Fleet managers know all too well the challenges that come with operating large, heavy-duty trailer vehicles. Due to their size, additional parts and limited maneuverability, trailer fleets are more inclined to experience wear and tear, including flat tires, worn parts and dead batteries. When these unplanned events occur and your team is not equipped with the proper tools and preventative strategies, your drivers and vehicles are at risk of experiencing emergency roadside service (ERS) events. Whether you need towing, tire changes, fuel delivery or battery boosting, these ERS events slow down productivity, increase downtime costs and wasted resources and compromise driver safety.
While maintenance is inevitable, you can take preventative steps to alleviate the hassle of unplanned events. A good place to start is establishing a preventative trailer maintenance strategy that centers around the building blocks of your trucks and trailers – tires. Prioritizing tire maintenance is the key to operating a safe, healthy and productive fleet. In this blog, MICHELIN Connected Fleet explains how predictive tire monitoring can equip you with the data and insights necessary to minimize ERS events and keep your trailer moving forward.
Before implementing tire monitoring into your operations, it’s important to have a basic understanding of what this technology can do and what it can resolve. The first differentiator is that tire monitoring is designed to support predictive performance, rather than reactive maintenance. You’re provided with a forward-looking approach that keeps your maintenance team on track and your vehicles in good condition.
Technologically, predictive tire monitoring systems blend trailer tracking and advanced tire insights. This can help you monitor performance, control costs and anticipate trailer and tire maintenance needs. MICHELIN Connected Fleet’s Smart Predictive Tire (SPT) solution is designed with these capabilities, going beyond just basic pressure and temperature alerts. SPT predicts when tires will reach critical pressure levels, enabling fleet managers to prevent unexpected events on the road and optimize maintenance scheduling.
Data is the cornerstone of your predictive tire monitoring strategy. By capturing and analyzing tire data, you can optimize fleet performance and prevent road incidents. Solutions like SPT do just that by providing real-time updates and data on tire performance. In terms of functionality, SPT provides time-to-critical alerts that predict when tire pressure will reach critical levels and analyze tire temperatures to help identify potential brake or mechanical issues. Normalized pressure, or cold pressure, readings can also manage service provision, ensuring your fleet runs at its peak fuel efficiency.
With this data at your fingertips, you can closely monitor tire and vehicle performance and incorporate it into your predictive maintenance strategy. Knowing and planning when it’s time for tire check-ups or replacement can ensure better vehicle performance and reduce the risk of emergency roadside service events. In fact, an 80%* reduction in emergency roadside service events was achieved by using Smart Predictive Tire.
tive when approached step by step. Start with a pilot on a small group of vehicles, ideally those most vulnerable to theft or downtime, to test features and refine alerts before expanding across the fleet. At the same time, train drivers and staff to help them understand that the purpose is to improve safety and reliability for efficient asset management. Involving them early helps build trust and ensures the data is used constructively.
It's also important to define clear KPIs that show what success looks like, such as reducing misplaced assets, mitigating downtime or eliminating asset loss incidents. Review these regularly and make adjustments as needed. Finally, link insights to action. Tracking only delivers value when managers use the information to increase asset management accuracy, enhance efficiency and reduce potential risk.
Vehicle and driver safety is the number one priority for any fleet manager. By equipping your trucks and trailers with data-backed tire monitoring solutions, fleets can enhance tire performance, improve vehicle visibility, boost fuel efficiency, and, most importantly, support safety and incident management. With solutions like Smart Predictive Tire from MICHELIN Connected Fleet, you can stay one step ahead of the maintenance curve by making informed data-driven decisions on vehicle performance.
When operating a fleet with reliable and healthy tires, your drivers and vehicles have a better chance of avoiding unplanned incidents, such as emergency roadside service events. Your fleet can stay on the road, and your business can remain uninterrupted. Ready to kickstart your tire maintenance strategy? Contact us today to schedule a complimentary demo and learn more about MICHELIN Connected Fleet’s predictive tire monitoring solutions.
*Results based on pilot programs conducted with customers in international markets; not reflective of U.S. customer data.