During the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association 25th Annual HDMA Breakfast & Briefing held on March 27, Keynote Speaker Olof Persson, president of AB Volvo and chief executive officer, The Volvo Group, discussed the current trucking trends and innovations that are moving the industry forward. Among the most important trends is the move toward connected trucks and the role Volvo’s Remote Diagnostics is playing in streamlining the service process.
“We are rapidly approaching a point where there is no truck that will really be ‘offline,’ Persson said. “This offers many opportunities to significantly reduce customer total cost of operation. Today, there is a justifiable and tremendous amount of interest in fuel economy and every tenth of a percentage increase we can deliver is precious.”
However, Persson explained that one day of unplanned downtime can undercut all the equipment innovations moving todays’ trucks. That’s why connectivity’s role in uptime is a strong focus for both Volvo and Mack Trucks. Between the two brands, there are currently more than 80,000 Remote Diagnostics-equipped vehicles on the road today.
“This is a demonstrated ability to reduce average diagnostics time by up to 70% and average repair time by 20%,” Persson said. “We have only started to scratch the surface of the opportunities and the potential of connectivity going forward.”
Volvo’s latest investment in connected truck technologies is its 123,000-sq.-ft. North American Uptime Center, which physically pulls together the personnel and service under one roof. Utilizing Volvo’s three integrated services—Volvo Action Service, ASIST and Remote Diagnostics—Uptime Center professionals monitor and respond to vehicle issues in real time, help dealers troubleshoot difficult cases and find the necessary parts for repair. This all helps Volvo customers increase uptime.
Persson’s speech was heard by approximately 1,000 attendees at the HDMA Breakfast & Briefing. Founded in 1983, the Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA) is a member driven organization that continues to provide industry leadership for NAFTA based heavy duty original equipment and aftermarket commercial vehicle suppliers. This is accomplished through a range of services to its nearly 200 member companies, which represent direct employment of over 180,000 in their U.S. facilities.
