Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/132138
INSIDE VOLVO VIEW USER RESULTS ONLINE Customers explain the real-world benefits of Remote Diagnostics in a video on Volvo Trucks' You Tube channel. in and begin the process of collaboration. And it was a huge bonus to get along and enjoy a camaraderie that was obvious during a day-long series of interviews and photography setups. "Team chemistry was a big contributor to the success," says Gustafson. "We were thrown in together and it was, 'do this.'" Yet they contend the Remote Diagnostics platform is not complete. "The design we implemented is so dynamic, we can easily add or remove the things that we monitor," Gustafson says. "We can take control and say 'let's monitor this for a while.' We can monitor things we don't act on, to gather more information." "It's the old adage: You've got data but you don't have information," Gardner says. "The data's always been there. It's a matter of translating that into something people can understand and take action against." "We're also seeing benefits that maybe we didn't think about, we were so focused on customer uptime," Deedy adds, explaining that Remote Diagnostics and ASIST have allowed customers to more effectively manage their transportation assets. "It's been very good for them operationally — for load management — not just from the service side." "It's more like a scheduled service than a breakdown," Morgan notes. "The customer can almost treat this the same way they would a PM (preventive maintenance): They can schedule service so the dealer knows it's coming in, and has the parts ready." "The process makes Volvo dealers more efficient," Glasmann explains. "It doesn't matter if a truck owner has a dealership right next door if service is inefficient. Your truck is going to sit if they don't have a master tech to do the diagnostics when the truck comes in, or if they don't have the part to fix it." Looking ahead to the second year of Volvo Remote Diagnostics and beyond, the team admits to significant plans — but isn't ready to announce any specifics. Regardless, the program will continue to be a dynamic one. "We're committed to the way we worked in the pilot, which is to continually feed the information we're getting from the field and to keep adding to the service," Deedy says. "This isn't a big-bang project like a new engine launch. We're not trying to do everything at once. How can we improve our processes? How can we improve customers' uptime? We're going to do it right and grow from there." "Just as the product has evolved since last May, we've already introduced Google Earth: You can see the red and yellow codes and where the trucks are," Glasmann notes, referring to the VAS agents' screens in the Uptime Center. "We've also just launched a dwell time initiative, using geo-fencing so we can understand exactly when a truck arrives for service and when it leaves — and how we can influence that as well." "We learn new things every day, still," Silva agrees. "We haven't added more data to what we had before, but we think we have a good foundation to expand. And as we expand, the opportunities are all over the place. We're getting bombarded with requests from all different directions. The whole "We wanted to collaborate with people who had expertise in their areas, and who also understood the Remote Diagnostics concept. We wanted people who were thinking outside the box." CONAL DEEDY, VOLVO TRUCKS PRODUCT MARKETING MANAGER, ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATIONS Left: Conal Deedy and Evandro Silva 28 DRIVER 'S DIGEST #1/2013 DDQ113PG022-28_Inside Volvo.indd 28 5/20/13 9:10 AM