Sierra Research | I/M Support Services

Sierra Research offers a full range of motor vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance (I/M) program support services for both public and private sector clients. Sierra has provided I/M-related assistance to government agencies and private contractors in nearly 20 North American and international I/M programs, as well as functioning as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency primary I/M technical support contractor for many years and working with the California Air Resources Board to evaluate and improve the California Smog Check program. Specific areas of expertise include the following:

Assisting oversight agencies in designing new vehicle inspection programs; writing Requests For Proposals (RFPs); reviewing construction plans, specifications and other bid documents; developing detailed equipment specifications and inspection procedures; evaluating vendor proposals; and negotiating contract terms with selected vendors.
Assisting to I/M agencies in overseeing program implementation efforts and contractor performance; conducting detailed acceptance and audit testing of both centralized and decentralized test equipment as well as vehicle information database (VID) operations; reviewing contractor deliverables; and developing recommendations for VID and other I/M program reporting systems.
Assisting I/M contractors in obtaining California BAR and other equipment certification; reviewing and improving centralized lane test procedures; evaluating and modifying test equipment performance; and addressing other oversight agency concerns.
Developing, evaluating and using of vehicle emissions estimation models such as MOBILE/MOVES and EMFAC combined with the whole set of MEVI models used by CARB; modifying these models to allow modeling of scenarios that were unanticipated when the models were developed and also to test the underlying assumptions of the models.
Developing and using a patented portable dynamometer tester that allows for easy and quick acceptance or audit testing of both I/M and certification grade vehicle chassis dynamometers.
Developing overt and covert audit plans; preparing detailed equipment, inspector and station audit procedures; training oversight staff in how to audit test equipment; developing and implementing electronic "trigger" audit protocols (analysis methodologies); evaluating program and contractor performance relative to U.S. EPA regulatory requirements; and performing performance audits of entire statewide programs as well as individual contractor operations.
Preparing of I/M program evaluation procedures; developing alternative test procedures, including the Acceleration Simulation Mode (ASM) and IM147 tests; designing and performing correlation studies of IM240 versus alternate test procedures; and evaluating the relative emissions benefits of both centralized and decentralized I/M programs.
Preparing summary reports of all U.S. and Canadian I/M programs which contains detailed descriptions of each program and its emissions standards, summary tables that list key features of all the programs, and an introductory section that discusses current trends in the U.S. I/M industry.
Developing and biennially updating electronic I/M and OBD lookup tables that are used by most I/M program to ensure the proper selection of test parameters and other information during vehicle emissions testing.
Providing assistance to programs and contractors in investigating a wide range of technical issues such as test equipment hardware and software testing and debugging, feasibility of alternative test equipment components (e.g., NOx analyzers); testability of so-called problem OBD vehicles; projected benefit of more stringent emissions standards (I/M cutpoints); alternate OBD delivery models (e.g., OBDIII); and developing and using models to estimate the cost of alternative centralized and decentralized program designs.

The following I/M related documents were authored by Sierra Research and are available for purchase through our library:

U.S. EPA Equipment Audit Guidelines and Audit Forms
2002 Alaska I/M Program Audit
Estimating the Cost of I/M Programs
Hands-On Audit Training for Mass- and Concentration-Based IM Programs
Technical Evaluation of IM Program Dynamometer Specifications and Guidance
Status of Vehicle Inspection Programs for Light-Duty Diesel Vehicles and Heavy-Duty Gasoline and Diesel Vehicles
QA/QC Procedures Based on Program Data and Statistical Process Control for I/M Programs
Excess Emissions Identification Using the IM147 Test Procedures with "Revision 2 Max CO" Standards
Failure Rate Analyses and Development of Fast-Pass, Retest, and CPP Algorithms for IM147 Max CO Cutpoints
Incorporation of Wireless Communications into Vehicle On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) Systems
Determination of Emissions Credit and Average Test Times for IM147 Testing
VIN-Based Lookup Table Pilot Study
Summary of Test Results from Wisconsin EPA OBD Project
Analysis of ASM Data for Preconditioning, Driving Tolerances, and Fast Pass Strategies
Additional Study of Preconditioning Effects and Other IM240 Testing Issues
Development of a Proposed Procedure for Determining the Equivalency of Alternative Inspection and Maintenance Programs
VIN-Based Lookup Table
Development of a Data Protocol for I/M Evaluation Under the Federal Highway Act
Resolution of Ambiguous Pressure and Purge Testability Status on Individual Vehicle Models
Analysis of Data from the California Enhanced I/M Pilot Program
Investigation and Compilation of Pressure and Purge Test Status
An Analysis of Evidence Relating to the Effectiveness of Inspection and Maintenance Programs
Analysis of the Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Remote Sensing Devices
Analysis of Invalid Emission Testing in the California Smog Check Program

For additional information regarding our I/M support services, please don't hesitate to contact us by email, or by phone at 916-444-6666.