Alexander Dennis has launched AD Connected, designed to improve vehicle maintenance efficiency and uptime. It’s an all-marque, retrofit-capable solution that ADL says is a revolutionary offering
Streamlining maintenance and reducing breakdowns are among several benefits that Alexander Dennis (ADL) says AD Connected will deliver as it potentially revolutionises PCV fleet management.
AD Connected is compatible with all vehicle marques, and it is suitable for retrofit. It revolves around a cloud-based inspection system where technicians use a tablet to record their findings.
While that is central to the product, it has many bolt-on options to create what ADL regards as a complete maintenance management package.
Fault codes are recorded in real time, and they are displayed on the tablet when the inspection begins. Codes are also accessible through a web portal to assist in identifying trends, as are securely-held inspection results.
Meanwhile, predictive technology allows unit repair or replacement to be scheduled in advance of a major failure that may render an engine or gearbox unable to enter a service exchange programme.
“The jewel in AD Connected’s crown is its predictive capability,” says Aftermarket Projects Manager Kenny Dickson. “Operators can pick an intervention point to suit them. If a vehicle is telling us what is wrong with it, why wouldn’t we listen?”
Engineers’ new tool
AD Connected functions most basically as a record system for vehicle inspectors. It gives a comprehensive list of what is to be checked, and they must record a pass or a fail. Bulletins can also be issued to inspectors via the tablet.
Users log in and they input vehicle data – fleet, registration or chassis number. Various fail-safe measures prevent incorrect details from being entered. After that, the tablet displays fault codes that have been generated since the last inspection. The technician then selects the relevant form to record their findings.
That is where the operator has flexibility. The form is configured to suit the vehicle, or vehicle type. As an example, some items are particular to double-deckers, while checks of seatbelts or a tachograph are not always required.
Operators can add fields that relate to the inspector, such as confirming that safety precautions have been taken before work commences.
Questions can be marked as mandatory, preventing progress until they are answered. Equally, for items such as tyre tread depth, input of a specific figure can be required.
Should an item fail, a built-in camera can be used as part of record keeping. The user may take either a still image or a video; the latter is useful if a noise is present. Notes can also be submitted.
Forms can be updated easily if vehicles are modified, or if it is otherwise deemed that categories should be added or removed.
The completed form is stamped with the time, date, and the inspector’s details, and it is suitable for printing. AD Connected as a package is compatible with Earned Recognition and the Categorisation of Defects handbook.
Benefits for all
Besides via tablet, vehicle information is harvested directly. ADL has worked with suppliers, including Cummins, Voith and ZF, to ensure compatibility with third-party units.
AD Connected has a major benefit when an in-service problem occurs. Fault data is transmitted directly to the desktop dashboard, and engineers are not reliant solely on the driver’s account.
“We can interrogate the vehicle in real-time. It is not unknown for drivers to continue when a red warning light is displayed, potentially causing serious damage. If they do that, AD Connected will report it. Saving just one engine more than pays for the whole system,” says Mr Dickson.
Excessive fuel use can be reported and an intervention point chosen to deal with it. DPF performance can also be analysed, allowing cleaning to be undertaken at the right moment, and not prematurely.
More to come
These are just the first elements of AD Connected. ADL promises to progressively add more functionality, all in partnership with operators. Incorporation of driver walk-round checks is on the horizon, while the system is already able to work hand-in-hand with ADL’s relaunched parts website.
If the operator requires, the technician can order parts directly during the inspection. Alternatively, they can be summoned from the operator’s stores for delivery to the vehicle.
“We have created something that is 100% configurable. AD Connected is a ‘pick-and-mix’ product that comes with the functionality that the operator chooses,” says Group Quality and Customer Service Director George McAdam.
“We recognise that operators run mixed fleets. That’s why we have built AD Connected to cope with other marques. The key to it is maximising efficiency and reducing vehicles’ total cost of ownership.”
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It could be argued that ADL is merely bringing the coach and bus industry into line with other automotive sectors with AD Connected. Nevertheless, it represents a significant upgrade from current record-keeping practices and trend monitoring.
Kenny Dickson is correct when he describes AD Connected’s predictive function as the jewel in its crown.
Gearboxes and engines, and in the latter case particularly at Euro 5 and Euro 6, are expensive items. A destructive failure stands to cost the operator a huge sum.
AD Connected helps to prevent such a failure occurring. Instead, it predicts the need for replacement or repair. That allows attention to be scheduled in advance, reducing overhaul cost and also mitigating an expensive (and embarrassing) on-road failure.
Training technicians on AD Connected may be the biggest hurdle, but it is a promising development nonetheless.
