Virtual Technician
Downtime is the enemy of every trucker. You can’t make money with your truck in the shop. Yet, today’s engines have scores of sensors. Parameters are set. When anything happens codes are sent. Even the littlest event that does not need to be repaired can throw a code. It used to be that your check engine light would come on and you had no idea why. This forced you to guess what the problem was. You could ignore the light and hope that it was no big deal, and have it become a bigger deal, or even a break down. You might head to the shop to wait to fix something that was no big deal and never would become one. Either way you lose.
Virtual technician takes the guessing out of it. When a severe code happens an email is sent out. There is
a chain. When the fault occurs the fault data is immediately sent to the virtual tech. The severity of the problem is determined. Notification is sent out to the driver or the fleet manager. Then fault resolution is determined.
I had my check engine light come on. It was a yellow light so I knew that I did not have to stop immediately. If it were a red check engine light, I would know to stop ASAP. When I stopped I called virtual tech. They were able to determine, with my input, that this was a check at my convenience problem. The fault occurred while climbing hills in Alabama with 44,652 pound in the box. My 11 hour driving day ended in De Motte, IN. I walked over to the TA shop, in the hopes of getting it checked out while I was on my break. It turned out that they were not authorized to do warranty work. My appointment in Alsip, IL was for 13:00. So, I called the dealer in Gary, IN to see if they could get to it right away. The tech there asked if it was running ok. I told him that I only averaged 8 mpg from Louisville. He said “only”-yup only. He could not guarantee getting me out in time for my delivery. So, I waited.
I made my delivery in Alsip. My next load was from Ft. Atkinson, WI to Indy. Then I had a load from Indy to Manitowoc, WI. My logistics department (ME) along with my chief mechanic (ME) consulted with my customer service department (ME) discussed it with the boss (my wife). We determined to stop at Truck Country in Oak Creek, WI. If they were able to fix it in under 4 hours I could still sleep in Manitowoc. If it took longer I could take my 10 hour break there and still make my 08:00 delivery on time. They got me out of there in under 90 minutes.
I made it to the customer. At 7 they unloaded me and the weekend was on. Thanks to virtual tech, I wasted no time on the road. My weekend got started on time.