june2021 - 8

UPTIME FROM THE EDITORS
The path to predictive maintenance
It starts with getting PMs in order, followed by the integration of
vehicle telematics data with in-shop systems to streamline service.
In its most simplistic sense, there are two
types of maintenance: reactive and proactive.
While reactive requires managing a failure
after it occurs, the various proactive maintenance
approaches allow for some level of
planning to address that failure ahead of time.
Proactive maintenance fosters better vehicle
By Erica
Schueller
Editorial
Director
uptime and higher utilization; it can be categorized
on a number of levels from preventive
maintenance to condition-based maintenance,
all the way to predictive maintenance models.
During the Endeavor Commercial Vehicle
@CV_ESchueller
Technology (CV Tech) educational event last
month, a panel of industry experts shared
insights on how telematics is helping to
further improve maintenance practices and
optimize uptime on the path to predictive
maintenance models.
The path to a predictive maintenance
model starts with implementing and adhering
to a comprehensive preventive maintenance
(PM) program.
You need to walk before you can run, said
Brian Mulshine, director of aftermarket
customer experience for Navistar. He suggested
all PMs be up-to-date and fleets be sure to
address any fault codes on the vehicle.
" First, you have got to do your mainteThis
panel
discussion provides
many more details
on vehicle telematics
data and in-shop
integration, plus
what the future
may look like with
the help of machine
learning and artificial
intelligence. For
more information
on how to access
this CV Tech session
on-demand, visit:
FleetMaintenance.
com/21220996
nance. Second, you have to fix fault codes, "
he stressed. " Then we can start talking about
predictive maintenance and start getting
really proactive. "
" The evolution of maintenance starts at
the PM, " added Gerry Mead, executive vice
president of maintenance and equipment for
Hub Group. " And if you're not doing the PM,
it doesn't matter what you do, you're going
to fail anyway; you're never going to get to
predictive [maintenance]. "
Once PMs are followed according to a schedule,
fleets will have the most up-to-date vehicle
information. Having current information
allows for the most accurate picture of vehicle
status. Only then can a vehicle's telematics
system share accurate data back to the fleet.
From there, continued communication
between the vehicle telematics system and
the in-shop diagnostic tools and maintenance
software programs is key. This requires all
information to be filtered into one central
database. From there, algorithms help to
compare data sets and provide alerts defined
by the fleet.
Additionally, Mead stressed the importance of
having clean data on vehicle and service history
included in the database. Without that information,
a fleet will not have a benchmark from
which to build a predictive maintenance model.
8 Fleet Maintenance | June 2021
» The path to predictive maintenance
starts with preventive maintenance.
130445275 | Tashatuvango | Dreamstime
" If you're not doing the
PM, it doesn't matter
what you do, you're
going to fail anyway;
you're never going
to get to predictive
[maintenance]. "
Gerry Mead, executive vice
president of maintenance and
equipment, Hub Group
Real-world system
integration benefits
Once data is integrated into the shop, there are
a number of efficiencies fleets can pursue.
Integration of that vehicle information
into the shop diagnostic tool is key to ensure
streamlined service from a roadside event as
that vehicle makes its way into a shop, said
Scott Bolt, vice president of product management
for Noregon.
" Having that history and that information
all rolled up into one makes a real, big difference
when it comes time to repair the vehicle, "
Bolt said.
That in-shop integration extends beyond the
diagnostic tool to other shop management software
systems.
" When you integrate these shop systems on
the floor, what you end up doing is you're able
to more efficiently schedule your vehicles to
come in and be [serviced]; you can coordinate
when the parts are going to be there, and when
the vehicles are going to be there, and when
the technician [whom] is able to do the work
is going to be there, " Bolt said.
Another efficiency with telematics integration
to in-shop systems, noted Mead, was the
improvements to technician productivity. One
example is the automation of pre-populating
work orders with information.
" When you think about a technician's time,
it's all about direct labor, " Mead said. " I'm looking
at direct labor, expediting through my
service lanes, because it's all about utilization
to get that truck ready for the driver to get on
the road. And this integration piece of that
data mix in the cloud that now can be utilized
to leverage and take away some menial tasks
like populating work orders - that time, right
there, is money. "
Willie Reeves, maintenance manager for
Paccar Leasing, advised knowing the exact
time a vehicle will enter for service, and prior
knowledge of what the service will be, has also
allowed for a more streamlined shop setup and
fewer tools on the shop floor.
" A few years back, everybody had three-bay
and four-bay toolboxes, " Reeves said. " Now you
walk in shops, there are a lot of two-bay and
single-bay toolboxes because of a lot of the
communication that we receive and being a
little bit more proactive with getting repairs
done, about getting the vehicles in, scheduling
what needs to be there. "
Mulshine noted that with the company's
International 360 service communication
product, in addition to confirming dealership
technician availability, the integration of the
vehicle telematics within the service communication
platform allows the system to check
for parts availability at the location where the
vehicle will be serviced.
" We've tied it all the way to availability of
the parts by dealership with our inventory
system, " he said. " It's pretty slick, and it's all
AI (Artificial Intelligence). "
Having this actionable data can help less
experienced technicians find the information
needed to make clear and accurate decisions
on service.
" You really do need to be able to condense
this information into usable, actionable
information, " Bolt said. " Having the ability to
succinctly put this information together so that
someone can look at it and say, 'Okay, this is
important to you, it's going to become important
to you, even though you don't see it right
now,' based off of data. "
Ultimately, leveraging telematics data will
further optimize the repair process by giving
the shop a heads up - whether that's days or
hours in advance - so the service provider
can prepare for that vehicle entering the shop
through parts ordering, having a technician
available, and ensuring the repair timing works
for the driver and the fleet.
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june2021

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