Sustainability Tip of the Month: Dealers Have the Answers to Emissions Questions

A good dealer does more than simply sell and service equipment — a dealer must partner with you to help you understand new technologies and meet emissions requirements. How can you tell a dealer’s qualified and ready to help? Ask your dealer the following questions.

What is Interim Tier 4 and what are the new technologies that it brings?
With new Interim Tier 4 technologies hitting the marketplace, your dealer must be able to explain both the technological changes they bring, and more importantly, what those changes will mean for your business.

What are the emission requirements that I may face in my work and what is driving them? 
Next, your dealer must be familiar with emissions requirements that may affect your fleet, such as local regulations, bid specifications, or green construction sites. Also, your dealer must be able to explain how efforts to improve air quality not only drive these requirements but are increasingly linked to government-funded infrastructure work. A true partner looks beyond today to prepare you for tomorrow.

What are my options in meeting emissions requirements?
Your dealer must be able to provide you with a range of options for meeting emissions requirements that best fit your business.  Initially, your dealer must be able to help you review your entire fleet on a machine-by-machine basis, identifying equipment with Tier 0, 1, 2, 3 or Interim Tier 4 engines.  With that information, your dealer can provide you with a variety of technological and other solutions, including new and used equipment replacement, retrofit, repowering and rental.  In addition, your dealer must be able to help you locate available government funding to help offset any costs of meeting these requirements.

What other technologies do you have that can help me meet emissions requirements?
A dealer and its OEM should offer fuel saving and productivity-enhancing technologies on their equipment, such as JDLink telematics fleet management, plug-and-play integrated grade control, and auto-idle. These types of features are strong evidence that both a manufacturer and its dealer network are committed to helping reduce emissions while also improving your bottom line.

Who is responsible for emissions information at your dealership?
Make sure the dealer has a designated Interim Tier 4 focus person responsible for spreading IT4 expertise across the dealership organization. Also, ask if the dealer is part of a manufacturer’s ongoing emissions compliance training program that covers more than just Interim Tier 4 technology, including the development of new emissions requirements and funding opportunities. The most knowledgeable dealers have continuous access to emissions information straight from the OEMs whose equipment they sell.

The answers to all these questions, taken together, will help you choose the right dealer partner when it’s time to implement emissions solutions.

[NOTE: This is the third installment in John Deere‘s Tips for Sustainability. Be sure to check out the first and second entries in this series.]