Michelin —a dumb tyre but a smart system
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III by Stove Sturgess
The concept of a tyre with built-in intelligence has held out the promise of more effective, and potentially cheaper, tyre management for at least a decade. Leading tyre companies have explored the possibility of putting transponders in truck tyres that would deliver information on pressure, temperature, mileage and identity. But industry wisdom says fleet operators across America would pay no more than $10 (£6.25) per tyre for this technology, Now Michelin is launching eTire, which costs significantly more than that. But according to Randy Clark, Michelin's North American vice-president of marketing for truck tyres, the fleets are expressing major interest because eTire is a complete tyre management system, notjust a smart tyre.
In fact, the tyre is as dumb as ever. It contains just one small Texas Instruments transponder mounted on a rubber boss bonded to the inside of the tyre, low down near the bead. The real brain is in BibTrack, the software that pulls the pieces together into a fexibie, powerful and Internet-enabled tyre management system.
It also offers automated data collection that provides cradle-to-grave management of every tyre in a truck fleet, whatever the brand. The eTire system reports on individual tyre pressures.
The key is that the data is gathered and updated to the fleet's database automatically by a flooror gantrymounted Drive-By Reader (DBR), or using a hand-held wand. The reader is also the power source, exciting the eTire sensor to take a pressure reading and upload it, along with a date and time stamp and tyre identification number.
Big problems
Using this technology, Michelin solves one of the big problems with in-tyre sensors: how to keep the transponder live through the life of the tyre, including the retread process. By eliminating battery power and software in the tyre, the life of the sensor is extended indefinitely and it stays mounted to the tyre through as many retreadings as the fleet can gain from the casing.
According to Clark, the sensors are designed to be so simple and rugged that they will outlast the tyre. Data from the sensor of a worn out tyre is archived; it is then available to start over on a new tyre, potentially reducing the sensor-per-tyre investment with every new application. Michelin will not speculate on the lifetime of the eTire Sensor, but it has been designed for "very long service".
Data collected by the readers is relatively simple—it is the results that are so sophisticated.
In a 5mph passby the reader, the truck or trailer transponder broadcasts the vehicle identity via a sensor similar to the one in the tyres. The reader then identifies the tyres by axle and wheel position, transmitting a cold-equivalent tyre pressure over an Internet connection. The information uploads to the fleet's unique database on Michelin's server and compares the pressures recorded with the fleet's criteria.
All tyres are logged by date and time, including any tyre pressure that is outside the established parameters. A return signal via the Internet back to the reader tells the driver which tyre(s) are outside the criteria, and also posts a recommended activity, is "add 12psi". The software will even recommend removal and repair if pressure is 20% or more belowthe recommended figure.
Data loaded into the database is made available virtually in real time to the fleet manager and the maintenance team, also over the Internet, using BibTrack software.
The interface is through a regular browser and the learning curve for the software is said to be short. Because the data is available over the Internet, tyre managers and fleet executives can access Bib Track wherever they have Internet access.
The power of the system lies in the reports. Tyres with punctures or those in need of other repairs can quickly be detected in exception reports. Tyre costs can be captured by type, wheel position—even by original tread vs retread mileage.
A tyre manager can get information that tells him whether retreading a fourth time, for example, makes better sense than scrapping and replacing.
Michehn sees the hand-held reader as an essential part of the system for any medium-to-large fleet because it allows for the greatest efficiency in using the power of the BibTrack software.
While the drive-by reader offers can monitor the tyres at 5mph, the hand-held reader enables a wide range of other data, using the keypad and menu-driven prompts. These include tyre repair, cost of repair, tyre mount and de-mount, retreading, and the identification of brand and tread.
Used in conjunction with a treaddepth gauge, the wand will prompt for the readings, providing fields for the technician using the hand-held reader to enter the information.
Fleet terminal
The reader could be used by a Michelin dealer to provide this service to smaller fleets, leased trucks and the like. Similarly, the DBR could be embedded at a fleet terminal, at a tyre dealer, truck dealer or truckstop.
The cost, and more importantly the payback, is for operators to assess and decide. For some, where tyre management is imperative, it is set to become an essential business tool. Michelin readily admits that it will not suit everyone.
Spreadsheets are available to help define the payback; this could be of use to fleet operators who see the potential benefits in getting a tighter grip on tyre management, a boost in safety, better on-time performance, technician efficiency, tyre costs and soon.
If you want to reduce the third biggest cost in any operation (after drivers and fuel), eTire might be just what you need.