EnerSys tackles ‘battery blind spot’ in fleet management data
While transport operators have access to a wealth of data from telematics, diagnostics and maintenance systems about how vehicles are performing, there is still a lot of guesswork involved when it comes to battery health and condition, says EnerSys, leaving a blind spot in an otherwise data-rich approach to fleet management.
The company is addressing this with its Odyssey Connect battery monitoring system, which works remotely to track battery health and condition through an app. The system monitors state of health, state of charge, voltage and temperature, allowing fleet managers to review trends and receive warnings on a smart device when the data indicates attention may be needed.
“A battery can continue to start a vehicle normally even as its condition deteriorates, making an impending failure difficult to identify without additional information,” said EnerSys.
“Instead of waiting for a failure, which could just as easily happen in the depot as on the road, maintenance teams can monitor how a battery is performing and decide whether it needs further investigation, helping to reduce the risk of unexpected downtime.
“Electrical demands, usage patterns and operating conditions can all affect how long a battery lasts. Two batteries of the same age may have experienced very different operating conditions, so replacing batteries simply because they have reached a certain age does not always reflect their actual condition.
“Battery health data gives maintenance teams another way to make that decision. Instead of relying on age alone, they can see how a battery is performing and determine whether it needs replacing, further investigation or continued service. This follows the same principle as predictive maintenance elsewhere in fleet management, where vehicle data is used to identify potential issues and plan maintenance before they lead to unexpected downtime.
For battery maintenance, that means a check can be carried out as part of routine fleet servicing rather than waiting for a failure, says EnerSys, helping fleets avoid replacing batteries that still have useful service life while identifying batteries whose condition warrants closer attention.
Jim Bevan, senior director, transportation products, IMS Global at EnerSys, said: “Transport operators have become very good at using data to manage uptime. Yet the battery is often the one component still being managed by age and gut feel rather than actual condition, and it’s usually the last thing anyone thinks about until the vehicle won’t start.
“The Odyssey Connect battery monitoring system closes that gap, giving operators a clearer picture of battery health alongside the data they already have for the rest of the vehicle. Better visibility can help operators make more informed maintenance decisions, avoid unnecessary battery replacement and manage total cost of ownership.”
