april2022 - 12

Phillips Connect sensor capabilities
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telematics is just the start of the next evolution of
telematics: the smart trailer.
" It is a trailer that knows its current state. It
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Photo: Phillips Connect
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knows its systems and its operation, health, and
status at any given point in time, " said Nada
Jiddou, EVP of Clarience Technologies and general
manager of Road Ready. " It is also able to communicate
that to the fleet-or the operator-comprehensively
with a complete data set. "
Orbcomm's Smart Truck array of solutions
include a cargo camera sensor and Tractor
ID sensor to ensure the correct tractor-trailer
pairing, as well as integrations
with Bendix to leverage safety and video
data, and Noregon TripVision for maintenance
insights.
Chris MacDonald, Orbcomm SVP of North
America Sales, noted 70% of CSA violations
are from maintenance or service problems,
and data can help identify issues before a CVSA
inspector does, which leads to more downtime.
" By providing real-time visibility into lighting,
brakes, tires, and other components that are
known to be usual suspects during roadside stops,
telematics identifies many issues that are easily
preventable with proactive trailer maintenance
programs in place, " MacDonald said.
Several other telematics solutions already
platforms can filter oceans of data and find pearls
of wisdom to help you make smart decisions, "
explained Jessica Kim, marketing manager at
Pitstop, a Canadian provider of vehicle predictive
maintenance. " Alongside telematics, they use
data to provide new opportunities across various
business functions. But beyond impacting
a company's bottom line, the right fleet technology
can effectively streamline and increase
efficiencies on the day-to-day operations of fleets
of many sizes. "
Pitstop reported its fleet customers have experienced
a more than 20% reduction in downtime,
saving up to $2,000 per vehicle, annually.
Predictive maintenance also helps eliminate
some of the issues that will lead to breakdowns
on the side of the highway.
" There is a huge safety concern with drivers
broken down on the side of the road, so if we
can identify a potential breakdown in advance, it
helps keep our driver from an unsafe situation, "
Pettit said.
Remote diagnostics are another advantage.
" If we look at just the telematics coming to us from
our trucks' engines, for example, we can quickly
determine what the fault codes are, what dealers
are closest, and the level of urgency related to the
engine fault code, " Dart's Pettit said. " Before telematics,
we would have to attempt to troubleshoot with
the driver, and we had limited visibility until the
truck arrived at a dealer or company shop. "
Some fleets still operate with that minimal to
nonexistent visibility.
" I can't believe how many customers still work
off of Excel and a war board, " said Brian Mulshine,
Navistar's director of digital service delivery. He
said even smaller customers can leverage predictive
maintenance with International 360 and the
Advanced Preventive Maintenance feature. This
can help fleets more efficiently manage preventive
maintenance.
12 Fleet Maintenance | April 2022
" We have the fuel economy for up to about 30
telematics providers and based on the fuel economy,
we can suggest adjusting the maintenance
interval, " Mulshine said, " because now you can
stretch that oil change interval when you get
better fuel economy. "
PacLease's Reeves said advances in technology
have made predictive maintenance an essential part
of keeping their trucks and shops running smoothly.
" All of this ever-advancing connectivity and
technology allows fleet and individual asset
owners to have a better view and understanding
of how to manage their equipment to increase
uptime while driving driver and customer satisfaction, "
he said.
With shops focusing on quality as well as
speed of maintenance, predictive analytics offers
insights in advance of potential failures that will
occur, allowing ample time to notify the repair
shop. It also helps avoid missing parts or increased
shipping fees for a shorter turnaround.
A fleet can also customize what data the AI
looks at and from there identifies trends and
issues. For instance, they can query the system
to check how many trucks in a fleet of 1,000 may
have transmission issues based on similarities
they share with a truck with a known transmission
problem.
" You can send that data out and make loT of the
dealerships aware of what's going on and what to
be on the lookout for, " Reeves explained. " It gets
them involved, and that way they can take a look
at things themselves. "
Loading up with
trailer telematics
Putting GPS-tracking sensors, cargo sensors,
TPMS sensors, wheel-end sensors, lighting alerts,
and more onboard and linking that to the tractor
exist and are rapidly becoming more sophisticated.
These include the PetersonPULSE trailer
telematics system, DrŌv Technologies' AirBoxOne
comprehensive smart trailer solution, and ZF's
TrailerCAST.
ZF has advanced even faster after acquiring
Wabco in 2020. The two sides have integrated
their connectivity and safety technology to form
ZF's Commercial Vehicle Solutions Division. ZF
customers are now able to see detailed histograms
on tire pressure and temperature, as well as speed
and load. Diagnostics provide alerts on if an axle
load sensor fails, then provides management with
service center information.
This requires some installation and maintenance
considerations. That is also getting easier.
At the recent TMC meeting, Phillips Connect
announced a partnership with Utility Trailers
to develop the Utility Connect solution. This
combines Utility's proprietary wiring harness
with Phillips' Smart7 nosebox, a smart trailer solution
that can monitor ABS bulbs, ABS fault codes,
automatic tire inflation system (ATIS) bulbs, air
tank, tractor/trailer pairing, cargo status, door
status, light-out status, regulator, TPMS, internal
camera, wheel end, and more.
Because the evolution never stops, this technology
has built-in expansion to allow for overthe-air
communication updates that will integrate
with advanced tire pressure monitoring systems
and Bendix's roll-stability system, trailer weight,
air tank pressure, and optional brake pad wear
sensors for disc brakes, Phillips explained.
" We're not just in the GPS tracking business.
There's so much more than that, " commented
Phillips Connect CEO Rob Phillips at the TMC
Annual Meeting. " We're talking smart trailers and
adding a lot more than just 'where's my trailer.' "
For related content go to
FleetMaintenance.com/equipment
http://www.FleetMaintenance.com/equipment
april2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of april2022
