A combination of a love of trucks and good mentors has given John Ryan the opportunity to service state-of-the-art mass management systems such as Knorr-Bremse’s iMass OBM.
The Victorian owner of Ryan’s Diesel Maintenance & Repairs, John says the welcoming atmosphere and ongoing guidance and support from Knorr-Bremse was instrumental in him becoming a TruckServices partner and expanding his knowledge and passion for all things trucks.
“I’ve been around trucks all my life,” John says. “Even as a kid I worked on trucks in the family business, so I really love what I do.”
John’s business specialises in trailer EBS diagnostics, compliance checks and truck and trailer repairs and servicing. His client base is rapidly growing thanks in part to his iMass knowledge, with Toll Group becoming a recent customer.
John was introduced to Knorr-Bremse two years ago, after reaching out to the company for some technical help while servicing a fleet that carried Knorr-Bremse’s electronic braking system. There was an opening for a truck service partner in Victoria’s Gippsland region to provide product support, so John jumped at the opportunity.
“They were really helpful and offered a training program,” he said, adding that he credits, David Oliver and Robert Bonnefin, both from Knorr-Bremse, for guiding him.
“I bought all the diagnostic equipment and then just started to play around with it and just got more and more involved,” he says.
John, having recently invested in a new tool trailer will now be even more independent and capable of providing a greater variety of on-site services to his clients in Melbourne and the Gippsland area of Victoria.
“This trailer will be used specifically for EBS, diagnosis and installation as well as anything to do with Knorr-Bremse products,” John says, adding that the dual branding is a great way to promote the company and what it does.
“They’ve been great to me as a service partner which has allowed me to grow the business.”
Knorr-Bremse is a global manufacturer of braking systems and a leading supplier of safety-critical sub-systems. Their iMass onboard mass management (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 (DIU), an electronic control unit (ECU), a pressure sensor and deflection or level sensor installed on the truck, while on the trailer it utilises the Knorr-Bremse G2.2 TEBS, coupled with Knorr-Bremse iLevel suspension control plus iLevel sensor.
The electronic levelling control on the truck and the TEBS on the trailer receive electronic 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 can be integrated into the existing infrastructure. Being a hardwired system, it ensures connectivity is easily maintained and stays reliable.
In fact, last year Knorr-Bremse won the Application of Technology Award at the Australian Freight Industry Awards ceremony for the system, recognising the use of innovative technology and commitment in providing cost effective and productive solutions to support the freight industry.
John says the training and accreditation the company has provided, which included both theory and practical work, has been invaluable and he appreciates the continued support network available to him.
“If I have any technical difficulties on a job they are just always there to help,” he says. “It’s been great.”
Fast fact
In order to achieve the required Transport Certification Australia (TCA) mass accuracy of 98 per cent, the system was engineered, designed, developed and tested for compliance by the Knorr-Bremse engineering and sales team at the Keysborough branch in Victoria.
