We understand the power that information can hold for our customers, which is why our experts at SCL work to share the latest in trends, safety and compliance and a number of other topics on our blog. Please explore the latest entries below or search for articles by topic.
Leer en Español Read in EnglishChina Recently Placed 25% Oil Tariffs on U.S. Oil Products In response the the $16 billion in tariffs that President Donald Trump placed on Chinese imports, the People’s Republic is responding with a 25% tariff to be placed on U.S. goods – most notably, oil tariffs. Despite talks between U.S.... Read More +
Protect Your Physical Assets with Reliability-Centered Maintenance Programs Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) is an engineering framework that allows for the creation of a complete maintenance regimen for your physical assets to understand the overall level of risk being managed by an organization. The idea of Reliability-Centered Maintenance Programs has been around since the... Read More +
Leer en EspañolLook for Our “Leer en Español” Links on All Future Posts To serve all of our customers and the many industries that we cater to in the best manner possible, moving forward SCL will be publishing articles in our “Expert Insight” section of our Blog translated into Spanish as well as... Read More +
Leer en EspañolMassive Driver Shortages in the Trucking Industry According to a report by Axios, there are many industries in the United States that are having a tough time filling critical employment roles, such as construction workers, farmers, truck drivers and first responders. Despite good pay and benefits, there is a giant... Read More +
Leer en EspañolUber Self-Driving Trucks Division is No Longer In March of this year we wrote an Expert Insight piece on the rise of Uber Freight and their desire to expand the cutting edge use of autonomous vehicle technology. It was believed that this would drastically disrupt the trucking industry, and was... Read More +
Leer en EspañolThe New API SN PLUS Formulation and Why You Should Care When it comes to turbocharged engines, it’s all about performance, which is why automakers are spearheading the newest supplemental motor oil specification – API SN PLUS – to protect against Low-Speed-Pre-Ignition (LSPI) – a condition found within Turbocharged Gasoline... Read More +
A Clean Sump Prevents Bacterial and Fungal Growth in Coolant When it comes to machining, maintaining sump chemistry through sump tank management is essential to the health and well-being of employees, the protection of expensive equipment and the integrity of manufactured products. A sump basin and associated pump are used... Read More +
Food Grade Lubrication – Not All Products Are Created Equal When dealing with manufacturing or packaging products that require food grade lubrication, it is essential to be conscious of what greases, degreasers, cleaners, seamers, etc that you may be using in your warehouse or facility because public health and safety... Read More +
Leer en EspañolInnovative and Sustainable Fluid Solutions For some of the world’s most reputable names and brands – Rolls Royce, NASA, and Boeing – only the best will do, which is why they choose Houghton International fluid technology to meet their industrial needs. Based in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Houghton is involved with the... Read More +
Leer en EspañolHow Does Oil Actually Affect Your Bottom Line? With the ever increasing cost of running a business, companies will do anything to increase savings to their bottom line. When the cost of lubricants goes up – and it will – fleet managers often think that by changing their oil provider... Read More +
Leer en EspañolNations Around the World Are Working Together to Minimize the Effects of Carbon Emissions What is Global Decarbonization Simply put, decarbonization is the removal of carbon from a system… whether that be your engine or the atmosphere. Why does this matter? Many scientists, economists, politicians and citizens around the world... Read More +
Leer en EspañolMany Applications Require Biobased Lubricants What Are Biodegradable Lubricants Biodegradable lubricants have molecular structures with the capacity to degrade biologically over time thru the processes of bacterial decomposition or by the enzymatic biodegradation of other living organisms such as yeast, protozoans and fungi. These biodegradable bases are often derived from... Read More +
Leer en EspañolWill Your Team be Prepared for an OSHA Review? As a business owner or manager, understanding that your business is subject to both routine and unexpected OSHA inspections is important, and having a plan in place to keep your team prepared will support you in avoiding costly fines. OSHA stands... Read More +
Leer en EspañolKeep Your Facility Compliant What is Title 22 Title 22, part 66265.192 and 66265.193 are 2 parts of an official code of regulation within the state of California that outlines specific parameters for properly labeling, storing and removing used oil and oil filters. It is an assessment of existing tanks... Read More +
