New Inspection Methods Are Needed for New Vehicle Technology

By Bob Blair, President, Lite-Check Fleet Solutions Inc.

The commercial motor vehicle industry is aggressively pursuing innovative vehicle technology for improved performance and safety for heavy-duty vehicles. Some of these innovations include enhanced roll stability systems for brakes, GPS for vehicle tracking, wheel-end sensing, pressure control and monitored lighting systems. Today, these tools are in operation using the North American standards for 12-volt DC power, the standard seven-pin connector and wiring systems, and power line carrier (PLC) communications for trailer anti-lock braking systems’ (ABS) health. Many of the proposed ideas require additional wires or wireless communication technology to transmit device data to the driver and carrier operations.

Questions loom about the testing and maintenance of these new features, especially if the feature becomes critical to road safety. Drivers and maintenance technicians will become familiar and then dependent upon new features that could possibly fail at a critical time. How does the roadside inspector and maintenance operation discover a malfunction? New tools will be needed along with procedures.

The many efforts to improve vehicle road safety, especially with semi-trailers, pose an issue of connectivity. The tractor, truck, bus and automobile are all self-contained vehicles. The trailer depends upon the air, power and operation from the tractor.

The North American standard relies on the PLC signal which requires constant power via the auxiliary circuit in the seven-wire system. ABS can greatly enhance the combination vehicle operation by using CAN (controller area network) as is done in tractors in North America and Europe today. Unfortunately, this requires additional pins beyond the seven used currently. Various suppliers to the industry have proposed methods to add the pins and interconnect the computers and sensors on the trailer. Some proposals involve future changes to voltage, such as 24-volt, 48-volt and higher voltage systems, when considering electrification of trailer axles.

Smart trailer systems are now in production and more are coming. Paul Menig, CEO of Business Accelerants, is leading efforts within the American Trucking Associations’ Technology and Maintenance Council (TMC). TMC’s S7 Trailers, Bodies and Materials Task Force is defining the next generation of trailer electrical/ electronic architecture that will interconnect all the sensors and computers envisioned, while the S1 Electrical Task Force is defining how to interconnect the tractor with the trailer to achieve future capabilities while maintaining backward compatibility with the roughly 4.25 million trailers in operation. In addition, under the auspices of TMC, Menig teamed with Charlie Willmott, of WillGo Transportation Consulting, to conduct a survey called the eSMARTT™ Trailer Survey. The initial study is focused on trailer/rental leasing companies, as they comprise a small number of companies but are large in terms of numbers of trailers, representing close to hundreds of thousands of fleets and their needs for improved operations. Survey results were shared at the TMC Spring Virtual Meeting.

There are four areas of significance for trailer connectivity to the tractor and to fleet operations personnel or elsewhere in the complex supply chain of freight transportation: • Mechanical, such as the king pin, safety chains and air lines • Electrical power • Wired • Wireless

One of several proposed solutions adapts the 15-pin connector used in Europe with the sevenpin connector used in North America. The pin designations in the figure below show there would be duplication of signals from the seven-pin connector. Another recent proposal uses the seven-pin connector for backward compatibility and adds a connector only for digital communications. Many of the proposals have electronics in the nose box of the trailer.

How does a roadside inspector check a trailer with all these features? How does a maintenance technician make sure everything is working correctly? It will certainly be much different than it is today. An agreed-upon standard will help eliminate many variations which add complexity and uncertainty to the inspection process. Computer-controlled equipment will be key, and it will need to communicate wirelessly to the sensors and computers on the trailer as well as to the roadside inspection station.

CVSA and its members will be working with TMC and suppliers to ensure they accomplish their mission to improve commercial motor vehicle safety and inspection and enforcement uniformity throughout Canada, Mexico and the United States. n