august2021 - 33

FM: What will be the major implications for
the maintenance department with AVs?
DG: To some extent, not a lot is going to change
other than the requirement and the standard that
trucks need to be maintained to. Generally speaking,
90% of what you're working on, on the truck,
is the same. The biggest changes are going to come
from some new components. Again, the processes
around maintaining those are
going to be proprietary for a
while, but I think over the next
10 to 15 years, there will start
to be best practices and start to
be more of a general industry
understanding of how these
technologies work and how
to maintain sensors.
Another big thing to think
about is geography. With maintenance
taking the central role
in keeping these trucks on
the road, people are going to
have to understand how these
sensor technologies work in a
wide variety of geographies.
We can't always be sure that a
Kodiak technician is going to
be able to get to a Kodiak truck
when it might be that the truck
is operating hundreds of miles
from the nearest Kodiak facilities.
So, maintenance organizations
are going to have to figure
out how to partner.
FM: Do you foresee anything
with the traditional vehicle
architecture becoming a higher-priority
maintenance item
than it is without autonomous
technology specified to it?
DG: In general, keeping
sensors clean and calibrated is
a genuine challenge. We want
to keep the sensors at a place
where mud isn't going to cover
them because that would be a
real problem. But it's something
that we have to think about.
And, as part of those maintenance
operations, having those
sensors checked and checked
well every time a truck leaves
the facility is a part of that.
As there's more technology
on the truck, that technology
tends to focus on the higher
" risk " items. Maybe that's the
wrong word, but we will know
with a great degree of certainty
what the tires are doing, what
the engine and brakes are
doing, things like that. Where
it gets more difficult is things
like fenders, things that are
hard to sense for. That's where
[we need to be] diligent from
a maintenance perspective,
making sure that the fenders
are in good shape and those sorts of things.
We're looking at ways to try to sense some of
those things, but there are things that humans
would notice immediately that are going to be
much harder for an autonomous truck to notice,
which is part of why preventive maintenance is
so important. Those things will come to the fore a
little more as more technology gets on the truck.
It is going to be a really exciting time for maintenance
where these vehicles are on the road and it's
going to be so critical to operations-making sure
that vehicles are maintained to a very high standard;
it's going to be one of the most interesting
parts of this, figuring out that operations puzzle.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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