Most fleets view NFPA 52 as a vehicle code. It comes up when a fuel system is being specified, or an upfitter cites it in a quote, and it gets filed away with the other things that govern what’s bolted to the chassis. That’s part of what it does, but the code also reaches your fueling equipment and the work done in your shop.
If you work in a Cummins authorized dealership, you’ve probably completed a lot of training over the course of your career. You may even be a Cummins-certified Master Tech. However, there’s an important distinction when it comes to the Cummins X15N engine.
From transit agencies and school districts to utilities, municipalities, and commercial fleets, technicians are increasingly being asked to inspect, maintain, and service fuel-cell and battery-electric vehicles. To address this need, AFVi has developed EV 101: Electric Vehicle High-Voltage Safety Awareness.
Transit agencies, municipalities, utilities, delivery companies, school districts, and private businesses continue to add hydrogen fuel-cell and battery-electric vehicles to their operations every year, which means that more employees must understand how to work safely around them—even technicians who don’t perform high-voltage work.
It’s an unfortunate misconception that a cylinder is safe simply because it is no longer in use, but the reality is that technicians, fleet personnel, recyclers, or scrap processors could be harmed by a discarded cylinder that still has residual natural gas and pressure.
A recent project from the Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) continues to draw attention across the alternative fuels industry. Through a partnership with OPAL Fuels and South Jersey Industries, ACUA has been converting landfill gas into renewable natural gas (RNG) at its facility in Egg Harbor Township.
AFVi’s CEO, Annalloyd Thomasson, sat down recently with Steve Duricky, Global Platform Manager at Parker Hannifin, to talk about the current status of hydrogen vehicle adoption in heavy-duty fleets, potential engineering challenges for their fuel systems, and why many organizations are viewing natural gas as an important bridge to this technology.
Incidents involving alternative fuel vehicles are rare—but when they occur, they tend to make headlines. In 2024, a CNG vehicle fire injured several responding firefighters. Initial concerns focused on the fuel system, but later findings indicated it had functioned as designed. Still, there are ways CNG safety training, communication, and situational awareness can help prevent similar outcomes.
Running a CNG fleet comes with no shortage of operational demands, and training in-house fuel system inspectors can feel like an added burden. In some cases, the issue may not be financial. Workforce shortages can make it difficult for some fleets to find qualified technicians with experience in alternative fuels, let alone meet all industry codes and standards.
Hydrogen is still in the early stages of adoption as a transportation fuel. For this reason, fleets that are incorporating hydrogen vehicles (or are planning to) must recognize that inspection quality carries greater consequences than with other alternative fuels.
