The implications of a wheel loss incident can be severe, for both your O-Licence and your reputation. Now, a product can mitigate that and low tyre pressures via a simple user interface and easy fitment
Wheels and tyres are among the most safety-critical components of a PCV, but that importance is often neglected.
With that in mind, a new product gives operators the reassurance of an early warning of any potential problems with tyre pressures, heat generation and wheel loss well before the worst happens.
It’s called Wheely Safe, and it first appeared seven years ago as a wheel loss early warning system. It has been refined since then to include tyre monitoring and now it’s the finished article.
Wheely Safe is already on around 100 buses in the UK operated by Go-Ahead London and Trent Barton, and a small cab-mounted display ensures that any problems are brought to the driver’s attention immediately.
It is transferrable between vehicles, and the manufacturer anticipates it becoming a pence-per-km addition to industry-standard tyre management contracts.
“We have put a lot of work into the product, and everything that we could patent, we have,” says Gary Broadfield, Managing Director of the designer and distributor, also called Wheely Safe.
“For a complete system we supply eight wheel loss sensors – two for each wheel not including the inner rears – and six tyre pressure monitoring sensors. But operators can buy either element if that suits them and upgrade later.”
Wheel monitoring
The wheel loss indicator is a small curved piece of metal that is mounted tight to the wheel using the nuts. Within it is a combined sensor and transmitter. Even the slightest lateral wheel movement breaks a circuit, and a signal is sent to the cab display.
No indication is given directly to the driver about which wheel has an issue. Instead, a red light on the relevant external unit illuminates. “We’ve done that for a reason: To make the system simpler,” says Mr Broadfield.
Battery life in each sensor is around the three-year mark, and when replacement is required, a warning is given.
The sensor is highly robust, and being lower than the wheel nuts, it is protected from damage. Even the slightest wheel movement results in a notification being sent immediately, and to ensure that the rear axle is within range, a booster unit is mounted nearby.
Protecting tyres
Also part of Wheely Safe is the tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS). As with the wheel loss indicator, it is very simple, with external equipment consisting of nothing more than six caps, one for each tyre.
Key to the TPMS is its self-calibrating functionality. When the caps are first fitted, the tyres must be inflated to the correct pressure. After that, the system auto-calibrates every time the vehicle moves after 15 minutes at rest, using a process that prevents confusion with any others that are parked adjacent to it.
“That allows the system to ‘auto pair’ the tyres on each axle, and after auto-calibration the TPMS works on a percentage difference. If a change is detected, the driver is alerted with either an orange or a red light on the dash display,” says Mr Broadfield.
Wheely Safe also monitors tyre and wheel temperatures, flagging up any issues on the display.
“There is a massive need for operators to understand the importance of correct tyre pressures. It affects handling, road holding and fuel consumption, and improperly-inflated tyres can lead to wasted fuel or accidents,” he adds.
“We are talking to one of the major manufacturers about fitting Wheely Safe to new buses on the production line, with it hard-wired into the CANbus system and displaying any warnings via the dash binnacle.”
Back-up app
To reinforce warnings given via the cab unit, Wheely Safe is developing an app that will use near field communication (NFC) to download any incidents to a mobile device. Also under development is Bluetooth connectivity, which would allow information to be downloaded every time the vehicle returns to depot.
“The app would be useful where there may be an issue with drivers paying attention to the cab display, while the Bluetooth connection will allow tyre pressures to be maintained to a high level of accuracy, benefiting fuel consumption,” says Mr Broadfield.
Wheely Safe anticipates that, when volume orders start commence delivery by Q1 2018, the majority of buyers will opt for the Bluetooth- and NFC-enabled product. But even if they don’t, the system can be upgraded later in life.
“The sensors are future-proofed and they are upgradeable,” says Mr Broadfield. “We have put a lot of work into the design of the system to ensure that it’s as cost-effective, reliable and simple as possible.”
routeone comment
Wheely Safe MD Gary Broadfield is correct when he says that wheels and tyres are often a neglected, yet highly safety critical, element of a coach or a bus.
It’s confusing why that is. A wheel loss incident can have dire regulatory consequences, and incorrectly-inflated tyres have a negative effect on casing life, fuel consumption and vehicle handling.
One reason for a sometimes lax attitude may be the lack of suitable products that allow easy monitoring of tyre condition and wheel fixing status.
That’s no longer the case. The advent of Wheely Safe’s NFC and Bluetooth connectivity helps to make monitoring easier, while discussions that may see both wheel fixing and tyre condition monitoring added to new buses on the assembly line will, if they come to fruition, be of huge value.
