AUSTIN, Texas — Mack Trucks says the company is now delivering even more benefits to customers from its Mack GuardDog Connect telematics-based solution with help from analytics provider SAS.
The partnership with SAS allows Mack to more effectively analyze the data flowing from GuardDog Connect that guides the uptime decision-making, according to David Pardue, Mack vice president of connected vehicles and uptime solutions.
Mack made the announcement during the American Trucking Associations Management Conference and Exhibition that ends here Tuesday.
“With SAS solutions, we’re able to see patterns in our data that we were not seeing previously, allowing us to even more efficiently and effectively maximize uptime for our customers,” Pardue said.
SAS helps customers transform volumes of data into intelligence that lead to better decision making. With a proven track record of working with industry-leading companies, SAS is providing Mack cutting-edge tools to develop an advanced analytics approach to managing customer uptime.
“SAS helped Mack build a scalable, flexible, enterprise-wide analytics system that enables the company to act upon signals from the telematics system in ways that exceed the expectations of Mack’s end customers: trucking companies,” said Bill Roberts, SAS director of IoT. “The system uses analytical techniques including visualization, machine learning and artificial intelligence to interpret streaming GuardDog Connect data and drive action when specific conditions arise.”
The enhancement of GuardDog Connect with SAS is just one of many updates Mack has made to increase uptime for customers, Pardue said.
Mack Over The Air, rolled out earlier this year, enables remote software updates for powertrain components and vehicle parameters on trucks equipped with Mack 2017 or newer engines.
In addition, Mack continues to expand its network of Mack Certified Uptime Centers. Featuring dedicated “uptime bays” for vehicles requiring shorter repairs, Mack Certified Uptime Centers help streamline the repair process, resulting in a 50 percent reduction in repair times that are four hours or less.
Mack currently has 132 Certified Uptime Centers across North America.
Pardue said unplanned downtime is one of the single largest costs heavy-duty trucking customers face, reaching upwards of $2,000 per day a truck is down.
Mack GuardDog Connect helps reduce downtime by proactively monitoring fault codes that could potentially shut down a truck or lead to an unplanned visit to the dealer.
When GuardDog Connect detects an issue, it notifies Mack OneCall agents at Mack’s 24/7 Uptime Center even before a driver realizes there is a potential problem.
The OneCall team quickly diagnoses the issue to determine the best course of action. If a repair is needed, proactive repair scheduling and parts confirmation is done, all while the truck remains on the road.
Mack GuardDog Connect is standard on all Mack Anthem, Pinnacle, Granite, LR and TerraPro models.
Mack currently has more than 70,000 connected vehicles on the road. 8
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