| Cover Story The ELD mandate’s role in the rise of vehicle connectivity In 2012, Congress passed legislation that required the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to develop a rule mandating the use of electronic logging devices (ELDs). These devices are designed to record a driver’s Record of Duty Status and replace the paper logbooks certain operators use to document their Hours of Service (HOS). The ELD mandate gives fl eets a deadline of December of 2017 to begin using certifi ed ELDs. Those who already have implemented them will have until December of 2019 to achieve compliance with the government-issued specifi cations. “The option of paper logs isn’t there anymore,” says Wyn Partington, vice president of marketing, NexTraq, a provider of GPS fl eet management solutions (www.nextraq. com). “You either use ELDs, or you get out of the business.” According to Jason Lewis, national sales manager, Panasonic, a provider of mobility solutions (www.business.panasonic.com/ solutions-automotivesolutions), the mandate serves not only as a means for fl eets to reduce manual paperwork. It also provides them with much more information about the status of their vehicles in real time. “Once these systems are implemented, data management in the cloud is a requirement,” says Lewis. “This will enable fl eet operators to perform more advanced analytics, improving the health and performance of the truck and its driver.” Paul Menig, CEO, Tech-I-M, a provider of consulting services to help companies succeed by leveraging technology in products and processes (www.tech-i-m.com), says that when fl eets invest in ELDs, they also will get some computerized maintenance as well. “The FMCSA’s requirement that every vehicle have some sort of electronic logging device is going to start a race for additional technology,” he adds. As the technology becomes more and more prevalent, fl eets will enjoy increased visibility of their vehicles. “This opens a huge opportunity for data analytic services,” says Lewis. “The data is worthless without proper analysis to determine the best course of action. Once the analysis is complete, fl eet managers can create new policies and procedures to increase the overall effi ciency of their fl eet.” Service relationship management Trucking was on the forefront of the Internet of Things (IoT) before it was called IoT. The value of tracking assets, optimizing routes and managing driver behavior has been going on for years. Unfortunately, it was an expensive, hardware-centric approach. Even though there was some thought about diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), they typically ended up as spam or a major annoyance. As with all IoT initiatives today, the biggest challenge is making information actionable and valuable. It’s not enough to just know that something is happening. So that brings us full circle to how service relationship management is truly the fi rst IoT technology for heavy duty equipment to connect assets, people, processes and content in a real-time fashion across not only the fl eet, but the entire service supply chain. Imagine: • A fault code is captured. • In near real time, that fault code is analyzed and severity, a probable cause and likely solution (VMRS Vehicle Maintenance Reporting Standards coded operation with parts) is developed. • The fl eet, OE fi eld service team and breakdown center (fl eet, OE or third party) are all notifi ed of the event and have visibility to all the information, plus the location of the truck. • Based on the truck’s location, the best available dealers or service locations are identifi ed. An appointment is set and accepted. • Even before the truck arrives, the shop has access to all the DTCs, engine data, fl uid, battery levels and more, cutting diagnostic time by more than 70 percent. • The arrival of the truck triggers a geofence, so all participants know it has arrived. • Using a mobile tablet to check-in the asset by scanning the QR code and performing an inspection eliminates “fat fi ngering” the VIN and manual data entry of a paper-based form. • As the truck goes through the repair process, real-time updates and target completion time are shared with all participants, including dispatch/ operations at the fl eet and alerts/notifi cations are sent whenever unexpected delays occur. • The repair is done (25-50 percent faster), and everyone is notifi ed. The bottom line: IoT information is used to automate a process and software is used to ensure real-time updates based on actionable information, driving uptime, improving effi ciency and reducing costs for all service supply chain participants. Information provided by Decisiv WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS While there are a number of benefi ts to investing in and employing technology that provides real-time data on a fl eet’s vehicles, the trucking industry has been somewhat slow to embrace IoT and vehicle connectivity solutions. Some fl eets are utilizing certain off erings in their service bays for predictive maintenance in an eff ort to make maintenance a strategic or competitive diff erentiator for them. Others simply look at maintenance as an inevitable and unavoidable part of their business and have not invested in the latest IoT-based monitoring, sensing and alerting maintenance technologies. Other factors have played a role as well, says Decisiv’s Riemer. Th ey include: • Th e aging population of employees and lack of sustainable institutional knowledge. • Limited access to new talent pools, especially in a generation used to mobile, IoT and other leading technologies. As more and more systems and technologies become connected, fl eets will become more adept at making informed and data-based decisions on maintenance and repair events. Photo courtesy of DK Communications 12 FLEET MAINTENANCE ❚ JUNE 2016 ❚ VehicleServicePros.com
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