ATLANTA, Ga. – Continental rolled out its new ContiConnect digital tire monitoring platform at the first-ever North American Commercial Vehicle (NACV) show this week.

The new system allows fleet managers to view and track tire pressure and temperature data for the whole fleet in one web portal. All the data needed for fleet managers to view (low pressure alerts, high temperature alerts, etc.) are collected via sensors that have been mounted on the inside of the tire. The sensors in the tire work directly with a yard reader, so every time the truck enters or exits the fleet yard, the reader can pick up data from the sensors and send it to web portal via a cellular network.

Continental says the platform will save fleets time and money, as it will streamline tire maintenance programs, improve fuel efficiency, and prevent costly breakdowns.

“Thirty-four per cent of fleets’ tires are still under inflated,” said Paul Williams, Continental’s executive vice-president of commercial vehicle tires for the Americas. “Correctly inflated tires mean 1% more fuel savings, 15% savings on tire wear, and 20% more life in your casing. And if you don’t (properly inflate your tires and monitor them), you’ll end up on the side of the road. Most fleets spend more money having tires repaired at the side of the road, than they do in the terminals.”

Williams explained the tire sensors can detect things like creeping air loss, one of the major causes of tire failure, before it would typically be noticed in a pre- or post-trip inspection.

“Since we introduced our beta system to our 16 test fleets, we’ve had — within the first 100 days — 4,000 alerts that have caused us to have an action to repair those tires before a breakdown,” he said.

Ideally, Williams said, the system should be used by fleets who “are coming and going from their terminals on a regular basis so think dump trucks, waste haulers, school buses…because these trucks will constantly pass by the yard reader, it will communicate and get all the information off the tire, and alert the platform.”

Tire sensors can be retrofitted onto a fleet’s existing tires through a simple installation process, as well, Continental said.

For more information, you can visit Continental at the NACV Show at booth #1412.