I was in Washington state recently as part of a small, select group of truck journalists invited by heavy and medium duty truck manufacturer Kenworth Truck Company to meet with company executives at its headquarters for an update on the company's doings.
Also included a part of event was a ride and drive event at the Paccar (Kenworth is owned by Paccar) Technical Center in Mt. Vernon, WA. The Center has world-class engineering, simulation and validation capabilities that accelerate product development and ensures that Paccar continues to deliver the highest-quality products, Kenworth officials told me.
The event made available a variety of Kenworth trucks, including theT680 Advantage, T680 Light Weight, T880 tractor and truck, T370 and ICON 900. Since I have my CDL and DOT medical card, in addition to driving on the test tracks at the Paccar Technical Center, I was permitted to put some rigs to the test on the road.
Outlook
Preston Feight, Kenworth's general manager and Paccar vice president, told us that things bode well for the trucking industry as freight tonnage is up nearly 4 percent, year-to-date; truck utilization is around 90 percent; and fleet profitability is up close to 6 percent.
He noted that average fleet age is 6.2 years and driver turnover is about 95 percent.
Investments
Feight said Kenworth has been continually investing in all of its manufacturing plants and in its dealer network. Kenworth has 360 dealers throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with 4,500 service bays.
Dealers have been extending service hours; adding Express Lane service, wherein trucks are serviced in two hours or less; and enhancing service management systems between Kenworth, its dealers and customers to speed service events.
TruckTech+
Kevin Baney, chief engineer at Kenworth, explained the company's new TruckTech+. It enhances vehicle diagnostics on Kenworth Class 8 trucks spec'd with Paccar MX-13 engines.
The technology provides information on engine health to fleet managers and dealers to help optimize truck uptime and productivity, he said. TruckTech+ not only diagnoses the problem, but also provides the recommended solution to the driver and fleet manager.
Notifications may include "keep driving, no action required;" "keep driving and have the fault addressed during the next service interval;" "head to a dealer for service;" or "pull over to prevent damage."
He pointed out that the system "has more than double the number of fault codes than other systems."
If a customer needs to take the truck in for service, Baney says TruckTech+ maps out the locations of the three closet repair facilities. What's more, the data is sent to a secure web portal where the fleet manager can review the truck's location, status, identified issue and recommended solution.
The objective, added Feight, is to maximize vehicle uptime and efficiency. Timely information enables customers to decide more quickly whether the truck stays on the road or heads to a shop where the servicing dealer has the diagnosis and is ready to remedy the problem.
Baney says TruckTech+ will continue to be enhanced over time, taking advantage of Kenworth dealers being geofenced and engines becoming "smarter."
He says vehicle diagnostics will evolve in helping with predictive maintenance, and all the operational truck data being collected will assist with better truck spec'ing.
Other new technologies
Sales of Kenworth trucks has been growing because of the high-quality vehicles being built and the new technologies being added, said Feight.
Baney pointed out some of those technologies:
- Predictive Cruise Control for T680s and T880s with the Paccar MX-13 engine and Eaton UltraShift and Eaton Fuller Advantage automated and manual transmissions. The technology combines cruise control with GPS to help deliver fuel economy by anticipating the terrain ahead and ensuring that the engine and transmission are operating in the most efficient manner.
Predictive Cruise Control can also make subtle adjustments in speed. For example, it can feather off the throttle automatically when the truck is about to crest a hill. This uses the truck’s momentum to ride up and over, then uses its own weight and momentum to gain speed down the hill without adding power like a static cruise.
- Neutral Coast - Based on what the Predictive Cruise Control "sees"’ on the downhill slope, it can automatically tell the transmission to go into neutral coast mode. With this, there is no transmission drag and the truck is free rolling to get back up to speed quicker, which also helps save fuel.
- Driver Performance Assistant - A built-in virtual driver's coach and a tool to improve driver performance. Drivers receive real-time coaching based on coasting and braking as a means to improve fuel economy.
A point system gives drivers and fleets the visual feedback they need to impact improvement.
- Driver Shift Aid - Provides a visual cue - "shift now" light - for when to shift.
- Driver Reward - Used by fleets to reward good driving performance with speed adjustments.
- Advanced charge start system - The ultracapactor-based Maxwell Engine Start Module factory-installed option provides dedicated power to start the truck and frees the truck's standard batteries to focus on powering accessories, such as laptops, refrigerators and electronics, in addition to the truck's electronics and lights.
- New, enhanced 1,800W inverter that provides the convenience of AC power in the sleeper.
- Real-time low tire pressure and high-temperature warning system - A factory-installed option on Kenworth Class 8 tractors and trucks, this system uses wheel-end monitoring so drivers can view, in real-time, tire alerts and pressure or temperature data via an in-vehicle display or integrated OE dashboard. The benefits from this are better fuel economy, extended tire life, enhanced vehicle safety and improved compliance.
- Continued fuel economy improvements. Kenworth has improved its fuel economy by 10 percent since 2013, and continues to do so.
A media gallery from the event can be viewed here.