Connectivity and telematic technologies used in the trucking industry have advanced significantly in recent years.
Vehicles and components are smarter than ever thanks to smaller, more advanced electronics and widespread communications infrastructure. Digital applications such as remote monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics are changing vehicle management. Today, customers have a wealth of real-time data from their engines to leverage, ultimately increasing vehicle uptime, reducing costs and enhancing efficiency.
Telematics is the combination of telecommunications – technology like phones and cables – and informatics – computer systems. Telematics systems can provide customers with comprehensive, real-time insights into various aspects of their vehicles, such as engine health, fuel consumption and maintenance needs.
Connectivity technologies can accumulate insights and send information regarding a vehicle remotely, including the engine’s health, driving patterns and fuel usage. Telematics and connectivity are critical technologies for modern customers to consider integrating into their vehicles. Here, Cummins provides some of the key benefits of telematics and connectivity.
- When an equipment failure occurs, remote diagnostics can help technicians identify the problem and ensure the right parts are available for repair.
- Predictive service insights or prognostics systems can significantly increase uptime. By identifying problems before they cause a failure, preventive maintenance can extend equipment life and reduce downtime. This technology monitors a customer’s entire fleet, notifying them of only the engines that require attention.
- Connectivity allows customers to remotely push over-the-air updates to any trucks under their control. This means that trucks require no additional downtime to apply updates and always have the latest software to deliver the highest performance and reliability.
- Timely maintenance and repairs can prevent more extensive and costly breakdowns, ensuring that trucks remain in optimal condition with minimal downtime.
- Advanced telematics-based insights also allow customers to study their driver’s behaviour and determine areas of efficiency. With cloud-based management, drivers are routed to the nearest service station, eliminating unnecessary mileage when looking for a shop.
- Telematics data can monitor driver behaviour to help identify and address unsafe driving practices such as harsh braking. With data on driver behaviour, businesses can offer further training to help keep incidents to a minimum.
- Data collected through remote monitoring can improve optimization for current vehicle models and future engines. Performance and maintenance data on current generations of engines will enable more robust and efficient engines in the future. Source