Construction World March 2017

TRUCKING

Scania’s Connected Services harness diagnostic and communication technology to give contractors real-time feedback on their truck performance, helping to raise the skill level and efficiency of their drivers. Intelligence on various indicators – ranging from fuel consumption, location and speed, to frequency of hard braking, coasting and idling – is transmitted from the trucks directly to dedicated Scania servers, which make the data available on web- based applications. The customer – as well as relevant Scania experts and workshops – can view and download the information they need, either on computer, mobile phone or the Scania Black Griffin wrist-watch. The Griffin looks like a standard watch and connects to Scania’s Fleet Management System – providing the most useful vehicle metrics such as fuel data, driving support score and trend analysis. According to Connected Services Manager Faried Arnold, the FMS device that gathers the data – similar to a ‘black box’ on an aircraft – is fitted with every Scania vehicle and enhances the value of the financial return earned from the asset. He emphasises that an important part of that value emanates from the quality of the driver. “The skill and professional behaviour of the driver in any construction vehicle is vital to ensuring high productivity, improved uptime and long asset life,” said Arnold. “Through Scania’s Connected Services offering, contractors can monitor how well their drivers are doing – on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. This creates the foundation for more effective driver training, and leads to better drivers who enjoy their work while achieving higher output on site.” As part of its total solution for fleet owners, Scania’s Connected Services offer systems and tools to gather and transfer vital data from trucks to their owners – presenting the information on a variety of platforms for easy accessibility. Seamless fleet MANAGEMENT for CONTRACTORS By Paul Crankshaw

Driving real-time data for better hauling productivity: Scania’s Connected Services Manager, Faried Arnold (right), and Theuns Naude, Key Accounts Manager for Construction.

“The construction environment is very demanding on the driver’s expertise, so it is vital they get as much support as possible to hone their skills and keep them sharp,” said Theuns Naude, Scania Key Accounts Manager for Construction. “The data that we collect as part of our Connected Services to customers, allows us to develop an accurate picture of how the vehicle and the driver are performing over time.” According to Naude, the driver can select one of a few different driving modes, which assist in adapting the vehicle’s performance to the specific application. The off-road mode, for instance, provides for changes like raised revolutions per minute for better traction, and quicker shifting between gears. “The driver’s ability, however, is still the most important factor in getting optimal performance while being economical with fuel and maintenance requirements,” he said. “This is why we tailor our driver training to individual needs, and provide the tools to monitor and score each driver’s behaviour according to indicators that will improve overall business performance.” To facilitate this focus on individual drivers, Scania has developed a Tag Teader for driver identification and monitoring. Each driver has their own ID Button which interacts with an ID Button Reader in the cab of the vehicle. This is very useful on construction sites, where trucks change hands at the end of each shift – perhaps three or four times per day. Individual driver behaviour can then be tracked and analysed according to indicators such as gear-changing (on manual configurations) and braking styles. Employers can then link driver scores to company incentive schemes, an effective strategy for promoting safe and responsible driving. Scania is even going a step further than driver training, by developing a driver coaching programme that will further improve the contribution that a good driver makes to the success of a company. “Another valuable benefit of the on-board system is its ability to calculate the truck’s average load,” said Arnold. “Our Connected Services make that data quickly available for contractors who want to optimise their site performance by tracking tonnage.” Remote diagnostics is also central to the value that Connected Services brings to contractors’ operations, he said. By collecting and transmitting detailed technical data from a vehicle to the Scania workshop or support staff, it reduces downtime by ensuring accurate diagnosis and parts selection. By the time the technician arrives on site, he will have insight into the issue at hand, and will be equipped with the appropriate tools and spares. The service also transmits details of any faults identified, so that issues can be reported on the Fleet Management Portal; this allows early, proactive response before faults can escalate and disrupt production. 

The Scania G460 8x4 tipper fitted with the Scania Fleet Management device.

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD MARCH 2017