system.

The DPF was constructed on a skid, then delivered to the customer via truck. This allowed a team to perform minimal installation work on site.

For pictures of the installation, visit our Pinterest board at http://pinterest.com/petersoncat/power-systems/

For information on emissions solutions for stationary engines, dial 800.963.6446 and ask our receptionist to direct your call. 

Peterson Will Host CA Air Resource Board Training Courses on April 17.

Understanding CA emissions regulations for stationary engines can be a challenge, and some facilities managers and other industry professionals have difficulty determining the emissions solution that is right for their equipment.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) offers courses intended to clarify these rules and regulations so that facilities can select the most appropriate solution. Peterson will be hosting two of these courses on April 17.

The below courses offered by CARB will be held on April 17 at:
Peterson University
2700 Teagarden Street
San Leandro, CA 94577

Attendees are asked to register prior to the course at http://www.arb.ca.gov/training/courses.htm or by calling (916) 322-3937.

8:30am - 12pm: Course 304

Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine (RICE) National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) & Standards of Performance for Stationary Internal Combustion Engines (New Source Performance Standards (NSPS))

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued rules that reduce emissions of criteria and air toxic pollutants from stationary internal combustion engines. These engines are used at facilities such as power plants and chemical and manufacturing plants to generate electricity and power pumps and compressors. They are also used in emergencies to produce electricity and pump water for flood and fire control. This training will include an overview of both RICE NESHAP and NSPS rules.


1:30pm - 5pm: Course 301
Air Toxic Control Measures (ATCM) for Stationary Compression Ignition (Diesel) Engines

This half day course provides information regarding the State of California's Airborne Toxic Control Measure (ATCM) for Stationary Compression Ignition Engines. This ATCM, which applies to stationary diesel engines used in both non-agricultural and agricultural operations, is resulting in a reduction in the emissions of and exposure to diesel PM from stationary diesel engines throughout California.

Free Webinar from Diesel Technology Forum

Facilities managers and professionals interested in learning more about the role of emergency power generators in emergency preparedness are invited to attend the following free webinar on March 18:

WEBINAR SERIES
Preserving Public Safety:  Role of Backup Generators in Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief and Recovery

Interruptions of electrical power, even of short duration, create situations that imperil public health and safety.  Emergency generators must be able to provide reliable, immediate and full strength electric power when there is a failure of the primary power supply system.  This free webinar will provide an understanding of the basic issues surrounding the use of emergency backup power systems, technology and fuel choices, operating conditions, and case studies.  

Speakers will include representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center (HITRAC) and leading product, system and field experts representing Caterpillar and Cummins Power Generation.

When?  Monday, March 18 from 11:00-12:30 pm (PST).

Who should attend?  Federal, state and local policymakers; elected officials; emergency planners; property managers; business owners; and media.

What will this webinar address?
What technologies are available to provide emergency backup electrical power?
What are the differences between technologies?
What are the limitations on use of each of these technologies?
What lessons have we learned in the recent Superstorm Sandy about backup generators?

Register now - there is no registration fee but space is limited!

Profile of a Peterson Cat Ag Customer

When most people think Cat equipment, they think big iron, big jobs, and big diesel engines—all things that are typically associate with the construction industry. But the modern Ag business has no shortage of high-powered gear, and any farmer can tell you that their industry is every bit as stressful and labor-intensive as those of the contractors, loggers, and utilities Peterson Cat also serves. One Peterson customer, Mark, is a grass seed farmer in our Oregon territory, and he provides an excellent example of how complex a modern farm can be.

Mark farms about five thousand acres in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, between Eugene and Albany. He owns some of this land, and he rents the rest. That is a fairly large farm by our standards, but larger operations do exist. Mark is responsible for seeding, growing, and harvesting this acreage, and he uses several pieces of heavy-duty gear from Caterpillar-allied brands to do it: four Lexion combines, a Challenger 900-series high-horsepower articulated tractor, and various seeding and tillage tools and rental tractors. Growing grass seed is a very equipment-driven business.

