Samsara has bolstered its Smart Trailers solution to optimize customer solutions, the company announced Sunday during a press conference at ATA's Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) Annual Meeting in Nashville.
David Gal, vice president of Product and Engineering at Samsara, says the company's Smart Trailer solution gives drivers and the back office real-time visibility into tire and power status in the Samsara dashboard, enabling fleets to proactively maintain their trailers, stay in compliance and make their trailer operations safer overall. He says the solution's new features were added with that focus in mind.
Automatic Tire Inflation System (ATIS) monitoring
Samsara ATIS monitoring delivers real-time alerts on tire pressure issues to both drivers and the back office, giving fleets the proactive edge they need to catch leaks that may be hidden by automatic inflation. By identifying potential problems early, Gal says customers can dramatically reduce the risk of costly tire blowouts and minimize trailer downtime. He adds ATIS monitoring promotes healthier tires overall, aiding in compliance efforts and helping fleet operations run more safely and efficiently.
Power monitoring
Beyond tire issues, Gal says Samsara customer data shows that 15% of trailers in North America experience power loss while driving, which can cause problems with real-time location tracking and increase safety risks on the road. We now offer comprehensive Power Monitoring, which provides trailer visibility — even when 7-way power isn’t operational — and helps fleet operators diagnose and resolve power issues on trucks.
The company says power monitoring includes:
- Trailer Visibility Even Without Power: Until now, when a truck failed to deliver power to a trailer, the trailer’s gateway also lost power, leaving operators in the dark about trailer location. Samsara’s Smart Trailer solution is able to detect power loss and provide continuous, real-time visibility even when trailer power is compromised.
- Moving Without Power Alert: In addition to loss of trailer visibility, 7-way power loss can compromise the efficacy of a trailer’s ABS system. This can lead to power loss for other electrical peripherals on a trailer, including TPMS systems, ATIS lamps, and liftgates. ABS systems are a critical part of operating a trailer safely, but without power to the trailer, ABS systems can be compromised, increasing trailer stopping distance and creating safety risks. Samsara’s Moving Without Power Alert notifies fleets in real time when a trailer loses power, allowing fleets to quickly diagnose the root cause of power loss, resolve it faster, and reduce trailer and tractor downtime.
- Trailer Health Inspector: Fleets can monitor power connections to identify and resolve issues more effectively. Customers can investigate when and where power loss occurred, how long power was out, who was driving, and which truck was pulling the trailer.
- Trailer Power Loss Root Cause Analysis: What caused a power loss? Was it a blown fuse on the truck? A trailer wiring problem? Managing this at scale across thousands of trailers is challenging. Samsara’s Smart Trailer solution automatically detects power issues in the field and predicts where the issue is, streamlining maintenance operations. One customer was able to root cause and fix more than 300 blown truck ABS fuses using this tool.
Together, Gal says these features and existing Smart Trailer ABS Monitoring capabilities offer provide a broad view of trailer health to keep drivers and communities safe while improving compliance and reducing costs.
