It was a meeting of the minds when three companies got together to learn and share in Melbourne recently.
Over five days, Knorr-Bremse conducted training sessions at the Skyroad Logistics site in Tullamarine where GM Onsite Trailer Maintenance co-owner, Matt Undy, was able to get hands-on experience in fitting out and calibrating a Knorr-Bremse iMass system.
It was GM Onsite’s first field fit out, so Knorr-Bremse sent their best technical experts to train them.
These Skyroad combinations will be used as High Productivity Freight Vehicles (HPFV) and, as such, are required to fit a smart on-board mass system as part of the permit conditions.
“Two of them came to give us training which was really helpful,” Matt says of the Knorr-Bremse team member who helped him and his business partner, Ash Andrews.
Matt says picking up the skills isn’t difficult and even easier if you have some computer skills under your belt.
Managing Director of Skyroad Group, Peter Assel, says his fleet is fitted with Knorr-Bremse systems which include the full Bendix Fusion safety suite and Trailer Response Management, as well as iMass where permit conditions apply.
“The integration of the fleet into the Knorr-Bremse common platform means we can rely on their performance and the customer support,” he says.
“Having our trailer repair and servicing provider GM Onsite Maintenance, now part of that customer facing solution, means we can have full confidence in our compliance.”
For Matt, he had dealt with Knorr-Bremse occasionally while working for other companies. When he decided to go out on his own and create GM Onsite Trailer Maintenance, a fully mobile service, providing maintenance in Melbourne’s west, he looked them up.
“So long as there is proper grounding and a safe place to work, we are more than happy to go where the trailer is,” he says of the primarily B and C services they provide.
Matt couldn’t be happier with how business is going, with a goal of having a permanent warehouse and more staff for bigger projects.
These recently acquired skills he’s gained from Knorr-Bremse allows him to provide an important offering to clients, he says.
Knorr-Bremse is a global manufacturer of braking systems and a leading supplier of safety-critical sub-systems. Their iMass OBM system is designed to measure the pressure in the air suspension of the vehicle and relate this to a vehicle mass estimation using the Knorr-Bremse TEBS G2.2 trailer electronic braking system.
The system comprises a Driver Interface Unit, an Electronic Control Unit, a pressure sensor and level sensor installed on the truck. On the trailer it uses the Knorr-Bremse G2.2 TEBS, coupled with its iLevel suspension control plus iLevel sensor.
The electronic levelling control on the truck, and the trailer electronics braking system receive signals from the pressure sensor which is interpreted as a mass value. These mass values are transmitted via the CAN signal for the trailer or the CAN bus for the truck. The driver interface unit is connected to the CAN bus to obtain the truck data and uses a CAN reader to obtain the trailer data.
Consistent and accurate, iMass is a hardwired system and can be integrated into the existing infrastructure.
Matt acknowledges the process of getting the iMass fitted can be a painful endeavour for operators but is necessary.
“Luckily Knorr-Bremse has a good system that is easy to work with and cost effective,” Matt says. “What is great is that if I get stuck with anything, I can just ring and they are more than happy to walk me through anything.”
Fast fact
Developed in Australia, the Knorr-Bremse iMass system has been rigorously tested to ensure its performance and accuracy measures up to the TCA’s regulation of 98 per cent mass accuracy.
