Regular readers of Fleet Equipment know that we can’t squeeze all the great info we cull for our feature stories onto the printed page. Often times, we have to leave editorial gems on the cutting room floor in order to deliver a great print story. But anything goes online. So here are some outtakes from our interview with Bill Kozek, Navistar president of Truck and Parts.
Fleet Equipment: International is a pioneer in data-driven uptime solutions with its unique open architecture system – Do you find that your customers understand the power of analytics or is there still work to be done helping fleet managers implement a solution?
Kozek: Fleets that take advantage of the data that OnCommand Connection (OCC) provides—such as plain-English diagnostic trouble codes, health reports, severity levels, and fault code action plans, to name a few—have an added advantage when it comes to improving their productivity and uptime. By using the data and insights OnCommand Connection provides, fleets can proactively manage their maintenance operations to keep their vehicles in good health, rather than reacting to unexpected problems. That’s a huge advantage.
To take the fullest advantage of data and analytics, fleets need to understand how they can use OCC data to drive efficiency. They need to assure they have proper procedures in place when fault codes do appear. Typically, the greatest success comes when fleet managers, dispatchers, and drivers are in constant communications, whether they’re using OCC data to capture insights on uptime trends, or to update their preventive maintenance schedules.
Fleet Equipment: Can you share an example of how a fleet has grown its usage of OnCommand?
Absolutely. Here’s a perfect example of how fleets are using OnCommand Connection. In the past, when a “check engine” light illuminated on a vehicle instrument panel, many fleets would tell the driver to pull over to the side of the road and call for service. Well, truth be told, there are any number of diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) that can cause an engine light to turn on. Although some DTCs do require immediate attention, many can actually be taken care of the next time the truck is back at its home base, or when it is scheduled for its next service visit.
To help provide added visibility into what is really going on, OCC provides descriptions and severity levels. It indicates what is likely causing the engine light to turn on, and it empowers fleets to make informed decisions about when to service the truck.
Fleets that are empowered with this tool are seeing an almost immediate increase in their productivity. Combine that with the fact that our solution can read fault codes not just on International Trucks, but also on other OEM models and engines, and you can see why so many customers have embraced OCC to help reduce their total cost of ownership.
Click here to read the printed interview with Kozek.
Fleet Equipment: How many trucks are running OnCommand today? What percentage of those trucks are not International trucks?
Kozek: We have over 165,000 trucks on OnCommand Connection today, of which 60% are models made by our competitors. So that gives you a sense of just how helpful fleets are finding OCC to be, in providing a whole-fleet solution for their proactive maintenance needs.
