The Innovators: Brake Tech Gauges Wear and Tear
B y Andrew Moore
Like all inventors Myron Graham developed his invention when he saw a problem and found a way to solve it. The trucking maintenance industry had a problem with changing out brakes.
Before Graham founded Brake Tech Tools in 2004, fleet maintenance workers had no way of knowing how much brake lining was left on their vehicles. "There was simply no cost-effective method of checking the brakes without disassembling them," Graham said.
Since removing the brakes to get an accurate measurement was time consuming, brakes were often automatically replaced after being removed for inspection. "This would happen," Graham said, "even though the brakes being replaced had gotten less than half of their potential usage."
This practice was extremely inefficient – wasting both time and money.
The other method besides early replacement was to have technicians "eye" the brakes. However, this practice, which was subject to human error, was very dangerous. According to Graham, "The old methods of measuring brake wear were simply guessing."
To solve this problem Graham invented a product line of gauges that check the wear on brakes. Using a small stainless-steel tool, maintenance workers can accurately measure how much lining is left on brakes.
"The gauges are easy to use," Graham said. "The Pocket Tech Gauge, one of our more popular products, is inserted between the brake lining pads. The technician simply slides the tool in until it stops and then reads the number that is marked adjacent to that step on the tool. This number indicates the amount of brake lining remaining."
By eliminating the human error involved in old brake replacement, Brake Tech Tools can save its clients considerably in time and materials while improving safety.
Brake Tech Tool’s first product was the "Fleet Gauge," which services trucking fleets for companies like U.S. Xpress and McKee Foods. The Fleet Gauge can accurately evaluate the brake drums on 18-wheelers and do so in seconds, a fraction of the time it would take technicians working without the gauge.
Brake Tech has increased its line of brake checking tools to over 12 for use on a variety of brake and vehicle types. These gauges are so effective that one customer saved over $300,000 the first year Brake Tech’s gauges were implemented in its maintenance program, Graham said. Brake Tech is the only producer of such gauges and holds the patent on Graham’s invention.
Brake Tech Tools is run by Graham and his wife Michelle, who is responsible for sales and marketing for the company. Together they have worked to grow Brake Tech over the last six years, even through the recession.
According to Michelle Graham, "We have not really been hit by the recession, probably because potential customers are looking for ways to cut costs both in time and materials, which is something that our products can help them achieve." |
