In a recent press event, Donaldson outlined new and upcoming updates to Filter Minder Connect, its solution for monitoring fuel filters and engine oil condition on heavy-duty truck engines.
Among the updates Donaldson outlined are:
- Engine Oil Monitoring: This contains two components, one of which is a remaining useful life model that will help users identify when oil is nearing or at the end of its useful life. This model is being tested and will be “deployed shortly” according to Nate Zambon, Donaldson’s director of Filter Minder.
- Contamination models: The other component of engine oil monitoring, this is a current project of Donaldson’s that is built to alert users when oil becomes contaminated—by coolant or soot, for instance. It is currently undergoing testing. “If we’re able to detect this information, that can avoid a much more costly repair,” Zambon said, adding that it will “likely be deployed in this calendar year.”
- Air filtration monitoring: A currently available feature that determines how different driving environments affect the filter’s life. Zambon says this will help avoid the issues that could come along with standardizing these maintenance intervals for trucks whose routes are not a one-to-one comparison.
The system is meant to avoid data overload in fleets, Zambon said. “None of our sensors are just providing raw sensor data back to the fleet… we boil it down to a ‘green, yellow, red’ scheme.” These will tell fleets whether service is required and how soon, and can be customized by the fleet, Zambon added. “We’re trying to take that burden of data analysis onto the Donaldson side.”
Additional future projects shared by Donaldson include Filter Minder Connect for Hydraulics, which is currently undergoing testing; and plans to integrate Filter Minder Connect into a fleet’s larger maintenance plans. The latter is part of a partnership with a company Donaldson has not named, saying only that they are making a “cloud-based diagnostics-to-repair solution.” He said the goal here is to “aggregate filtration information into the broader truck maintenance decision-making, and bring into onto a single pane of glass for the fleet manager.” Several fleets are piloting this technology now.
More to mind from Donaldson
Catch up with Donaldson’s telematics efforts by watching our recent interview with Zambon.
