Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/510235
COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | MAY 2015 65 EQUIPMENT: CONNECTED ENGINES telematics systems, aided by a host of third-party information pro- viders such as PeopleNet, Omnitracs and Zonar. But, as of yet, only a small percentage of components on any given diesel powertrain are wired actively into any vehicle connectivity program. It's when more of these components are looped into telematics systems, experts say, that they will start to pay serious bottom-line benefits to fleets and alleviate the angst of many stranded drivers. "Telematics is changing the repair experience, but enhancements will evolve over time," says Conal Deedy, director of connected services for Volvo Trucks. With the company's Remote Diagnostics, customers already are realizing the benefits from having Volvo receive, diagnose and communicate critical issues in real time and support the customer with targeted solutions, he says. "These ben- efits will only increase over time as Volvo rolls out more services." Baby steps In its first iteration, vehicle diagnosis and repair barely scratches the surface of what connected technology soon will do for custom- ers, says Tony Cook, Navistar's chief engineer of product strategy. "Looking at just 'connected engines' today is like looking at a single wave and trying to figure out how big the ocean is," Cook says. "That's the potential for positive change we're contemplating today." The first big telematics push over the past several years has focused on getting the basic technological foundations in place and functioning at an acceptable level. "There were learning curves," says Kevin Baney, chief engineer for Kenworth. "We heard loud and clear that fleets didn't want multiple systems on a single vehicle or across mixed fleets regardless of the make of a truck. They were interested in a single solution that worked well with any vehicle platform." That's why recent moves made by both OEMs and third-party telematics providers have laid out the roadmap that will take truck- ing telematics to the next level. "Freightliner's moves with Zonar and Navistar's OnCommand Connection really got it right by al- lowing their information to be accessed by all telematics providers," Baney says. "I think that's going to be the model that will dominate the industry going forward." Cook says to think of the vehicle OEM as a television content provider – much like the Discovery Channel or PBS. "The telemetry coming off of our powertrains today is available to any broadcast- ing company that wants to use it," he says. "Now think of companies like PeopleNet and Zonar as cable providers – these are the outlets you will use to access the content coming out of your vehicles." Cook says Navistar's system doesn't require customers to be locked into a single system or supplier. "We feel it's the logical solu- tion that will give fleets the highest degree of flexibility to access and use telematics data to keep their trucks rolling." The reasoning engine First-generation telematics systems on heavy trucks focused on relatively simple functions such as alerting a fleet and driver when a status light or other warning system was activated. "That's pretty basic stuff in the grand scheme of things, but it's only the beginning," Baney says. "At Kenworth, we have a roadmap for the future to increase the number of connected components on our powertrains. We're now working closely with Eaton, and over the next few years, you'll see us start to make systematic progress toward a robust 'reasoning engine.' " Matt Pfaffenbach, director of telematics for Daimler Trucks Telematics already have made their mark in trucking, but these high-tech systems are poised to totally remake vehicle maintenance and uptime practices BY JACK ROBERTS