{"id":4010,"date":"2020-01-05T13:44:23","date_gmt":"2020-01-05T12:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=4010"},"modified":"2020-01-05T13:44:23","modified_gmt":"2020-01-05T12:44:23","slug":"4010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2020\/01\/05\/4010\/","title":{"rendered":"Trailers are Smarter Than Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trailers are Smarter Than Ever<\/h3>\n

Historically, trailers haven\u2019t been expected to do much more than carry payloads with as little bother as possible. They are sometimes set up to haul special commodities and accomplish specialized tasks. They can be made very rugged to shrug off abuse along with everyday wear and tear, and resist deicing chemicals that cause corrosion. But compared to the electronics-embedded tractors that pull them, trailers aren\u2019t too smart.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s changing, especially with temperature-controlled trailers. They are studded with sensors, primarily for temperature monitoring to protect perishables. Both shippers and carriers want to know the temps are right, including multi-compartment trailers with a different temperature in each. So Thermo King and Carrier Transicold, the major makers of the refrigeration\/heating units, have developed ever more sophisticated sensors, monitors and controls to protect loads, and to quickly self-test their operating cycles prior to trips. Now reefer units can record and document those temps, and transmit data to operating people if they want real-time numbers.<\/p>\n

Tracking and telematics<\/h5>\n
\"E-T,
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E-T, call home. The electronic tracking device on the nose of this Schneider van, parked on a rural lot in western Ohio, allows operations people in Wisconsin or elsewhere to know exactly where the vehicle is, whether it\u2019s loaded or empty.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Telematics \u2014 the automatic or on-demand transmission of data to a home base \u2014 allow truck operators to know how their vehicles are doing without quizzing drivers. In the 1980s, Qualcomm pioneered the tracking of tractors with its Omnitracs device. The small satellite antenna on a tractor\u2019s roof told fleet managers where each vehicle was and, through inference and scheduling, what it was doing. Managers and drivers began calling that antenna, and the electronic box inside the cab, \u201cthe Qualcomm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still run into that,\u201d says Mark Alsbrook, product manager at Omnitracs. \u201cSome people still call it that,\u201d even though Qualcomm sold the product and the operation behind it to Vista Equity several years ago. Omnitracs later got into trailer tracking, and now has products that broadcast a trailer\u2019s exact location, one with a solar panel that keeps the device\u2019s battery charged whether or not it\u2019s tethered to a tractor. Numerous other products from other companies are also available, communicating through satellite link, cell-phone networks, or both. They can be mounted outside or inside the vehicle, in plain sight, or hidden to keep thieves and hijackers from disabling or destroying them.<\/p>\n

Tracking also allows fleet managers to gain productivity with their equipment. \u201cAs fleets are holding onto their trailers a little longer, managers want to know how long a trailer\u2019s sitting at a dock and outside in a yard\u201d to get more use out of it, says Rence Oliphant, vice president of sales and marketing communications for Hendrickson. The company is investigating ways to make its suspensions, among other mechanical components, more \u201cintelligent.\u201d For instance, air suspensions on Navistar International\u2019s SuperTruck lower at highway speeds to reduce frontal area and drag; so could the trailer\u2019s suspension.<\/p>\n

One of the more requested features on reefers and vans is simple door sensing. If a rig makes an unplanned stop and the trailer\u2019s doors are opened, the tracking device\u2019s telematics function can alert managers that something isn\u2019t right. Quite possibly, crooks are stealing the load. If the driver can\u2019t be reached for an explanation, authorities can be called.<\/p>\n

\"Tire
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Tire pressure inflation or monitoring systems are now on 40% of all trailers, compared to none about 20 years ago, says P.S.I.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maintenance uses<\/h5>\n

\u201cEnd users like to see a maintenance-free product,\u201d says Chris Lee, vice president of engineering at Great Dane Trailers and chairman of the American Trucking Associations\u2019 Technology & Maintenance Council\u2019s Future Trailer task force. \u201cAt the same time, they want to see some intelligence to help in maintenance, to focus on certain items that they see a lot \u2014 brakes, wheel end temperatures, light functions and circuitry \u2014 for early warnings to prevent failures. The percentage of use of that is kind of low, because of [lack of] availability of products and price of some of it. And they have to create some kind of dashboard on the fleet side so they can gather and use the data.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s needed is a common operating protocol among products that are now available, says a 2014 TMC Position Paper. Bluetooth and even wi-fi are among things being discussed as possible local communications protocols, say other sources. TMC members on the task force envision a smart system with a data box or \u201chub\u201d that captures data from wheel ends, brakes, lights, and electrical systems. \u201cAll that information can be gathered in one box and that information can be shared through telematics to the owner, or extracted with a reader,\u201d Lee says. \u201cThey\u2019re in the works now. They have to work out the user and data interface and set up the protocol with telematics companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sensors can gauge a variety of mechanical conditions. Perhaps the most popular currently is tire pressure. Monitoring and inflation devices are on about 40% of all trailers, says Al Cohn, a consultant to Pressure Systems International, which makes the Meritor Tire Inflation System by P.S.I.. He adds, \u201cTwenty years ago, that was zero.\u201d Tim Musgrave, P.S.I.\u2019s president, says changes are coming to component-condition monitoring. By the end of the year and maybe sooner, P.S.I. plans a product that will piggyback on its tire pressure system to monitor conditions of other nearby components by sensing abnormal heat.<\/p>\n

Brad Van Riper, senior vice president of engineering at Truck-Lite, hints that \u201cwe have some ideas about a new trailer system,\u201d and a product is being fleet tested now. He notes that Truck-Lite now offers a Light-Out Detection System that warns the driver if a lamp is out so he can get it fixed before it results in a citation. Phillips is also working on a trailer system, but is mum about it.\u00a0 And don\u2019t be surprised to see co-operation among the companies engaged in this development, says Musgrave.<\/p>\n

Of this high-tech trend, Musgrave jokes that customers used to say, \u201c\u2019We don\u2019t want to invest in technology because we never see the trailer.\u2019 Now it\u2019s, \u2018We want to invest in technology because we never see the trailer.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

by Tom Berg<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Source: https:\/\/www.truckinginfo.com<\/a><\/p>\n

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/h3>\n

Fleet management is the use of a set of vehicles in order to provide services to a third-party, or to perform a task for our organization, in the most efficient and productive manner with a determined level of service and cost.<\/p>\n

Fleet management activities are shown in the following graph 1:<\/p>\n

\"fleet<\/p>\n

Graph 1: fleet management activities<\/p>\n

The proposal audit analyses and assesses all fleet management activities shown in the graph 1, and its main goals are:<\/p>\n