Oil Marketers Brace Themselves for Lubricant Price Increases Recently we received notification from some of our major and private label oil manufacturers that a 3rd round of lubricant price increases for finished lubricants are coming, beginning July and August of 2018. Notifications continue to trickle in, but as of... Read More +
Leer en EspañolSkimmer Fraud on the Rise at California Cardlock Stations An industry alert recently submitted by the California Independent Oil Marketers Association (CIOMA) highlighted a rising trend in skimmer fraud at Cardlock terminals across California. As we explored in a previous SCL Expert Insight post, skimmers are “small card readers installed within... Read More +
Mobil-branded Delvac 1300 Super 15W-40 Under Fire Historically, major players in the Big Oil arena have refrained from taking shots at one another, maintaining a relatively cordial level of competition. But recently two industry giants took aim at one another – Shell and ExxonMobil – over heavy duty diesel engine... Read More +
Understanding Your Cooling System Your cooling system is essential to the overall health and well-being of your engine, especially during warmer temperatures, and vehicles produce a significant amount of heat during operation. They need to be regularly cooled in order to avoid overheating and other forms of engine damage. Your... Read More +
The differences Between CFN, Cardlock Cards and Credit Cards It’s plastic, it has a mag strip, it may even have a chip, so what is the difference between your credit cards, CFN and cardlock cards? Here at SCL we have encountered more than once a situation where a fleet manager gets caught... Read More +
What Is Lidar Technology By now you have most likely heard the word Lidar, an acronym for light detection and ranging and based on the combined words “light” and “radar.” Lidar technology is a growing surveying technology that measures the distance between a central point and a target by pulsing a... Read More +
Exception Reporting Ensures That Your Drivers Are Adhering to Internal Policies and Procedures What is an Exception Report An exception report is an internal document that points out instances and circumstances where performance deviated from previously defined parameters or expectations. Exception reports aggregate unusual conditions and alert management of activity... Read More +
A Conversation with Troy Hudson on the Importance of Regular Oil Analysis Here’s a new word for you – TRIBOLOGY – the science and engineering of interacting surfaces in relative motion that includes the study and application of the principles of friction, lubrication and wear. An important science when it comes to... Read More +
With an ever widening spectrum of eco-friendly products from Olympus Green to BioTuff, SCL has what you need If you’re a business owner, organization or governmental agency operating within the state of California, you’re most likely no stranger to the stringent environmental regulations that many industries face. Whether you’re in... Read More +
Maximum Equipment Protection with Reliable, Repeatable Results The industrial fabrication of items is essential to the world we live in, whether referring to the smallest and most finely honed surgical implement to the mass production of automobiles. Industrial fabrication refers to the manipulation of metal structures by force of cutting,... Read More +
An Interview with Bob Greider of Greider Precision When it comes to building high tech components and equipment, precision manufacturing matters, and if anyone can stand by that claim it is Bob Greider of Greider Precision. For the past 40 years he and his wife Virginia have manufactured specialized components... Read More +
In a previous SCL article, California Fuel Tax Increase, we spoke with SC Fuels Tax Manager, Royd Baik about the impacts of Senate Bill 1, also referred to as SB1 – The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. Last year SB1 proposed a $0.12 per gallon excise tax increase... Read More +
Understanding the Potential Benefits and Limitations of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Hydrogen fuel cell technology refers to machinery and vehicles that use hydrogen as a primary source of power, converting the chemical energy of hydrogen into available mechanical energy by reacting hydrogen with oxygen. On the market today there are... Read More +
Transparency and Clarity with a Driver Fuel Policy Fleet management is complex with a lot of moving parts, so at SCL we implement a driver fuel policy for each employee in regards to CFN usage that keeps managers and drivers on the same page. With full transparency and clarity around... Read More +
Carbon – The King of Elements The element carbon – number 14 on the periodic table – is the 15th most abundant element on planet Earth and the fourth most abundant element within the universe next to hydrogen, helium and oxygen. Derived from the Latin word carbo, meaning “coal,” carbon... Read More +
According to energy.gov, shale energy development is one of the fastest growing trends in US domestic energy exploration and production, and the American Fuel and Chemical Manufacturers (AFPM) state that “The shale energy revolution has resulted in a dramatic change in energy production in the US. Today, an unprecedented supply and... Read More +
