Author: Gary L. Wollenhaupt

While self-driving utility trucks are still a few years away, advanced driver assistance systems are here now. Most commercial vehicle manufacturers offer ADAS as standard or optional equipment on at least some vehicles, and fleet operators are figuring out how to train and manage drivers using these systems.

Commercial trucks offer many of the same safety systems found on passenger vehicles: lane departure warning and assist, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot detection, adaptive cruise control and others. With all the news about self-driving cars and trucks, there can be legitimate confusion about how these systems work.

That’s why driver training is crucial – so drivers understand what the systems will do and what they don’t do.

Driving Dynamics (www.drivingdynamics.com), a fleet driver training provider, has included advanced safety systems in its fleet training classes for more than a year, according to Art Liggio, president and CEO. The company has discovered some uninformed expectations while training about 12,000 drivers per year.

“Drivers are assuming the vehicle technology will do things for them that it actually does not, or in some cases, they think they have technology in the vehicle that they do not have,” Liggio said.

So, a driver may think they do not have to brake in traffic if the truck is equipped with emergency braking assist, for example. The technology can also provide a false sense of security where drivers feel like they don’t have to pay as much attention to the road. They may rely on blind-spot detection and not be as diligent in looking at traffic when changing lanes.

“When people think that their vehicle is going to do more things to keep them safe, they take on more risky behavior,” Liggio said.

Also, drivers need to understand how the systems function and what it feels like if lane-keeping assist activates to keep a vehicle between the lines. If the driver is caught off guard and tries to intervene, they may actually compound the issue, Liggio explained.

Isuzu rolled out a suite of advanced safety features on the new N-Series diesel commercial trucks, and the company expects to add it to the gas-engine version in the future, said Tim Ellsworth, product manager for Isuzu Commercial Truck of America (www.isuzucv.com).

Commercial fleet buyers are spec’ing trucks equipped with advanced safety features, especially those that can’t be disabled by the driver. “Fleet operators believe they’re a major benefit for the safety of the driver,” Ellsworth said.

One of the most requested features at Isuzu is automatic emergency braking, where the driver receives a warning based on proximity to another vehicle. The system can automatically brake to avoid or lessen the impact of a crash if the driver does not react in time.

A limiting factor in the availability of advanced systems is the upfitting process for commercial trucks. Forward-facing cameras and sensors are built in at the factory. But systems like blind-spot monitors or 360-degree cameras that use cameras and sensors mounted on the rear of the vehicle must be integrated during the upfit. On Ram trucks, kits with rear parking sensors are shipped with the trucks for the upfitter to install on the body.

Tracking Driver Behavior
With the manufacturers’ ADAS offerings, managers can’t track driver habits for training and coaching purposes. So, fleets are turning to in-cab monitoring systems to track driver behavior. Certarus (https://certarus.com), a low-carbon energy supplier, uses the Samsara (www.samsara.com) dash camera and telematics device for in-cab monitoring in more than 200 light- and heavy-duty vehicles. The system uses a camera, accelerometer and other technology to (1) capture the driver’s actions and the vehicle’s performance and (2) send alerts through the vehicle’s telecommunications gateway. When the system senses hard acceleration or braking events, a rolling stop or going over railroad tracks without slowing down, it sends a 20-second video to the safety team for review.

Certarus recently started monitoring distracted driving, said Kaylee Stach, the company’s lead transportation compliance coordinator. The system sends a five-second video clip if it senses the driver taking their eyes off the road or the vehicle’s instruments. With real-time updates, the team can respond to a hard-braking alert to see if the truck hit a deer, for example. “We check with the driver to see if they’re OK and if there’s any damage,” Stach said.

When the systems were first installed, the average driver score was 90 out of 100 based on the length of the trip and their performance. In the first quarter of 2021, the average had risen to 95, Stach noted. “We’ll give the drivers a gift card reward when they hit 100 for a month,” she said. “It’s really improved their driving habits, and speeding has gone way down,” she said.

Initially, drivers weren’t thrilled about being monitored, but it helped to know that only the health and safety team was reviewing the video, Stach said. “We tell them, ‘If you’re a great driver, we will never have to review a video from you.’” The drivers get to see the video as well, so they understand the process.

Fleets and drivers are still adjusting to the new technology, so for some fleets, the results are mixed.

“From what we’re hearing from our clients, they’re not experiencing the return on investment they expected from the more sophisticated driver assistance systems,” Liggio said. “In fact, some of our fleet operators have experienced a slight increase in crash rates.”

Hopefully, safety results will continue to improve as drivers acclimate to vehicles that help them drive.

“Fleet operators need to re-engineer their drivers for the new methodologies and operational control that they have to navigate their vehicle safely,” Liggio said. “It really is a partnership between the driver and the technology.”

