ZF connects customers with remote diagnostics rollout
Vehicle technology provider ZF recently announced it was equipping more than 150,000 trucks and 50,000 trailers across the EMEA region with its Fleet Management Solutions (FMS), which include remote diagnostics functionality, having secured multiple long-term agreements with large fleet and transport providers.
Under the agreements, ZF will equip fleet customers with a combination of Transics-branded FMS truck and trailer connectivity solutions with cloud-based, advanced digital service portals.
This includes its TX-Sky on-board computers and TX-Trailerpulse trailer telematics, in combination with TX-Connect, which is said to significantly improve overall fleet efficiency and enhance customer service capabilities, in addition to TX-Trailerfit which provides advanced trailer monitoring, remote diagnostics and maintenance optimisation.
“The growing adoption of ZF’s advanced Transics-branded Fleet Management Solutions is helping propel the digitalisation journey of the EMEA logistics and transportation industry to the next level of efficiency and safety by providing better information for smarter operational decisions and automation,” said Hjalmar Van Raemdonck, head of systems solutions digital at ZF Commercial Vehicle Solutions.
“These digitalisation partnerships are at the very heart of our growing fleet customer base as we develop forward-looking digitalised solutions that automate key activities to drive leaner, greener and safer fleets through efficiencies and cost savings that are simply not possible with traditional solutions.”
The TX-Trailerpulse is a trailer-focused IoT connectivity solution that combines real-time track and trace functionality with additional remote trailer health and diagnostics information.
“The solution is the first of its kind, combining both trailer tracking and advanced remote diagnostics, at a cost that enables fleet-wide deployment across all trailer types,” explained Hjalmar Van Raemdonck.
“Directly connected to the trailer electronic braking system (TEBS), the solution captures and processes TEBS and trailer diagnostics data via the web-based TX-Trailerfit portal, which assesses the technical health of the trailer and can provide, for example, root cause indication and repair hints.
“Additionally, users can monitor the TEBS’ use over a trailer’s lifetime and check critical TEBS events. Health and diagnostics insights can be shared easily and securely with workshops and service partners building a digitally connected repair and maintenance chain, creating a direct positive impact on the total uptime of fleet vehicles.”
The system can be easily installed with its two-point housing layout and single, cabled connectivity to the TEBS system, either as an original Equipment fitment or as a retrofit option for fleets.
In addition to providing the same information to the back office that a technician would receive from a physical readout in the workshop, TX-Trailerpulse makes data available remotely and in real time. Specifically, the solution provides a wide range of trailer information, including trailer brand, model, EBS type and axle configuration.
TX-Trailerpulse processes the diagnostics code history, including maintenance and uptime management as recorded by the Operating Data Recorder (ODR) specifically recording events such as tilt alerts, insufficient tyre pressure, RSS events, warning lamps, supply pressure warnings, wheel-speed, demand pressure and axle load sensor data.
The occurrence of any new Diagnostic Trouble Code or EBS warning lamp forces a new read-out of ODR data and results in a constantly updated trailer health score for each vehicle. A historical overview of these error codes and warning alerts in the TX-Trailerfit portal enables patterns or reoccurrences of technical issues to be readily identified and addressed.
Taking DTCs and contextual data into consideration, a health score is generated for each individual trailer within a fleet, allowing operators to prioritise maintenance activities and to act preventively to mitigate any degradation of trailer health scores.
Fleets can securely share these overviews with workshops, enabling accelerated repair and maintenance by improving the communication flow on trailer health throughout the service chain, generated error codes and diagnostics data.
As a result, says ZF, workshops are better prepared to perform analysis, determine the best course of action and take prompt maintenance and repair decisions. Data captured on trailer health also enables fleet operators to more easily comply with regional or national regulations related to road safety.
Hjalmar Van Raemdonck added: “The workshop is a hugely important stakeholder in the servicing process, and by utilising leading FMS solutions and connectivity technologies, workshops can make their services even more effective and efficient. In turn, this helps to improve the bottom line of workshops, fleet operators and their customers.”