The farming business is cyclical. Mark’s work goes on year-round, and follows a rhythm that predates all other human invention, even in our age of high-tech wonders: If we were to start observing Mark’s operation a few months ago, in October, we’d get to see what can be thought of as the beginning of the planting cycle—planting the seeds for the 2013 crop. Mark seeds his fields in the fall, and when the rain starts—typically late October or early November—he’ll check their drainage. If everything looks good, he’ll give the field a shot of fertilizer and a spray of pesticide and weed control using equipment like AgChem, Spracoupe, or Rogator spraying gear.

Winter on the farm is spent applying additional fertilizer and spraying for pests. Mark must rely on decent weather, since too much rain will make it impossible to fertilize his field. If the water table is more than six inches below the surface, Mark can’t properly apply fertilizer. The ag business has many gambles like this. Farmers must rely on the weather for everything they do, and as everyone knows, you can’t count on the weather to do anything reliably!

Things really heat up on Mark’s farm in spring; he and his crew begin prepping equipment for the busy summer season. In June, when the crop is at the proper point in its growth and pollenization cycle, they begin harvest by cutting their grass crop with a windrower, a self-propelled machine that cuts the grass and leaves it piles in rows (Mark operates eight windrowers). Mark and his team, mostly family, will work day-and-night to mow the crop, which will then spend approximately ten days drying on the ground.

When the cut grass is dry, Mark’s team will harvest the seed—the crop he sells for his living—using Lexion combines, the enormous Cat-powered devices that separate the seed from the chaff (the dried grass stems and leaves). Mark’s team will typically spend about sixty days harvesting; as the combines fills with grass seed, the chaff they discard is accumulated in the field, where is later baled using a Massey Ferguson MF2170 or Challenger LB34B large square baler—these pressed bales of hay will eventually be sold overseas as feed filler for livestock and other feed demands.

When Mark has harvested all of the year’s grass seed, he cleans the crop and processes and bags it for sale; at this point, Mark’s attention returns to his fields, which must be prepped for the next year. The ground work begins immediately after the harvest. Mark uses a high-horsepower tractor—in this case, a Challenger MT955D—to pull an implement called a disc that aerates the soil and drives the remaining chaff into the earth to form mulch. He then switches implements and pulls a finishing tool called a heavy harrow through the soil to break up clods of dirt and further prep the soil. All told, he’ll go over the field five or six times, and by the time he finishes, it’s once again fall and time for the cycle to begin anew.”

The cyclical nature of the ag business makes it a high-stakes gamble: Mark and his team seed his fields months before they know what kind of money they’ll make from the crop. Commodity prices are uncertain; the weather could do just about anything…Mark’s business is highly dependant on a number of factors outside his control. That’s why farmers in general demand quality from their equipment and reliable service—they don’t need any more variables that could go wrong.

Reducing Energy Costs with Cogeneration

As the technology for small-scale, onsite cogeneration plants continues to improve, many companies are finding that combined heat and power (CHP) solutions are a viable option for offsetting high, unpredictable energy costs. When engineered and implemented correctly, a CHP system not only reduces the prices associated with buying energy from a utility, it provides a level of redundancy that can protect a facility from unnecessary downtime.

Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of heat and power from a single fuel source. A company can use the natural gas it would be using to supply its facility’s thermal load and use that gas instead to power a generator set. Waste heat from the generator’s engine jacket and exhaust stream (which would be allowed to dissipate in a traditional power generation system) can be captured and diverted to supply the facility’s thermal load.

By generating a portion of their electricity onsite and capturing waste heat, some facilities can achieve a significant reduction in their power costs with no substantial increase in natural gas consumption.

To read more about cogeneration, take a look at Martin Hopkins’s white paper at http://goo.gl/uZMxL.