About the Author: Gary L. Wollenhaupt is a Phoenix-based freelance writer who covers the transportation, energy and technology sectors for a variety of publications and companies.

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Common ADAS Technology*

• Adaptive brake assist
• Adaptive cruise control
• Auto high-beam headlamps
• Blind-spot warning
• Distance alert
• Forward collision warning with brake support
• Lane-keeping alert and assist
• Pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking

*Names vary by OEM

If the last time your utility bought medium-duty trucks was eight to 10 years ago, the advancements in remote diagnostics available on new vehicles could be a game-changer for fleet maintenance.

Today, every OEM offers some level of remote diagnostic capability in their commercial trucks. Those diagnostics use onboard electronic sensors and connections to monitor and communicate components’ performance and status to fleet managers in real time. There are aftermarket solutions that provide a deeper level of management capabilities as well.

The original telematics technology captured the diagnostic trouble codes or fault codes generated by a vehicle’s onboard diagnostics required for emissions control beginning in 2005. As the technology and regulations developed, manufacturers deepened the level of information available from transmissions and other components.

A few years ago, truck telematics and remote diagnostics were considered separate functions. Today, with technology advancements and widespread adoption, they’re essentially the same, said Steven Berube, senior business development manager of off-road and vocational for Geotab (www.geotab.com), a remote diagnostics provider.

“The technology continues to become more and more effective, and you have more and more connected components on vehicles,” he said.

Like the system available on Ford medium-duty trucks, most telematics allow fleet users to monitor locations via GPS tracking and geofencing, get live vehicle health alerts to plan and limit downtime, set reminders for vehicle service, analyze driver behavior and help manage fuel usage to reduce costs.

Moving to Condition-Based Maintenance
Using real-time data from vehicles, fleet managers can move from interval-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance.

“Instead of changing the oil every six months, you can monitor the performance of a vehicle and not bring in trucks that don’t need to come in, or if a truck gets worked harder than others, you can bring it in sooner,” Berube said.

The Detroit Connect system on suitably equipped Freightliner and Western Star trucks diagnoses fault codes into service information, service soon or service now categories, said Len Copeland, product manager.

“It allows the fleet manager to determine whether he should call a tow truck or allow the truck to do its work,” he said.

For fleets that sign up for the plan, the Detroit Connect call center can diagnose the vehicle and locate the nearest service center with the necessary parts. It can even capture engine performance 60 seconds before the fault code, during the fault code and 15 seconds afterward for more diagnostics information.

“The system is geared toward the elimination of unplanned downtime, or converting unplanned downtime into planned downtime,” Copeland said.

More vehicle systems – such as transmissions, tires and even fluid filters – are being connected to the diagnostics systems. Knowing the temperature of the tires and wheel hubs can help manage tires, one of the highest costs for fleet operators.

“As more components on vehicles are connected through connected solutions, condition-based maintenance becomes more effective,” Berube said.

Managing the regeneration cycle for diesel trucks can help reduce maintenance costs for vehicles that spend a lot of their life at idle speeds.

“There’s a lot of attention focused on the diesel regeneration system because if it’s not managed properly, it’s going to cause challenges,” Berube said.

Fleets also look to telematics and remote diagnostics to manage fuel economy. With a properly spec’d truck, fleet managers can monitor idle time, driving behavior and other factors. The data also can help to make sure trucks are properly spec’d for their use, such as choosing the right transmission for the job.

“Fleet managers can have some actionable insights into how they can save money on fuel consumption,” Copeland said.

Fleets can partner with analytics companies and mine data based on engine and vehicle conditions for prescriptive maintenance information. The analytics could focus on an individual vehicle as well as vehicle models or use cases.

“Plenty of fleets are already proactively consuming fault code data from their remote diagnostic partner and then feeding that into a maintenance application to identify major critical faults to prevent catastrophic failure,” Berube said.

With two-way connections to the vehicle, manufacturers will be able to update firmware on engines and other components, similar to how Tesla can manage the programming on its cars remotely. Monitoring tire pressures and oil filter health in real time are coming soon as well.

Improved Failure Forecasting
As more connected vehicles enter fleet use, there will be a more extensive database to support machine learning, leading to more sophisticated algorithms for predictive maintenance. Based on millions of miles worth of data, systems will improve the ability to forecast when a component will fail according to the sensor data and any fault codes that are generated.

“If you can predict with better than 75% certainty that the component will probably fail, the system can identify that and notify the customer to eliminate unplanned downtime,” Berube said.

Fleet data is becoming a valuable commodity as manufacturers and vendors are vacuuming up engine and component diagnostics information as well as driver behavior and environmental conditions that feed into the analytics models.

