Bear’s Tyre Tracker Aims to Reduce Australian Fleet Downtime, Maintenance Costs

Australian tyre life-cycle management specialist, Brad Bearman of Bear’s Tyres has suggested that his Bear’s Tyre Tracker product could help fleets in the country reduce fuel wastage. “It is an unfortunate fact that the neglect of tyre maintenance is directly attributable to unnecessary fuel wastage, particularly for long haul carriers that spend most of their time of the road," said Bearman.

“Without any attention given to the wear patterns of tyres and their overall performance, trucks need to be driven harder and thus consume more fuel and that costs the operator a lot more unnecessary expense. If anyone thinks relating the condition of tyres to fuel wastage is a pipedream, there is no shortage of studies made by government departments and industry bodies to prove that this in fact is an easy way for transport operators to waste their hard earned dollars.”

A recent government ABARE report (compiled from surveys undertaken during the 2006-07 financial year) unearthed some telltale statistics on how petrol and diesel bills have risen in recent years for transporters – this is despite carriers and truck manufacturers leaning towards developing more fuel efficient technologies. The report made from the study, Energy Intensity in the Transport Sector, identified that freight transport has been a key driver of increased energy consumption in Australia’s domestic transport sector.

It went on to say that freight transport accounts for 38 per cent of energy use in the transport sector and is growing at a higher rate than passenger transportation. Energy use in hauling freight in Australia is dominated by road transport, including light commercial vehicles (39 per cent), articulated trucks (30 per cent) and rigid trucks (20 per cent), the report states.

“So, putting two and two together, if the road transport technology is improving in fuel efficiency then why are we using more fuel than ever before,” asked Mr Bearman. “Without doubt, it is all down to the condition and performance of the tyres which are carrying these heavy loads around the country. While operators spend time and money monitoring and changing their fuel filters and other aspect of the engine, the tyres are almost completely ignored and treated with indifference when they should be handled with care to operate smoothly.

“If a person has a sprained ankle, he or she wastes more energy getting around and travels shorter distances before stopping for treatment. Trucks and commercial fleets are no different. If the tyre is managed correctly it would not only reduce the amount of downtime, it would definitely have a positive impact on the levels of fuel used to power the vehicle.

“If every operator in Australia looked after their fleet and gave due attention to the tyres, the next round of statistics returned by the Australian government would show a reduction in the amount of fuel used by the transport and logistics sector.”

Bear’s Tyre Tracker system logs every tyre owned by a fleet operator and allows these tyres to be properly tracked, down to the axle on which they are fitted, helping users to optimise rotation and rebalancing to help extend the useable lifespan of a tyre.