BENDIX BW2804 User Manual

Case Study: Genuine Bendix® AD-IP® Air Dryer Components

WHEN IT COMES TO SAFETY,

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

How Genuine Bendix Could Have Prevented Downtime,

Extensive Repairs and Potential Danger for a Commercial Bus Fleet

South East US commercial bus fleet learns a lesson about quality the hard way.

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“We are really lucky that nobody

was injured,” the bus fleet’s

maintenance and training supervisor

said. “We figured it was just a fluke,

and that it wouldn’t happen again.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a fluke.

Maintenance and Training Supervisor Southeastern U.S. transit ﬂ eet

The Need: Passenger Safety

It was a typical day for the transit bus driver as he traveled through the streets of a major southeastern U.S. city, dropping off and picking up passengers. But that typical day completely changed when a sudden, loud sound reverberated through the inside of the bus.

The sound originated from something that actually shot through the floor of the bus, ripping up the floorboard, damaging the body, and forcing the vehicle to come to a complete stop. Fortunately, neither the driver nor any passengers were injured. But extensive repairs needed to be made, and the bus required a tow from the road.

“

Poor quality caused the

keeper ring to split on

the knockoff cartridge

Maintenance technicians determined that a knockoff air dryer installed on the bus had malfunctioned, causing the part to tear through the vehicle floor and creating the loud noise. An ineffective dryer design and construction caused the retaining ring that held the canister to split in the middle and fail. The failure propelled the canister off the dryer with enough force to drive it through the floor of a bus. The desiccant in the car tridge had broken down into powder and was injected throughout the braking system, contaminating the system and contributing to the potential for future failures of downstream par ts. The dryer and cartridge – which had just been installed a few months before – was not a genuine Bendix product.

“We are really lucky that nobody was injured,” the bus fleet’s maintenance and training supervisor said. “We figured it was just a fluke, and that it wouldn’t happen again.”

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a fluke. In fact, cartridge malfunctions also occurred on seven other buses within the fleet. The first malfunction caused the most severe damage, but each incident required repair and threatened the safety of the buses and their passengers.

“We’ve had seven failures thus far, but we purchased 174 air dryers with the knockoff cartridges,” the director of maintenance said. “We’re expecting more failures.”

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Case Study: Genuine Bendix® AD-IP® Air Dryer Components

The Solution: Genuine Bendix Provides Safe and Reliable Transport

The procurement department responsible for purchasing the transit bus parts purchased the components because they were not required, by contract, to purchase genuine Bendix components. The knockoff par ts, while slightly cheaper, are proving to be more costly to the fleet in the long run.

Each bus that experienced the knockoff cartridge failure was down for several days for repair and unavailable to generate income. Couple that with the cost of labor and parts and the breakdowns cost the 274-bus fleet quite a large sum of money.

“The benefit of the Bendix solution is that it’s a good product,” the maintenance and training supervisor said. “Once I put a Bendix par t on, I know it’s going to be OK and will last a long time following maintenance guidelines. We need our equipment to stay on the road and going back to the Bendix product will save us time and money in the long run.”

The bus fleet has replaced

The desiccant of the knockoff cartridge turned to powder, contaminating the entire brake system.

the cartridges with genuine Bendix parts.

Knockoff components are not subjected to the rigorous testing and standards that Bendix – the industry pioneer who introduced air dryers to the commercial vehicle market – employs to guarantee its products. Oftentimes, the knockoff contains a “design-around,” which attempts to by pass a patented design without directly violating the patents. In these circumstances, the knockoff component design may only be a façade, and the product may not perform properly.

Bendix standards and continuous testing for tolerance, performance, and dependability ensure that when its customers purchase genuine Bendix parts, they get the best value for their investment.

With decades of proven performance backed by extensive testing, patented designs, and the industry’s most reliable product suppor t system, you can count on genuine Bendix every time.

Ensure Your

Component Is Genuine Bendix.

“I’m definitely requesting we use Bendix from now on. Suppor t by the Bendix team to help resolve this issue was absolutely fantastic, even though it wasn’t their product,” he said. “It’s just not worth it to go elsewhere.”

To the untrained eye, knockoff par ts may seem

At Bendix, our commitment to quality doesn’t end when a part leaves our manufacturing facility. We stand behind every genuine Bendix component with an entire team working to produce the top quality Bendix products upon which you can depend.

comparable to genuine Bendix components because they are manufactured to appear the same. Unfortunately, that’s where the similarity ends.

Genuine Bendix air dryers are available only through authorized Bendix outlets. Be sure to specify genuine Bendix to ensure your product will live up to rigorous Bendix standards. To learn more about Bendix air dryers or to locate the authorized outlet nearest you, talk to your Bendix account manager, call 1-800-AIR-BRAKE (1-800-247-2725), or visit www.bendix.com.

Bend ix Comm ercial Ve hicle Sys tems LLC • 901 Cleveland Stre et • Elyria, Ohio 4403 5 • www. bendi x.com • 1-800 -247-2725 BW28 04 ©2010 Ben dix Commercia l Vehicle Sy stems L LC, a member of th e Knor r-Br emse Group. All Right s Reserved .

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