Technology

SkyBitz, PSI combine for ‘perfect marriage’ of trailer tracking, tire inflation technologies

Feb. 16, 2015

SkyBitz is an industry leader in trailer tracking, and PSI is the automatic tire inflation system of choice for 70 percent of the largest fleets. So combining those technologies is a “perfect marriage” that will provide clear and immediate benefits to the customers of both, company representatives explained Sunday at the Technology & Maintenance Council's 2015 annual meeting.

Kevin Jones 1

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Al Cohn, PSI

The combined offering provides the ability to monitor tire pressure events and trailer location in real-time, and customers can benefit from various maintenance improvements such as minimizing tire related roadside service calls, improving fuel economy, and reducing early tire removal due to irregular wear.

“Trailer tires historically have the poorest air pressure on an 18-wheeler. By providing tire fault alerts into SkyBitz’s system, customers can monitor tire pressure in real-time and avoid costly roadside breakdowns,” said Al Cohn (pictured above), director, New Market Development & Engineering Support for PSI. “We are excited to work alongside SkyBitz to help solve some of the industry’s biggest challenges.”

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John Higgins, SkyBitz

Improved utilization through trailer tracking allows SkyBitz customers typically to reduce assets by 15 percent, explained John Higgins, VP of sales.

“We got together with PSI to help solve the problem of relying on the driver to get tire alerts back to maintenance in a timely fashion,” Higgins said.

Through this new partnership, enhanced tire status and asset information from PSI and SkyBitz will be delivered through SkyBitz InSight, a Web application that provides a complete, real-time view of assets and cargo status and location information.

Now both the driver and the dispatcher will get real-time notifications if there is a tire system fault.

The bottom line: “There’s not many things in trucking that have a return on investment of less than 12 months. This system typically costs less than the price of two tires,” Cohn said. “When you put that in the scheme of things, it’s a win-win.”

About the Author

Kevin Jones 1 | Editor

Kevin has served as editor-in-chief of Trailer/Body Builders magazine since 2017—just the third editor in the magazine’s 60 years. He is also editorial director for Endeavor Business Media’s Commercial Vehicle group, which includes FleetOwner, Bulk Transporter, Refrigerated Transporter, American Trucker, and Fleet Maintenance magazines and websites.