Truck parts supplier, Air Brake Corporation, is embracing advances in connectivity to best support the needs of the Australian commercial heavy vehicle industry. The latest GPS tracker from Pacific Telematics – designed for trailers equipped with electronic braking systems – is now available.
Air Brake Corporation (ABC) was formed in 1987 with Kelvin Sherwood at the helm to support the heavy vehicle market with quality solutions.
His entrepreneurial spirit to leverage leading global brands under the ABC umbrella would see the company rapidly expand to become one of the biggest independent braking solution providers to the original equipment manufacturer market within Australia. The brands ABC aligns itself with includes, but are not limited to: WABCO, TSE, ALKON and Sealco.
In 2002, ABC founded Pacific Air Controls to meet demand for alternative product options that are equivalent in performance but tailored for Australian operational requirements.
Fast forward almost 20 years, today’s market, according to Adam Woltanski – ABC Sales & New Business Development Manager – is vastly different.
“Our ecosystem is connected and we have global visibility and reach – no longer are we isolated by a pool of water,” he says. “The commercial heavy vehicle fleet has adapted to this new world, we are now talking about connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles alternative power while increasing efficiency, safety and comfort.”
So, what has changed at ABC?
“The DNA is still there as the company is headed by Robert Sherwood who brings the entrepreneurial spirit and flair for innovation to the current era,” Adam says. “In terms of infrastructure, we have three warehouse locations (Perth, Melbourne and Sydney) which helps to reduce lead times to better serve industry.”
ABC’s engineering capabilities include in-house SARN-certified testing to aid agility on brake system design in line with customer needs. The QA lab has ISO accreditation and more than 30 staff to cover the needs of the Australian market.
Most recently, ABC’s engineering team has developed Pacific Telematics (TrailerIQ) with the purpose of leading innovation by seamlessly integrating tomorrow’s technologies today.
“Raising the bar for connectivity within the Australian heavy vehicle market, Pacific Telematics deploys solutions for trailer, truck and light commercial vehicles,” Adam says. “Pacific telematics is Transport Certification Australia registered in line with the national telematics framework. The telematics portfolio is now expanded to offer multiple integration options for the Australian fleet. Including innovative solutions for road train operation to mitigate the needs of monitoring devices on each trailer. Seamless CAN and I/O integration to most devices.”
TrailerIQ integrates to all makes of TEBS monitoring the entire operation of the trailer in real time. For example actual air supply, weight, km travelled, brake force, voltage supply and ABS/RSS events are monitored to ensure safe trailer operation. This is coupled to real time SMS event notification and automated reports summarizing findings within a specified time period.
Lateral acceleration is monitored to allow the operator to monitor predicatively areas where an incident almost occurred and hot spot that area to pre warns drivers in the future.
Pacific Telematics will release a suite of software early in Q1 2022 to enhance our offering. The suite will include, pre vehicle check, e-diary, fuel tax credits, rental utilisation, load optimisation, and a simplified reporting suite to enable user request reports using Microsoft BI interface.
This year ABC has strategically partnered with Continental, a global tyre manufacturer renowned for its cutting-edge design and solutions – for integrated and connected wheel end solutions for Pacific Telematics. This deal will ensure the supply of wheel end monitoring 24/7 in real-time. With the integration we are able to monitor 32 tyres allowing monitoring of 8 axle trailers on a single device. I do believe this is a world’s first application to take in this many wheel ends on single platform using one device.
We are currently running 6 axle dog trailers in the market. In addition to back to base monitoring we offer a direct to driver interface by use on an app. Later this year Conti will offer an Ityre which integrates the sensor inside the tyre fitted in factory. This will ensure that the installation is simplified.
“We are proud of our 34-year history in the commercial heavy vehicle market,” Adam says. “With the DNA instilled in the roots of the company, we are ready to innovate, and brings tomorrow’s solutions to market today.”
Pacific Telematics is now a registered service provider for RIM
Transport Certification Australia recently announced Pacific Telematics as a new registered provider for the Road Infrastructure Management (RIM) application.
Road agencies use the RIM application of the National Telematics Framework in a range of road access schemes, permits and national notices across jurisdictions to drive productivity and safety reforms, while reducing costs. These include: Oversize Overmass (OSOM) Vehicle Movement Scheme; Safety, Productivity and Environment Construction Transport Scheme (SPECTS); Farm Gate Access Scheme; Port Botany Container Movement Efficiency Scheme; and RIM Performance-Based Standards
(RIM) monitoring schemes.
“We are a wholly-owned Australian company,” says Pacific Telematics Director, Adam Woltanski. “Our commitment is to lead innovation: by seamlessly integrating tomorrow’s technologies today. Raising the bar for connectivity within the Australian heavy vehicle sector with the RIM application, we can now expand our dedication to the industry by transforming our business to support new flexible road access arrangements now available.”
