Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) has announced that Detroit Connect Analytics has extended its services to additional truck models and can also be added to vehicles in the aftermarket. Analytics is now available to order as a new truck option or in the aftermarket on the new Freightliner Cascadia, original Cascadia and Western Star 5700 truck models spec'd with Detroit engines. Detroit Connect Analytics automatically translates critical fuel consumption and safety data into interactive and easy-to-understand reports that provide actionable insights for increased vehicle and fleet performance.
"We understand data is essential to making smart business decisions in todays connected world, but the abundance of data can be time consuming for our customers to study and put into action in their fleets," said Jason Krajewski, director of connectivity for Daimler Trucks North America. "Expanding the services to other models and to the aftermarket allows fleet managers to spend less time crunching numbers and more time focusing on vehicle and driver performance across their fleet."
Depending on the truck model, customers can opt for either Fuel Performance reports, Safety Reporting or Fuel Performance and Safety Reporting. Through a dedicated section of the Detroit Connect portal, customers will not only have access to the performance data for a single vehicle but they will also be able to understand the performance of their entire fleet.
Fuel Performance reports interpret a variety of factors that impact fuel economy, such as engine speed, idle time, cruise control usage, engine power, integrated powertrain performance and driver interaction. The automated reports provide customers with more than just basic fuel economy data. The reports offer fleet managers insights into their vehicles' performance and highlight driving behaviors that are affecting that performance so they can make informed decisions on how best to improve their operations.
Safety Reporting collects data from events such as collision mitigation braking, lane departure warnings and distance violations from the safety system on the vehicle, such as Detroit Assurance, and converts it into Safety Reports, helping customers visualize these events either across their fleet or for a specific trip or vehicle. Onboard sensors capture events 15 seconds before to 15 seconds after they occur, further highlighting what fleet managers should focus on to help improve driver behavior.
"Our experts have developed algorithms that transform data into deep, actionable insights that can have a significant impact on uptime and the bottom line," said Krajewski. "Together with our fuel-efficient on-highway truck models and Detroit powertrains, Detroit Connect Analytics adds a new dimension to the powerful combination that DTNA provides to help customers optimize their cost of ownership."
For the original Freightliner Cascadia and Western Star 5700, Detroit Connect Analytics is delivered through the Zonar VTHU platform.
"By offering the advantages of Detroit Connect Analytics through Zonar telematics, users will be empowered with a growing amount of actionable data to proactively manage their engines and drivers while increasing the uptime of their vehicles," said Gary Schmidt, vice president of business solutions at Zonar. "We are excited to support Detroit Connect Analytics through our strategic alliance with DTNA to help more fleets maintain a high level of fleet performance and safety while on the road"
Analytics is part of the Detroit Connect suite of connected vehicle services, which also includes Detroit Connect Virtual Technician and Detroit Connect Remote Updates.
All Detroit Connect services are accessible via the Detroit Connect portal. Through the portal, fleet managers can access vehicle fault event and performance data and deepen their knowledge about their fleet health.
