Heavy Duty Trucking, October 2018

HDT OCTOBER 2018 88 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM TRAILERS BODIES ventable stresses Plus its inefficient Local delivery operations may have drivers checking trailers to see if they are ready because the trailers cant tell them Wiesen says That prevents them from doing something more productive with their time Trailer tracking technologies can also tell you if the trailer is ready to roll or not Anytime you can keep wheels moving and mitigate driver frustrations you win says Gerry Mead executive director of innovation for Phillips Connect Technologies which is working to consolidate the information generated by multiple intelligent trailer systems through its TrailerNet platform Fleets can make sure that when a driver picks up a trailer there are no problems no flat tires for instance But it goes beyond tires Dead batteries on other trailer devices or equipment such as liftgates are another possible source of driver frustration Smart trailers can tell you how much charge a liftgate battery has left before the driver picks it up Taylor notes Power management is key for trailers she adds Some fleets have several different sensors on their trailers Many of these are wireless and may have their own batteries Unless a carrier has dedicated personnel visiting each and every trailer parked in a yard or yards on a regular basis the only way they can know for certain the condition of the trailer is to use a trailer tracking solution that can monitor these device batteries including those on the tracking device itself Do you know the temperature inside your refrigerated vans Spoiled loads due to improper temperature control can hurt the bottom line Plus recently enacted rules regarding food transport authorized by the Food Safety Modernization Act require carriers to be able to document the condition of all food products under their control from pickup to delivery which includes the product and reefer temperature While monitoring the temperature inside a refrigerated trailer has always been a major consideration the new rules add regulatory teeth Reefer unit manufacturers offer services to monitor the reefers performance and sensors inside the trailer monitor the box as well as how many times and for how long doors have been opened When asked a carrier must provide a record that perishable goods were transported at the correct temperatures says Ryan Driscoll director of marketing for GPS Insight or if a door remains opens too long Are you having trouble tracking trailer maintenance Mead says the maintenance benefits of smart trailers are huge And he should know as the previous executive vice president of maintenance at U S Xpress The ROIs speak for themselves Many truckload carriers set maintenance schedules using a pre determined time based system that may not deliver the best results Instead using a mileage based scheduling with data supplied by 3 4trailer tracking devices fleets can be sure they are bringing their trailers in at the right time For things like brake lights and tires if you can cut those costs by a few percent thats huge Mead adds Breakdowns are costly If I can cut those costs by 25 by being more predictive with A lot of devices today are referred to as smart There are smartphones smart TVs smart cities When referring to trailers it generally means one equipped with devices that gather a host of data Ryan Driscoll director of marketing for GPS Insight describes a smart trailer has one that has location intelligence coupled with load sensor technology to know if a trailer is full or has capacity for another pickup and door sensors to know when the door is open closed along with other information What that means to me is connectivity says Gerry Mead executive director of innovation Phillips Connect Technologies You may have GPS or other functionality but its not really connected Advancements in a number of technologies just as with cell phones and other devices have upped the intelligence of trailers These include advances in battery life solar powered devices faster broadband networks and less expensive and better sensors such as load sensors door sensors and temperature sensors Sensors also help with planning loads Imaging technology such as Spireons FleetLocate Cargo Sensor which uses optical imaging and lasers can show fleet managers a better picture of whats inside each trailer and help determine if there has been any damage to the cargo Smart technology also can be used in intermodal operations with chassis and container tracking devices that can tell a fleet whether a chassis is loaded or not and which container is on which chassis Perhaps the main thing says Mead is the ability to collect data into one place in the cloud so it can be used WHAT MAKES A TRAILER SMART The number one benefit from using trailer tracking technology is being able to know where all your assets are located PHOTO SPIREON