Today (and more so tomorrow) truck maintenance technicians and line management, supported by their employers, are turning to new tools and technologies to meet the challenges presented by modern engines, new power sources, and a variety of truck safety and data communication options offered by OEMs and accessory manufacturers. The purpose is to be able to respond quickly to in-route issues and to reap rewards and the dividends through predictive maintenance resulting in less vehicle downtime and customer cost associated with that, improved safety, and the eventual lowering of operating costs. While in this transformation period, commercial truck owners and operators are also dealing with substantial increases in costs for new equipment and OEMs are actually learning more “on-the-go” from their sensory systems.
Some background … equipment such as Class 8 trucks being produced today are preloaded with a valuable list of electronics and wireless communication capabilities which can be expanded over time. The three digital technologies behind these innovations are vehicle connectivity, artificial intelligence, and autonomous operating systems. Experts say these systems will become more powerful and will have the capability to automatically relay data to any designated party at any time. Furthermore, the various systems will become integrated to support safety systems and enhance power-train performance.
Therefore, this growth in the complexity of modern trucks is driving changes at maintenance shops operated by Transervice and for its workers who have to navigate this increasingly digital world. Our maintenance technicians are becoming more like diagnosticians. Vehicle electronics are the source of information that allows for real-time access to operating conditions and fault data that can result in swift actionable repair solutions; so for now and well into the next 5-10+ years maintenance shops will continuously evolve with change. In addition, with Transervice each shop is responsible for maintenance and services of different types of vehicle equipment, with different operating parameters and with a different customer … tractors, box trucks, trailers, MHE, and refrigeration or a mix of types all of which adds to shop complexity.
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