Image courtesy of Continental Tire

Image courtesy of Continental Tire

Continental introduced its newest technology to make commercial fleets safer, more efficient, and intelligent: the ContiConnect digital tire monitoring platform. The technology company, automotive supplier, and premium tire manufacturer created an efficient solution for remote tire monitoring, allowing fleet managers to see tire pressure and temperature data for the entire fleet in a single web portal, every time trucks return to the fleet yard. With ContiConnect, fleets are able to replace manual and routine tire care with automatic and targeted care, fixing issues where they are known to exist and saving inspection and maintenance time.

ContiConnect helps fleets lower their costs and increase uptime in multiple ways: saving maintenance time, protecting tires from long-term damage, reducing tire-related breakdowns and tire wear, and improving fuel efficiency and safety, among others. Identifying and resolving tire issues immediately upon return to the fleet yard helps protect the tire from long-term damage, ensuring maximum removal miles and improved casing retreadability.

Continental’s tire sensors can identify creeping air loss, one of the major causes of tire failure, before it would typically be noticed in a pre- or post-trip inspection, helping to reduce tire-related breakdowns on the road. In addition, verifying proper tire inflation guarantees the highest possible fuel efficiency to save fuel costs, reduces tire wear for long tire life, and helps to prevent tire blowouts for optimal safety. Tires are considered one of the top expenses for commercial fleets; with ContiConnect, fleets can ensure maximum profitability with the lowest overall driving cost.

Nikolai Setzer, member of the Executive Board at Continental and head of the global Tire division, said: “ContiConnect is the starting point for Continental to become a profound partner for tire-related data services.”

ContiConnect is a remote tire monitoring platform that does not depend on a telematics or over-the-road connection. Tire data is collected via sensors, which are mounted on the inner liner of the tire to prevent damage from kerbing, eliminate theft, and ensure the sensor can accurately detect the tire temperature and pressure without being influenced by heat from braking systems. As trucks enter the fleet yard, the yard reader station picks up data from the sensors and transmits it to the ContiConnect web portal via a cellular network.

In the web portal, the fleet manager can immediately access low-pressure alerts, track data over time, and view reports and analytics for all tires equipped with sensors. The platform also features customizable text and email notifications, so the fleet manager, maintenance supervisor, or other personnel can receive immediate alerts when low tire pressure or high tire temperature is recorded. This allows fleets to act proactively to fix issues rather than spending valuable time performing manual pressure checks.

Tire sensors are retrofitted onto a fleet’s existing tires through a simple installation process. Select tire models are also available direct from the factory with sensors mounted on the liner during tire production, making it easier than ever for fleets to outfit their trucks for any of Continental’s digital tire monitoring systems.

Continental offers a range of digital tire monitoring systems to fit a fleet’s individual business needs. The ContiPressureChecktire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is simple to install and constantly displays real-time tire pressure and temperature to the driver via an in-cab display, along with alerts if issues are identified. This helps protect drivers from top tire-related safety concerns.