Tire monitoring solutions for preventing costly fleet breakdowns

Roadside breakdowns significantly harm a fleet's operations. There is an increase in service expenses, a decrease in  productivity, and a risk to the safey of drivers and roadside technicians. It is crucial for fleets to take all necessary measures to prevent such breakdowns.

One place to start is where the rubber meets the road: Tires are a leading cause of unexpected downtime. By now, you should be familiar with the relationship between underinflation and tire blowouts, and how keeping tires at the proper psi can prevent a costly repair call. But now, fleet analytics provider Uptake is taking preventive tire maintenance to the next level with Tire Insights, a new suite of solutions designed with fleet maintenance and vehicle safety in mind.

According to Uptake, Tire Insights offers enhanced monitoring and tire health management to reduce significant failures by 83%. The software currently includes Tire Leak Insights and Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) Insight. Along with reducing breakdowns, the solutions may improve fuel efficiency by 5% and reduce unsafe driving days by more than 90%, according to the company. These factors lower overall tire maintenance spend, which routinely rests in the top three of a fleet’s top expenses.

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"We have proven Tire Insights are actionable and substantially reduce the risk of tire failures and their associated costs,” said Brian Silva, senior director of data science at Uptake. “We regularly catch tire leaks the same day they start instead of two to three weeks later when they are typically discovered.”

Here are some additional features of the solutions:

Tire Leak Insights

Tire Leak Insights enable early detection of air pressure loss, allowing fleets to address potential issues before they escalate. The tool monitors subtle pressure changes and alerts drivers and maintenance teams proactively, helping to avoid severe tire-related incidents, prolong tire life, and enhance road safety.

TPMS Insight

TPMS Insight detects sensor anomalies that could lead to inaccurate pressure readings. This critical feature ensures data reliability of pressure monitoring and allows for timely interventions, maintaining tire integrity. The system's accuracy and speed make it an indispensable tool for modern fleet operations.

Need for modern tire monitoring solutions

More than 80% of fleets rely on hand-held tire gauges for tire maintenance, and nearly half use visual inspections, according to a survey commissioned by Anyline, a provider of mobile device-based tire tracking software. It's also not uncommon for drivers to rely on a tire thumper to roughly determine a tire's psi. The survey also found that 70% of fleets conduct tire inspections every week or less, though that leaves 30% that possibly perform them on a monthly basis or more. Some were unsure.

“This is a wake-up call for the industry to leverage technology to not only close these gaps but also to enhance overall fleet efficiency and safety,” noted Lukas Kinigadner, CEO and founder at Anyline.

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Anyline’s answer is to provide tire depth, sidewall integrity, and tire tracking abilities via smart devices. That data pairs with the Vienna-based company’s Tire & Vehicle Analytics platform. Using AI, the system can determine if tires have potentially dangerous levels of wear.

Uptake said its solution also uses advanced analytics to detect tire-related issues, such as leaks, sensor malfunctions and pressure drops, up to one month earlier than conventional systems. The software leverages asset and axle tire pressure baselines, which together offer clues to help identify and address issues before they escalate into severe safety concerns.

"At Uptake, we are relentlessly focused on product innovation and excellence,” said Adam McElhinney, CEO of Uptake. “Our new Tire Insights integrate seamlessly with existing tire pressure monitoring systems and leverage historical data to enhance insights and improve fleet maintenance strategies significantly."

In addition to new tire monitoring solutions, Uptake launched a Fleet Insight Assessment Dashboard for a more granular analysis of fleet subsystem health. The new tool offers a high-level overview of Insights produced by a fleet over the past 90 days. Using the Dashboard, fleet managers can quickly cut through the noise and empower their maintenance teams to identify potential pain points in order to make smarter decisions.

Uptake’s Tire Insights are now in a piloting phase with select customers. 

This article originally appeared on FleetMaintenance.com, a FleetOwner affiliate.