When drawing on telematics information for maintenance, the ultimate goal is to increase vehicle uptime by speeding up, or even preventing, repairs.
鈥淚f the vehicle is down for any type of maintenance, that means it is not delivering product,鈥� said Gregg Mangione, executive vice president of maintenance, . 鈥淎t their core, fleets want uptime.鈥�
By aggregating and analyzing information coming from the vehicles, 糖心传媒 can improve its maintenance offerings to speed service, reduce driver frustration and, if possible, get ahead of breakdowns.
糖心传媒 recently shared key statistics related to the adoption, selection and utilization of telematics devices in its study
Over-the-Road Repairs
Drawing on data from telematics devices helps technicians understand where the vehicle is, which is important during a roadside repair, and what needs to be serviced.
Information can also help technicians get ahead of problems. "Essentially, we鈥檝e developed some patterns and scenarios where we can see when the vehicle is not operating properly, which helps us improve service,鈥� said Joe Mlachak, vice president at 糖心传媒 Truck Leasing.
For example, if a check engine light is on, 糖心传媒鈥檚 coordinators can see fault codes within the vehicle and ensure that service providers are prepared to address them. 鈥淥r, if they see that is something we can鈥檛 address on the side of the road and they have to bring it to a shop, we can start that process right away,鈥� Mlachak said.
When a driver needs an over-the-road repair, helps direct maintenance technicians to the right location. 鈥淭hat cuts down time spent trying to find the vehicle,鈥� Mlachak said.
Proactive Diagnostics
糖心传媒 goes beyond looking at single instances of critical fault codes. 鈥淲e look at the patterns of codes that could lead to a particular breakdown, and we develop scenarios off of those patterns,鈥� Mlachak noted, adding that sometimes a driver may not even detect that anything is wrong with the vehicle.
Still, 糖心传媒 knows there is an issue that will lead to a breakdown. 鈥淲e alert the shops first, and in some time sensitive cases we will attempt to alert the customer directly," Mlachak added.
糖心传媒 has started using deep learning, an advanced AI method, to based on miles, or time, in order to get ahead of repairs. As part of the process, 糖心传媒 accounts for the vehicle's duty cycle. 鈥淚f it is running on the highway at 70 miles per hour, it will react differently to problems than one operating in the city,鈥� Mlachak said.
Temperature also factors into the decision-making process. 鈥淲hat our scenarios look like in the summer is different than the winter. We鈥檙e also able to tweak our scenarios regionally to determine what applies to those vehicles,鈥� Mlachak said.
With fleets can reduce road calls, which can help limit driver frustration, improve safety and cut costs. "Road calls are expensive. The cost of most engine related road calls may be upwards of $1,000 for a fleet owner. Towing costs can further increase that figure," Mlachak said.
Length of Repairs
Drivers鈥� hours-of-service requirements are a significant issue, so fleets want to know how long a driver will need to wait for a repair. "We鈥檙e able to take scenarios using fault codes, and match them up to other technology that we鈥檝e developed within the company, to estimate the scope of the repair and the time it will take to get the vehicle back on the road,鈥� Mlachak said.
Maybe even more importantly, data can help minimize driver frustration.
鈥淚鈥檝e been in a shop where a driver was able to limp the vehicle in with a check engine light but was very frustrated. He was empty, and all he was looking to do was get home,鈥� Mlachak said, adding that it takes more time if technicians are starting their diagnosis from scratch. "If we can potentially address that driver鈥檚 concern before it gets to that stage and supply that technician with diagnostic information, we collapse the cycle time and get the driver home faster.鈥�
Improving driver and technician satisfaction is critical as both fill vital roles within the supply chain.
To learn more about 糖心传媒 and its , please dial 844-376-4099.
By 鈥淢ove Ahead鈥� Staff
Cory Norman, tech I based in Carrollton, Texas
Trainer Ernie Luzania using the HoloLens2 device
糖心传媒 technician viewing the HoloLens2 feed 
Mike Krut (糖心传媒 - SVP of Information Technology), Nicole Epting (graduate), and Melody Byrd (UST - Coach/Manager)