Cam launches e-Jobsheet.com at in Essen

New tablet orientated fleet and tyre management system unveiled

At the end of April Cam International previewed its new e-jobsheet.com product at the CV Show. In May the product got its official launch at the Reifen show in Essen. In the month between the two events, the company finished the prototype system that it developed in partnership with Bridgestone and secured the interest of two further partners. Tyres & Accessories interviewed Bridgestone Europe’s Neil Purves (senior manager, automated inspection and systems development commercial product) and Cam International’s Steve Daly in April and attended the launch in May in order to find out more.

Cam International has launched a new tablet-based work management system designed to reduce back-office issues and improve data entry in the commercial vehicle tyre sector. Although it has been developed and to some degree launched in association with Bridgestone Europe, the product is designed to be universal. And to this end it is both partner (be they manufacturer, distributor or service provider) and operating system (be it Android, Windows or iOS) agnostic. In other words it is aimed at the whole market, using whatever handheld devices on whichever major software platform.

Speaking at a fringe meeting during the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham on 29 April, Bridgestone Europe’s Neil Purves (senior manager, automated inspection and systems development commercial product) and Cam’s Steve Daly explained that the two companies have been in talks since the last CV Show and have now made a Europe-wide cooperation agreement culminating in the development of the project’s software.

The preview meeting focused on the two company’s intention to work with the whole industry in the further development of the e-Jobsheet.com platform in order to help manufacturers, dealers and fleets experience significant service and efficiency benefits in an open an inclusive way. Tyres & Accessories understands that the cooperation currently covers 31 countries in which Bridgestone is active, however there are no barriers to this being extended on a global scale. The software itself was demonstrated live at the seminar and again at the Reifen show when the prototype version from the April preview presentation had been polished ready for the full launch.

According to the people behind e-Jobsheet.com, the new platform serves as “an assembly of stakeholder organisations in the commercial tyre service sector that have elected to participate in a mobile data exchange, made possible through the commoditisation of digital tablet technology.” The concept is that through this participation, fleet tyre contract holders and commercial tyre service providers can share in the benefits associated with such a system. Or in other words it offers “greater control over contract service work, improved visibility of operations, and a substantial reduction in ‘double-keying’ and other administrative effects, historically common to orchestrating job authorisation, service billing and payment collection between parties.” And all of this means savings.

In short e-Jobsheet.com is a digital tablet-driven, cloud-based, mobile data exchange for truck, bus and van. It is maintained independently of its participants. This way, participants are empowered to self-manage their relationships with other participants – through the exchange – on their own terms. e-Jobsheet.com for commercial tyre services is a multi-national, multi-language offering. It is also possible for third party tablet software to be connected to the exchange.

Leading manufacturer support

And support for the system is growing. First it has to said that two other well-known manufacturers have stated their support for the project in a similar way to how Bridgestone has done already. This is hugely significant in the development of the project as it is shows that platform has broken free from any potential corporate stigma attached the necessary and foundational role that Bridgestone played in e-Jobsheet.com’s genesis. This in turn suggests that it might be something other leading tyre makers will want to get involved with. However, the two new partners have not – so far – revealed their names and so their participation is clearly at a less open stage than Bridgestone’s. Furthermore other leading tyre makers were present at the presentation during Essen week.

At the same time – and with the advent of RFID technology – in mind, e-Jobsheet.com is said to be fully expandable. Indeed key figures in this area have already suggested that integration with this technology would be “relatively easy” and will make the platform even more accurate. As far as Cam International’s Steve Daly is concerned, e-Jobsheet.com can even be considered as an enabler of such technology. Of course there is some way to go before it is commonplace, but the involvement of Bridgestone and now at least two further leading tyre manufacturers is promising.