Benefits of connectivity and telematics

Connectivity and telematic technologies used in the trucking industry have advanced significantly in recent years – and with them, other key advancements. Vehicles and components are smarter than ever thanks to smaller, more advanced electronics and widespread communications infrastructure. Digital applications such as remote monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics are changing vehicle management.

Today, customers have a wealth of real-time data from their engines to leverage, ultimately increasing vehicle uptime, reducing costs and enhancing efficiency. 

What is telematics?

Telematics is the combination of telecommunications – technology like phones and cables – and informatics – computer systems. Telematics systems can provide customers with comprehensive, real-time insights into various aspects of their vehicles, such as engine health, fuel consumption and maintenance needs.

Connectivity technologies can accumulate insights and send information regarding a vehicle remotely, including the engine’s health, driving patterns and fuel usage.

Telematics and connectivity are critical technologies for modern customers to consider integrating into their vehicles. Here are some of the key benefits of telematics and connectivity.

Improving uptime with remote diagnostics and prognostics

Telematics and connected solutions can improve uptime for vehicles in several ways.

1. When an equipment failure occurs, remote diagnostics can help technicians identify the problem and ensure the right parts are available for repair.
2. Predictive service insights or prognostics systems can significantly increase uptime. By identifying problems before they cause a failure, preventive maintenance can extend equipment life and reduce downtime. This technology monitors a customer’s entire fleet, notifying them of only the engines that require attention.
3. Connectivity allows customers to remotely push over-the-air updates to any trucks under their control. This means that trucks require no additional downtime to apply updates and always have the latest software to deliver the highest performance and reliability. Cummins' Over-the-Air Programming allows customers to update both engine parameters and ECM calibrations remotely via over-the-air programming technology, without ever opening a hood or visiting a service facility.

Reducing operational costs

Connectivity and telematics solutions can provide significant cost savings for trucking companies.

Timely maintenance and repairs can prevent more extensive and costly breakdowns, ensuring that trucks remain in optimal condition with minimal downtime. Cummins Inc. is constantly monitoring and analyzing engine data on every vehicle in a customer’s fleet, whether it’s 100 vehicles or 5,000 engines. Cummins receives real-time data and analyzes it. Only engines with potential issues are flagged and require customer notification. Not only are customers aware of the few engines in their fleet that require attention but can also build a smarter, more accurate maintenance schedule.

Environmental benefits of connected trucks

Advanced telematics-based insights also allow customers to study their driver’s behavior and determine areas of efficiency. With cloud-based management, drivers are routed to the nearest service station, eliminating unnecessary mileage when looking for a shop. 

Safety benefits

Telematics data can monitor driver behavior to help identify and address unsafe driving practices such as harsh braking. With data on driver behavior, businesses can offer further training to help keep incidents to a minimum.

By using telematics data to optimize maintenance, trucks become more reliable and are therefore safer to drive. Preventing breakdowns keeps drivers and other road users safe.

Further benefits of connectivity and telematics

Data collected through remote monitoring can improve optimization for current vehicle models and future engines. Performance and maintenance data on current generations of engines will enable more robust and efficient engines in the future.

Cummins Connected Solutions® meet stringent data security, storage, processing and transmission requirements. They’ve been validated to deliver optimal performance for current and future capabilities. Cummins ensures that customer data is protected and only shared in the manner to which customers agree.

For customers, connectivity and telematics in truck fleets can improve operational efficiency. Explore Cummins’ full suite of electronic service tools, from software and mobile applications to digital hardware geared to optimize the performance and reliability of your Cummins-powered equipment.

Contact Cummins today to find out how you can use your fleet's data to increase uptime, reduce costs and environmental impact, and improve safety.