GoMetro has launched a rim-mounted tyre pressure and temperature management system called ConnecTyre that lets heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) owners livestream tyre pressure and temperature into their control centres.
Tyre pressure and temperature are considered some of the hardest but most essential factors to manage in an HDV fleet, says Justin Coetzee, GoMetro CEO. Despite vehicles often spending weeks on the road away from depots, historically, tyre pressure monitoring systems alerted only drivers to issues. This left fleet managers blind to tyre problems and trends, and the fleet as a whole vulnerable to breakdown and delayed deliveries.
“Too little tyre pressure and steering becomes difficult. Too much pressure and you lose road-holding capabilities. Stopping distance is affected by both high and low tyre pressure, increasing the likelihood of accidents. But with live pressure readings visible in the control centre, a fleet manager in Johannesburg can tell a driver on the N1 in Cape Town to pull into the next truck stop and have a specific tyre’s pressure checked,” Coetzee explains.
Tyre pressure is also a key factor in the lifespan of the tyre itself - an important consideration when a replacement tyre costs between R6 000.00 and R10 000.00, and each truck has as many as 28 wheels. Incorrect tyre pressure affects the casing life and reduces the number of times a tyre can be retreaded. It also contributes to increased fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, which are increasingly important points on companies’ balance sheets.
The ConnecTyre sensor is mounted on the drop centre of the rim with a metal strap. It gathers and transmits information via Bluetooth to a central hub in the vehicle, which then relays it to GoMetro’s Bridge web portal. The portal displays the pressure and temperature information in real-time on the fleet manager’s desktop. The sensor has a battery life of up to five years.
Accurate information allows fleet managers to be proactive rather than reactive. For instance, the system will alert fleet managers and drivers to a slow leak before it turns into a breakdown that takes hours to resolve.
“Mounting the sensor takes roughly 25 minutes per wheel, a small investment when delays and damaged cargo as a result of breakdowns can permanently affect customer relations,” Coetzee concludes.
The system was tested on three GoMetro clients’ HDVs, and is being rolled out to their broader fleets at present.
