ATIS and TPMS FMCSA Field Test Results Presented at TMC Tire Inflation Roundtable Moderated by PSI Executive
San Antonio, TX (February 21, 2011) On Thursday, February 10 during the Technology and Maintenance Council Annual Meeting, Al Cohn Director New Market Development and Engineering Support for Pressure Systems International organized and moderated a roundtable discussion focusing on Tire Inflation Pressure Technologies as part of the S.2 Tire and Wheel Study Group.
Presented at the session were results from a recent 12-month fleet field test conducted by FMCSA to determine whether TPMS and ATIS systems can influence tire maintenance intervals and practices and improve performance and safety. Based on data collected during the test from two fleet operations, Sheetz and Gordon Food Services (GFS), outfitted with the Meritor Tire Inflation System (MTIS) by PSI, Tire SafeGuard Monitoring System from HCI Corporation, and Integrated Vehicle Tire Monitoriing System from Wabco, Chris Flanigan FMCSA Office of Analysis, Research and Technology commented on each of the hypotheses FMCSA aimed to prove or disprove with their field test:
Hypothesis 1 - TPMS or ATIS use will increase the life of equipped tires. Comment: GFS tire wear data points toward increased tire life
Hypothesis 2 - TPMS or ATIS use will improve fuel economy of equipped tractor-trailers. Comment: Fleets saw a 1.4% improvement in fuel economy
Hypothesis 3 - TPMS or ATIS use will reduce road calls for damaged/flat tires of equipped tractor-trailers. Comment: Test fleets experience fewer road calls
Hypothesis 4 - TPMS or ATIS correctly measures the tire pressure of equipped tractor-trailers. Comment: Minor issues were identified in each fleet
Hypothesis 5 - TPMS or ATIS use will not introduce unscheduled maintenance that adversely affects day-to-day fleet operations. Comment: Technicians did not report altered work habits due to TPMS equipment
“We organized the session because improper inflation is a significant contributing factor to the number one maintenance cost for fleets – tires.” Cohn stated in his opening remarks. He continued “Increasing government regulations with CSA, California CARB, SmartWay, CAFÉ standards and the TREAD Act are also playing an important role.” Other panel members included Peggy Fisher, President, TireStamp; Frank Sonzala, Exec VP, Pressure Systems International, Mike Jeffress, VP Maintenance, Maverick Transportation and Winston Minchew, Asset & Training Mgr, Old Dominion Freight Line Inc.
PSI is the world leader in automatic tire inflation systems and markets and sells its products in North American through ArvinMeritor as the Meritor Tire Inflation System by PSI. For more information about Pressure Systems International visit their website www.psi-atis.com ArvinMeritor (www.arvinmeritor.com) is one of the industry leaders in supplying technologically advanced axle-braking and suspension systems solutions as original equipment for medium and heavy-duty trucks, trailers, buses, coaches and specialty vehicles worldwide.