“Big data companies are wanting to partner with fleets and ingest their data and effectively predict fault codes,” Berube said. “Fleets will know when they have a dangerous condition before it happens.”

About the Author: Gary L. Wollenhaupt is a Phoenix-based freelance writer who covers the transportation, energy and technology sectors for a variety of publications and companies.

A number of tire manufacturers are developing high-tech solutions for the truck and bus radial market segment, which includes tires for the Class 4, 5 and 6 trucks that are the backbone of many utility fleets. Tires and related items typically are among the top three costs of running a fleet, so even incremental improvements can slash expenses.

Smart Tires
Tire makers are developing intelligent tires that communicate information about performance in real time, including wear, temperature, pressure and speed. Each tire has a sensor that sends information to the cloud, where fleet managers can access it for individual vehicles or the overall fleet.

Fleet managers also can benefit from interactivity with other smart environments – like fleet telematics – to improve sustainability and efficiency. So far, Goodyear (www.goodyear.com) has collected more than 3 million miles of data in its intelligent tire testing.

“As vehicles become smarter and more autonomous, intelligent tires – as the only part of the vehicle that actually touches the ground – will become even more critical,” said Johnny McIntosh, director of integrated solutions and tire management for Goodyear.

Connected tires combine with algorithms tweaked to predict replacement intervals and maintenance, which allows for scheduling of services before a tire fails.

The intelligent tires use an RFID tag, a sensor that transmits tire information to a cloud-based application that enables fleet operators and drivers to identify and resolve potential repair issues that might result in vehicle downtime.

For example, if a tire on a truck suddenly lost air pressure, a fleet operator would be notified immediately, even before the driver had time to pull over.

When a tire needs replacement, real-time data – including the tire brand, model and size, as well as the speed and traction ratings of each tire – is available on one screen for fleet operators to review.

All Michelin (www.michelin.com) commercial truck tires are manufactured with RFID technology, but it’s currently limited to inventory use, said Brandon Gray, operational marketing manager – B2B Services for Michelin North America. Connected tires help fleet managers control inventory to reduce losses and ensure tire availability.

Fleet Services
Another current tire trend is Tires as a Service, similar to Software-as-a-Service and other X-as-a-Service offerings. For example, Goodyear’s Tire Management suite offers management and monitoring for fleet operators. The TireReady service manages the life cycle of a tire using a subscription model. Another option provides active on-vehicle monitoring that can identify leaks and high temperatures in real time. Other tools – such as a drive-over reader device and a digital inspection toolset – offer efficient, digitally based tire-monitoring solutions that give fleet managers more information at a faster rate.

Michelin’s Tire Care is a predictive tire program in which tires are inspected on-site for low pressure, irregular wear and uneven tread depths. Fleet managers get customizable reporting to track immediate needs, performance data, forecasting and even cost per mile, Gray said. 

Tire Design
Utility fleet managers look for tires that last a long time and help improve fuel economy with every mile. Class 4-6 truck tires need to carry a 25,000-pound truck over the harshest roads and terrains in the country, from servicing power lines in the middle of Vermont forests to fighting wildfires throughout California. They need to be tough enough to endure the cutting and chipping of unpaved access roads and then roll the truck comfortably and safely down the highway.

Strength and durability are of utmost importance to a good tire in this vehicle class, said Phil Mosier, Cooper Tire’s commercial tire development manager. Cooper (https://us.coopertire.com) is working on compounds to balance treadwear characteristics, such as cut and chip resistance, handling and life cycle.

“The latest tread compounds improve handling and reduce rolling resistance of the tires for better fuel economy,” Mosier said.

Goodyear’s Fuel Max RTD, a regional drive tire, was designed with a low rolling resistance compound, helping to increase fuel efficiency, traction and long miles to removal, according to Dustin Lancy, commercial product marketing manager for Goodyear. The tire, which bears the three-peak mountain snowflake badge for winter traction, is built to provide a high level of traction as it wears, allowing the truck to stay on the road longer before it’s time to change the tire.

Michelin’s advanced compounds use two layers, the top one that provides long life and the bottom layer that dissipates heat to improve tire casing life, Gray said.

About the Author: Gary L. Wollenhaupt is a Phoenix-based freelance writer who covers the transportation, energy and technology sectors for a variety of publications and companies.

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4 Tire Performance Factors

1. Removal mileage. It’s a measure of the miles per 1/32 inch of tread depth that a tire should run before it should be replaced. Some fuel-efficient tires may be constructed with less tread depth to reduce weight and rolling resistance. New designs can improve removal mileage by 15%.

2. Low rolling resistance. Tires with low rolling resistance can save a lot of fuel over the life of the tire. However, there may be tradeoffs with durability and traction, depending on the truck’s work profile.

