Vehicle Emissions Programs in Mexico

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Vehicle Emissions Programs in Mexico
John Rogers
jrogers_at_trafalgar-mexico.com
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Seminar Objectives

• the role of the private sector in I/M
• how to minimize corruption and false passes
• lessons learned in Mexico
• pitfalls in exhaust measurements and how to
  overcome them

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Experience

• 26 years Vehicle Emissions Standards Development
• 12 years Vehicle Inspection Programs
• 23,000 Calibration Audits
• Emissions Software Development gt6M tests
• Software and Equipment Certification

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Vehicle Mortality Modeling

• Official figures overstate the population by 40 -
  60
• Impossible to use official figures to developing
  an intelligent vehicle emissions control strategy
• We use statistical techniques coupled with fleet
  and owner interviews to develop mortality models
• WB Mexico City study 1999 - 2000

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Program Development

• Improve and refine the technical and
  administrative aspects
• Improve the quality of emissions measurements
• Reduce measurement uncertainties

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Measurement uncertainties
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Administrative aspects

• Reduce the impact of the test technician in the
  final vehicle pass/fail decision
• Data entry validation
• Blind Tests
• Master Reference Table
• Fresh data for inspection and audit purposes

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Mexico City Metropolitan Area

• 20 million inhabitants
• 3 million vehicles
• 2 Autonomous Federal Entities
• Ozone
• Particulates (PM)

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Mexican Automotive Fleet
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Carburated Vehicles 1999
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Mexico City Program

• Objective Reduce air pollution emissions from
  vehicles by ensuring that those vehicles with
  high emission levels are correctly repaired
• 2 checks per year
• Gasoline and Diesel Programs

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Gasoline Program

• Hydrocarbons (HC),
• Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Cut-points established on technical feasibility
  by statistical means

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Mexico Citys History
1982 Voluntary Inspection program
1988 Obligatory annual emissions inspection
for 1982 and earlier model years
1992 Obligatory Test for all vehicles 1993 Mul
ti-lane Macro-centers are opened. Dynamometer
test introduced for intensive-usage
vehicles. 1996 Test Repair centers
closed. New Verificenters authorized
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Test Repair Advantages

• By far the most convenient for vehicle owners
• Good for Equipment Sales
• Static Tests Only

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Test-only Advantages

• Better government supervision
• Better technical and administrative control
• Easier adoption of new technology
• More uniform results between centers

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Test Repair Problems

• 50 percent of vehicles obtained their approval
  certificate fraudulently.
• Public Opinion was of a highly faulted emissions
  control program
• Led to all the Test Repair Centers being
  withdrawn from program

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Dynamic Testing
Dynamometer road load testing gives

• improved consistency and repeatability
• reduced false passes and false failures
• BUT at low load
• Late and Lean is still a major problem
• Clean for a day brigade

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Centralized Operation

• Allows "blind" tests to be performed
• Centralized databases collect the data required
  for supervision and for statistical analysis
• Allows remote auditing
• Electronic security added to restrict tampering
  of the databases

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Gas calibration audits

• Every 30 days
• Performed by independent accredited materials
  standard laboratories
• EPA protocol 1 certified gas traceable to NIST
• Ensure that the test equipment is correctly
  maintained
• Eliminate the problem of different test results
  in different centers

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Audits and Supervision

• Permanent government inspectors
• Independent certification authorities and
  ecological groups
• Video cameras with real-time remote audits
• Vehicle monitoring systems
• Rigid recording and reporting rules
• ISO 9000 certification

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False Passes
1997 Results

• 73 of vehicles obtained their certificates
  correctly.
• 8 false approval due to incorrect practices
  in the Verificenter
• 19 obtained certificate through incorrect
  practices by the garage

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Test Capacity vs Profitability
Quality Of Service
Center Profitability
Best Balance in Mexico 35 Installed Capacity
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Missing Vehicles

• Remove Traffic Police from the equation
• Add Flexibility of where to Test
• Result
• 500,000 vehicles went missing

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Missing Vehicles
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Technical Improvements

• Acceleration Simulation Mode test (known as CAM
  97)
• Generate more repeatable test results
• Reduce the measurement uncertainties
• Permit the use of stricter test limits and
• Reduce False Approvals.

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Loaded Mode Testing

• Accessible in both investment and cost.
• Over 30 million tests performed in Mexico
• Generates repeatable measurements
• Acceptable measurement errors
• Easy to Perform
• Does not require high skill levels

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Test Repair Investment

• Static Test Equipment 11 - 15,000
• Dynamometer 12 - 16,000
• Total 25 -
  35,000
• Capacity (_at_35) 4500 tests/year
• Investment for Static 2.90 per test
• Investment for Dynamic 6.70 per test

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Test Only Investment

• Lane Test Equipment 35 - 50,000
• Centralized 7 - 10,000
• Video Vehicle monitoring 40,000
• Total per lane (5) 45 -
  60,000
• Capacity (_at_35) 10,000 tests/year
• Investment for Dynamic 5.30 per test

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Controlling Corruption

• Local authorities
• Multiple Equipment Suppliers
• Multiple Test Centers
• Technicians

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Private Sector Operators

• Use multi-lane test-only centers
• Contract large industrial groups
• Ensure high profitability for the centers
• Do not install too much capacity
• Legal framework

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Private Sector Operators

• Invest in remote, computer-based auditing
• Go for real-time data transmission
• Video surveillance
• Vehicle monitoring systems
• Help Centers validate personnel
• Minimize technicians impact on the test results

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Equipment Suppliers

• Implementing software changes
• Local authority should develop or contract its
  own centralized software package
• Invite equipment suppliers to provide lane
  equipment and software

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Diesel Program

• Heavy-duty trucks and buses
• Small population but considerable fuel
  consumption
• contribution to PM pollution is probably far more
  important than the number of vehicles indicate
• Free acceleration (Snap) smoke tests
• US EPA does not require diesel smoke tests

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Free acceleration smoke tests

• Consistent with international practices
• Easy cheap
• Tests are difficult to repeat
• Depend on the test technician
• Easy to falsify
• Tendency to Loaded-mode testing

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Next Steps

• Despite shortcomings and pitfalls the inspection
  program in Mexico has had an important impact on
  air quality improvement
• Program is still actively in development
• Real-time data collection
• Computer based audits

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Thank you
John Rogers
jrogers_at_trafalgar-mexico.com