Telematics as a Service
Last October, Mack Trucks launched Mack GuardDog Connect, a telematics service based on Mack’s GuardDog onboard diagnostics (OBD) monitoring system. The service has been in operation now for over 6 months, and I thought it would be a good time to revisit the project team and discuss with them the business benefits as Mack sees them.
Mack Trucks’ GuardDog Connect is a telematic system that monitors the truck’s OBD fault codes and alerts the driver via the Mack Copilot display on the dash. It then transmits the information to GuardDog Connect’s 24×7 customer care center, which advises the driver if the truck can continue operating and have the issue repaired at its next scheduled service interval, or, if an immediate repair is needed, it schedules the repair to be performed at the nearest service location and orders the necessary parts if they are not on hand.
Many conversations and predictions about connected cars and telematics turn too quickly to the promises of proactive and predictive maintenance, whereby a maintenance activity is scheduled in advance, before an actual failure has occurred and observed.
“Predictive diagnostics” is far easier to describe than to implement reliably and economically. The behavior of complex engineered equipment like a truck – both during normal operation and when a subsystem failure occurs – is not static: it’s constantly changing throughout the truck’s life due to normal wear and tear, operating patterns, modifications, maintenance practices, and numerous other factors. Consequently, any predictive diagnostic system true to its name must take into account the configuration and the state of the specific equipment being monitored, and failure information and statistical models have to be updated continually – manually or programmatically – throughout the life of the truck. Consequently, deploying a commercially viable predictive maintenance system is extremely challenging.
By combining real time OBD information and a live contact center, Mack is able to offer truck owners and operators a pragmatic telematics service. Currently, nearly 5,000 Mack trucks are registered in the program that cost from $200 to $600, depending on the length of the commitment.
Success Metrics
Mack’s goal for GuardDog was simple: improve trucks’ uptime and reduce business disruption through early notification and proactive repair scheduling. For dealers, GuardDog streamlines service throughput and boosts customer satisfaction.
Mack reported the following benefits experienced since GuardDog Connect was first put in service:
- 70% reduction in diagnostic time
- 25% improvement in overall repair time
- First Time Fix better than 90%
- Uptime improvement of 1 day per service event
Although Mack did not measure the potential impact on warranty repair costs, the improved diagnostic accuracy and First Time Fix (FTF) rate achieved by this service are strong indications that in the long run GuardDog Connect will contribute to reduction in warranty expenses.
Mack sees additional value in using information from GuardDog Connect to inform product improvement activities, driving ongoing improvement in diagnostic accuracy and service efficiency, and improve the OBD software.