3. Driver behavior. Improving driver behavior can boost tire mileage up to 35% through reducing wear and spotting signs of trouble before they lead to failure.

4. Tire pressure. Maintaining proper air pressure is the simplest step to improving tire life. Follow manufacturer recommendations for tire size and load range.

Diesel has been the traditional engine for medium-duty utility trucks. But with Ford, GM, Isuzu and other OEMs recently launching new gas-powered models, utility fleet professionals have more options than ever to consider. Recent volatility in fuel prices has changed the equation as well.

So, which is better – gas or diesel? The answer is, of course, “It depends.”

Diesel engines use about a third less fuel than comparable gasoline engines and are particularly well-suited for high-idle situations where gasoline engines don’t perform as well.

But gas-engine trucks cost less to purchase, and maintenance is usually less expensive. On the other hand, diesels tend to have a longer useful life and retain more value at high mileages when they are released from the fleet, according to George Survant, an experienced fleet consultant.

Element (www.elementfleet.com), a national fleet management company, has seen a rising interest in gas-engine trucks from fleets that have used diesels in the past.

“Recent fleet experiences are suggesting very strongly that gas engines – besides being less costly on acquisition – can be more easily and cost-effectively maintained, and that overall their lifespan is about equal to diesel depending on the application,” said Mark Stumne, Element’s director of truck services.

Fleet replacement cycles typically are around nine years, so the choice between gas and diesel can have a long-term impact on a utility’s costs. And with rapidly advancing technology, the answers may change by the next time a fleet invests in new vehicles.

Beyond the Fuel Pump
The ramifications of the gas-vs.-diesel decision go beyond which fuel pump the driver uses. Maintenance and life-cycle costs should be part of the decision tree as well.

In some use cases, diesel trucks are still the clear winner. If the truck will be towing heavy loads, such as excavators on a trailer, or covering many highway miles, the diesel’s high torque and fuel mileage make the most sense. Diesels are still the go-to option for power-takeoff operations for snowplows, generators and hydraulic accessories, like bucket lifts.

However, the two-stage emissions control system on modern diesels presents some challenges. A diesel in a high-idle application, such as operating a PTO system, doesn’t reach a high enough temperature to properly activate the diesel particulate filter. The DPF emissions system can then become clogged with ash, leading to breakdowns. Preventive maintenance could include running a forced regeneration cycle to ensure the emissions system is cleaned properly, Survant said.

Gas-powered engines don’t operate as well as diesels in high-idle situations, and manufacturers are beginning to recommend additional preventive maintenance, including more frequent oil changes to prevent problems.

Historically, a rule of thumb said diesels would last about 250,000 miles compared to gas trucks that were good for around 150,000 miles. Improvements in gas-engine durability mean the life-cycle gap between gas and diesel is closing. Survant noted that if the rest of the truck is ready to be taken out of service at 100,000 miles, it doesn’t make sense to invest in a 250,000-mile engine.

In addition to the lower cost of acquisition, opting for gas engines can pay off in daily operations. They use fewer, less expensive filters and consume less oil, which is cheaper than oil for diesel engines.

“Switching at least some vehicles to gas can simplify maintenance and may actually reduce training costs for technicians,” Stumne said.

Lastly, fleet managers should understand the reliability of their fleet – how often vehicles break down and how long they’re out of service. Unscheduled downtime can lead to using contractors or unreliable backup trucks at a critical time. Every hour an electric or water line is out of service can cost thousands of dollars.

“You may discover that the cost to repair the vehicle in many cases is far less than the impact to your core business,” Survant said.

About the Author: Gary L. Wollenhaupt is a Phoenix-based freelance writer who covers the transportation, energy and technology sectors for a variety of publications and companies.

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5 Factors to Consider
Picking the right gas or diesel vehicle for the task will help to minimize downtime, repair costs and fuel costs while enabling drivers/operators to perform their roles effectively and efficiently. Don’t just look at the acquisition but also the entire life cycle of the asset. Here are five specific factors to consider before you invest. 

1. First cost. Diesels carry a higher MSRP than gas-engine trucks.

2. Work mission. Road mileage, towing/hauling capacity, idling time, PTO usage and other factors can tip the scales in one direction.

3. Maintenance and repair. Diesels tend to fail less frequently but are more expensive to fix when they do break down. Maintaining diesels requires adequately trained technicians and the appropriate tools, spare parts and lubricants. Looking at costs per gallon of fuel burned is a useful way to analyze maintenance costs.

4. Vehicle life. Examine replacement cycles to see how long trucks last. Invest in diesels when it makes sense for the work mission.

5. Local regulations. State and local regulations in California and other places discourage the use of diesel fleet vehicles or recommend using biofuels.