Info Displays
On-board electronics: driver info displays can pay their way
TOM BERG
EQUIPMENT EDITOR
These days you have little choice about electronics. You get 'em in almost everything you buy, including commercial trucks. A modern truck has thousands of electrical circuits — running everything from engine controls to the speedometer your driver stares at.
Now you can give drivers something else to look at — and it might save you some serious money. That's an information display, standard on many of the latest truck models and optional on others. Engine builders have offered driver info displays since the early '90s. Wise fleet managers latched onto them as a means to improve fuel economy, because they know that of all the components on a truck, the driver has the most influence on fuel economy.
Displays were made possible by electronic engine controls, which were first used on truck diesels in the mid-'80s. Soon thereafter, managers could plug into electronic controls to set operating parameters. As on-board computing and data storage capabilities increased, so did software for fleet maintenance and management. Software can generate reports that show how the driver operates the truck, and warn of bad habits.
Much data can be retrieved with laptop, and now palm-type personal computers, every time the truck comes in from a trip. Data can also be called up remotely, via satellite or by mobile phone hookups, while the rig's sitting in a truckstop or going down the road. All this is fine and dandy for managers, and eventually their efforts pay off as they dictate operating practices to drivers.
But drivers can make positive changes to their driving techniques right now. In-dash displays give them a "window" into the electronic controls and tell them in "real time" how they're doing. Especially important to them are the mile-per-gallon figures they're achieving. There's also various trip information, and detailed numbers on the status of the engine and other major components. If something goes wrong with the engine or something else in the chassis, diagnostic codes appear. In some cases there are also short descriptions of whatever might be wrong.
Using buttons adjacent to the display, drivers can scroll through a menu. Average and instant mpg numbers show how careful or careless operation affects fuel mileage. Drivers don't have to wait until fill-up time — or for the reports you generate on your computer — to see that upshifting at low rpms or slowing down a few miles per hour raises mpg numbers. The numbers appear instantly, right there on the screen.
You might consider all this too much and way too fancy if you're of the old school, which believes drivers should just get in and drive. And shouldn't they keep their eyes on the road and the traffic? Of course. But if you want them to make the best use of the truck, to get maximum fuel economy, and to drive the vehicles per your orders, you really should give them the tools to do it.
Information displays with sometimes limited capabilities are standard in many of the latest truck models. These are small LED screens in the instrument panel, usually near the speedometer and tachometer. These augment electro-mechanical gauges with alpha-numeric messages to tell more precisely what the engine and other systems are doing, and allow drivers to call up diagnostic fault codes.
Optional displays from engine makers and some truck makers use LED or bright luminescent displays, and are mounted in various places in the instrument panel. If spec'd in a new-truck order, they'll be integrated into the dashboard. Some products can be added later, and their display box is placed atop the dash.
Builders give such products a variety of names — some simple, like Freightliner or Volvo driver information display to fancy, like Cat ID, Cummins RoadRelay, Detroit Diesel ProDriver, and Mack VIP (vehicle information profiler). The engine makers' products get their information directly from the engines' electronic controls, which in turn are wired to sensors on the engines and in the chassis. Truck makers' displays generally work the same way, but may be tied into additional systems, such as anti-lock braking controls.
An optional information display usually costs well under $900 when installed at the factory. It can pay for itself rather quickly if drivers uses it correctly. Be sure they get instructions on how to scroll through the available categories and data files, and how best to put the information to use.
When you assign new trucks to drivers, point out the display and walk them through the basics; if you don't know how, make training part of a purchasing deal. Like any computerized item, proper use comes with practice, and most drivers eventually find enjoyment and satisfaction in becoming more involved in their jobs.
