Michelin adds radio frequency identification tagging to commercial truck tires

Michelin Americas Truck Tires, a division of Michelin North America Inc., Greenville, South Carolina, announced radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is being added to Michelin commercial truck tires and retreads. The RFID is designed to enable fleets to better manage their tire assets throughout the full life cycle. In addition, the Michelin Tire Care tire maintenance program is being upgraded to include new features designed for visibility, assurance and ease around the maintenance of their tires.

Michelin first introduced the Michelin Tire Care service in 2015 to proactively assist fleets in identifying and addressing tire issues that lead to downtime, low mileage, high fuel costs and safety risks. In the past year, 20 percent of vehicles inspected in the Michelin Tire Care program comprised a red tag event, or critical issues that require immediate attention to avoid an ERS event or CSA violation, while 63 percent of vehicles inspected reported a yellow tag event, an issue that results in additional long term costs.

Currently Michelin services more than 260 fleets and more than 36,000 commercial vehicles nationwide. Michelin is introducing upgrades and options to enhance Tire Care value for all types of fleets, including:

• improved CAT Smart device has Android smartphone look and feel with 4G capability and PDA Windows App for operation. New measurement devices allow customers to check tire readings;
• a dashboard to show in-depth tire summaries, including critical analysis of red tag and yellow tag events, number of vehicles inspected, number of tires inspected and top 10 issues;
• correcting Red and Yellow tag events that are identified during inspections. The vehicle history shows the work performed and when it was completed;
• additional pricing options with a flat per-inspection fee and a new hourly pricing option designed to provide an easy tire maintenance program rolled into one set hourly rate;
• an in-house self-fitting solution designed to allow fleets to perform their own inspections via a flat monthly fee with no restrictions on the number of inspections; and
• using a Love’s TirePass lane to perform Tire Care inspections.