Real Answers Technically Speaking

Technology gurus tend to divide technology users into groups. There are the “innovators,” always demanding, always trying something new; the “early adopters,” those quick to see the benefits of technology; “late adopters,” who tend to follow the lead of others; and “laggards,” who won’t get involved until they have to. Regardless of where you might be on that scale, Bridgestone has some information technology tools for every truck fleet, large or small. In the next few pages, we’ll look at some that might interest you.

What kind of technology
are you suggesting?
Let’s start with what’s available on the Internet, at www.trucktires.com
Instead of searching your office for a dog-eared data book that someone else borrowed and didn’t return, you can find it at the end of your fingertips, on your desktop.

This link will provide you with complete product information, technical bulletins, load and inflation tables, together with a whole section on rim and wheel safety.

There are articles on fuel economy testing, tire mounting, speed restrictions, dual matching, irregular wear and

comparisons of bias and radial tire construction. There’s even a glossary of standard tire terms.

And that’s just the beginning. Click on

Can’t remember where that article was on rotating M726 drive radials back to trailer positions? Just type “M726” into the

system, and you’ll find it’s in Volume 2, Issue 2, page 12.

Another click, and you can be reading the article, right on your computer screen.

and send your question directly to our offices. That’s communication at nearly the speed of light. And, you can email any time of the day or night, from anywhere in the world, with no long distance charges.

And a Bridgestone representative will respond to you with the same kind of speed.

How about technical questions?
You can email those to “The Tire Doctor.” Actually, we should say, “Tire Doctors,” because there are numerous engineers and field service personnel available to help you with your request. We’ll see to it that the most experienced person is given your question.

We’re already handling about 100 technical questions a month this way, and looking forward to many more. Since ASK THE Doctor is a regular feature of this magazine, you’ll find
on the Real Answers page.

and you’ll be asked to type in your location. This could be your office, or, though we hate to think it ever happens, it could be the location where one of your vehicles is broken down on the road.

You’ll have the option of selecting all dealers within a radius of 25 to 125 miles of the location. In a few seconds, you’ll see a list, with addresses and telephone numbers.

If the vehicle is still driveable, you can ask for detailed directions, so you can tell your driver how to get there. As with other trucktires.com services, the dealer locator is available around the clock.

If we don’t have Internet access, are we out of luck?
Not at all. We also have a new CD-ROM, called InterAct, which contains lots of the same information. All you have to do is slip the InterAct CD into your computer, and it does the rest.

A powerful search system lets you look for tires by size, application or axle position, and once you’ve found a tire, you can get complete technical data, size charts, lists of features and benefits, even a cutaway diagram of its internal construction.

Bridgestone’s InterAct CD-ROM contains a powerful tire search system, complete technical information and video clips highlighting company history and tire features.

What about data book information?
Not only is the data book on the InterAct CD, it’s also there in printable form. That means you can look up anything you want, just as you would in a paper data book, then print any page – or all of them – on your computer printer.

If you are preparing a PowerPoint® presentation for an internal meeting, you

can even include photos of Bridgestone tires. And, these tire images are

in “.jpg” format, so you can print them or email them as well.

There’s also a complete glossary of tire technical terms for your

reference.

The InterAct CD-ROM also includes full-color tire photos you can add to PowerPoint® presentations or printed reports.

Is there anything just for fun?
No games, but if you’re interested, the InterAct CD-ROM also includes animated video clips on the history of the company and on some of the latest features found on Bridgestone truck tires.

Do you have other CD-ROMs?
We’ve just completed the conversion of all of our tire technical videos to CD-ROM. They will continue to be available on videocassette, but the CD format offers some interesting enhancements.

What kind of enhancements?
For one thing, unlike videocassettes, which can wear out and are easily damaged, CDs last practically forever.

And, each CD includes not only the video, but also an accompanying quiz to test what you’ve learned. After watching the video, as you answer each question, you have an opportunity to review the section of the video that relates to the question.

This is a great tool for education programs, because employees can proceed at their own pace, and review instantly anything they didn’t get the first time.

Each Bridgestone technical video CD-ROM also includes an interactive quiz you can use to test your mastery of the material, and allows you to review questions you missed.

How can we start using these tools?

The website is ready and waiting for you, at www.trucktires.com. The InterAct CD and video CDs are available through your Bridgestone representative. Or, you can send us a request via the email feature on our website.

We hope these new technological tools will provide “real answers” to help you be more productive, and we look forward to your comments and suggestions.

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