Stemco computes an in-cab future
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• Stemco has launched its CTR7000 in-cab computer in the UK.
It is designed for fleets of at least 30 trucks; an average total cost of the full system for a fleet of 50 trucks would be be around 298,500.
The system monitors and reports vehicle and driver performacen, either through sensors or through the vehicle's tachograph inputs. Stemco's product development manager Jim Kerrigan claims the system's first user, Le Prin Foods of Denver, Colorado recorded a 22% increase in fuel efficiency and a 20% reduction in maintenance costs because of the improved driving which is encouraged by the system_ CTR7000 consists of an incab computer and a data entry terminal for the driver. The computer monitors the inputs from the sensors, or tachograph inputs and records them on solid-state memory cartridges with 32K memory capacities which should be sufficient to record up to three weeks' operation.
The first British application of CTR7000 will be with the army in Germany. The system is being fitted to 90 vehicles in the tank transport regiment and will be used to monitor drive performance, with sensors taking inputs from the brakes, the engine revs and the vehicle's speed.
The system used by the army includes a programmable bleeper which operates when the vehicle exceeds a pre-set speed. This has already improved fuel consumption of the fleet by 10%.
Stemco says the system can also be used as a safe speed limiting device, since it allows drivers to overide the system and go faster in an emergency, though the noise will be uncomfortable.