Heavy Duty Trucking, December 2018

TIRES WHEELS pressure loss without interaction or notice And TPMS a hands on unit arms fleets with diagnostics and data to help recognize not just tire failures but also tire trends Advantage PressurePro recently introduced Dynamic Sensor technology which use internal logic to evaluate pressure fluctuations over time and determine optimum tire operating parameters Also new and designed to be paired with Dynamic Sensor technology is the PressurePro FX solution Its the first bring your own device solution built specifically for non consumer vehicles says Hargrave FX is quickly showing to be a lower cost easy to use solution for drivers Unique value of each While its understandable to assume theres some overlap in features there are unique aspects of our TPMS and ATIS systems that make them each very valuable to fleets says Lee Alexander Stemcos director of product management IoT Platforms Our TPMS called AirBat RF can identify tire pressure faults at an individual tire level while our ATIS Aeris SmartSense provides an indication of a wheel end taking on air This higher granularity of information can aid quicker diagnose of an issue and know what tire might need to be serviced soon He also points out that although a TPMS can provide offline diagnostics Stemcos ATIS needs trailer power to operate The most beneficial aspect of ATIS is that it compensates for the leak while the trailer is in motion to prevent breakdown and get a driver safely to the next stop Alexander adds that Stemco is working on pilot programs that will better incorporate the two systems so that they both achieve greater value for the fleet and a better experience for the driver Were also exploring strategic opportunities for passing this valuable trailer information through telematics systems In search of connectivity Judith Monte vice president of marketing and customer success for Aperia Technologies says the producer of the Halo ATIS keeps the pulse of fleet perceptions of TPMS and ATIS She says a recent survey showed that 8 out of 10 fleets preferred ATIS to TPMS However the feature fleets most want integrated into their ATIS solution is connectivity While a fleet can overcome more than 95 of potential tire issues by keeping tires properly inflated with a Halo ATIS our solution is intentionally compatible with TPMS she continues Fleets wishing to inch closer to the 100 mark may be inclined to specify TPMS along with ATIS Monte notes that Aperia has collected data on Halo equipped vehicles encompassing tens of thousands of tires across countless use cases and so has developed a wealth of knowledge about tire behavior That gives us the ability to provide actionable insights not only about what is going on with inflation pressure but to alert fleets about things like slow leaks that Halo is keeping up with so that service for that tire can be conveniently scheduled and mismatched tires or impending bearing issues can be addressed Aperias Halo system is unusual in that it can be used on drive axles while most ATIS solutions only work on trailer axles Basic vs advanced TPMS and ATIS are different systems and provide different benefits to end user customers says Steve Slesinski Danas director of global product planning for commercial vehicles TPMS measures tire pressures while the vehicle is in operation and can report low tire pressure events back to the driver or fleet manager but it cannot take any action to re inflate the tire It monitors and reports only Basic ATIS simply pressurizes an air line and the tire to a predetermined value similar to your home air compressor he continues But advanced ATIS like our Dana Spicer Optima system can also monitor tire pressure report tire pressure to the driver or fleet manager and adds an additional critical capability the ability to actively re inflate the tire while the vehicle is still in operation with no input required from the driver or fleet manager Slesinski adds that advanced ATIS can also proactively report any ATIS issues to make certain it is functioning properly its all part of taking automatic action to prevent tire failures He notes that the Optima system works on steer drive and trailer axles Making it safe to stop TPMS especially digital tire monitoring systems and ATIS can be complementary says Michelle Reinhart head of digital solutions for Continental Commercial Vehicle Tires With digital tire monitoring such as our ContiPressureCheck Integrated system drivers and fleet managers are able to see real time tire pressure and temperature This could be complemented by an ATIS thats able to add air to a damaged tire for a short period of time enough for the driver to reach a safe service area rather than having to stop on the side of the road Reinhart adds that Continentals digital tire monitoring systems are not susceptible to air leaks and do not require intensive maintenance making them a better choice for certain fleets Smart systems ahead Earlier this year SAF Holland introduced its Tire Pilot Plus ATIS which can top off or release air to maintain proper and equal tire pressure across all trailer positions The system features a high pressure relief that vents excess pressure when tires become over inflated one of only a few systems that can do so As smart systems evolve TPMS and ATIS will be blended together into one system that will provide the end user the advantages of Historically TPMS and ATIS have been viewed as competing systems but this thinking is starting to shift Vanessa Hargrave Advantage PressurePro Fleets wishing to inch closer to the 100 mark overcoming tire issues may be inclined to specify TPMS along with ATIS Judith Monte Aperia Technologies HDT DECEMBER 2018 76 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM