Continental Helps to Reduce Fleet Costs Substantially with Digital Live Solution
- Haulage company Gor Oz achieves major cost savings with ContiConnect Live
- Return on investment after just one year: three percent drop in fuel consumption, 13 percent increase in tire life, reduced downtime
- Increased reliability, uptime and fleet efficiency: cooperative business model and the comprehensive consultancy concept LODC
Hanover, May 4, 2023. Severe dust storms are part of daily life during spring in Israel, while in the summer months temperatures in the semi-desert region regularly climb above 30°Celsius. These are challenging working conditions for people and machinery alike, so state-of-the-art vehicle equipment and predictive maintenance are both of fundamental importance for efficient fleet management and successful business operations. With this in mind, haulage company Gor Oz based in the city of Be’er Sheva in southern Israel has been relying on the digital ContiConnect Live solution for its tire management since late 2021. “We had already tried several tire monitoring systems without success,” recounts Gor Oz fleet manager Ran Gordon. “The solution from Continental and Questar, on the other hand, works really well for us. The system is easy to install and enables us to view real-time tire data, such as pressure and temperature, at any time – regardless of the vehicle’s location.”
Proactive approach means greater certainty
The Gor Oz fleet is made up of 130 trucks and 150 trailers. Located in Be’er Sheva, the key transportation hub for southern Israel, its core business consists of transporting vehicles, temperature-sensitive frozen products and agricultural goods such as livestock, poultry and animal feed. The fleet is deployed in both regional distribution operations delivering to over 1,000 different points every day and in heavy-duty long-distance haulage applications. Gor Oz equipped 39 of its vehicles with ContiConnect Live while acting as a Continental test customer. The sensors were fitted in a total of 316 tires. “Our trucks cover millions of miles a year,” reports Gordon. “Monitoring the tires and scheduling tire changes has always been the hardest part of vehicle maintenance.” The ContiConnect Live solution provides real-time tire data, making it possible to react to any problems with tires in good time. “This gives us an element of certainty in a work routine already full of unpredictabilities that need dealing with,” says Gordon. “ContiConnect Live puts us in a position to actively control tire-related processes rather than simply reacting to punctures and the resulting vehicle downtime.”
Customized solutions and minimized real-life fleet costs
The digital ContiConnect Live solution monitors tire pressures and temperatures for all trucks and trailers in the fleet. The data is relayed to the ContiConnect backend using RF receivers and can then be accessed by the customer either from their desktop or using the new mobile On-Site App. Regular over-the-air (OTA) software updates ensure that customers enjoy the benefits of all the latest advances. The digital platform provides fleet managers with live access to the current condition of their fleet and allows them to remedy tire damage without delay. Periodic inspections of tire mileage and tread depth can be incorporated into the vehicles’ maintenance routine. This improves fleet reliability, uptime and efficiency. “We want to assist our customers in their day-to-day business operations with digital solutions and with our comprehensive consultancy concept LODC, which stands for Lowest Overall Driving Costs,” says Kaylan Yalamanchili, Head of Digital Solutions EMEA. “Our goal is to help make our customers’ businesses more cost-efficient and sustainable, while creating added value for them.”
Return on investment within a year
From fuel consumption to tire life to punctures – tire-related fleet costs account for up to 53 percent of total costs. Haulage company Gor Oz kept a close eye on these three parameters during the pilot phase with ContiConnect Live and gave its final analysis: “Keeping the vehicles’ tires at the optimum pressure while out on the road resulted in a fuel saving of around three percent. That adds up to a difference of around €30,000 a year,” remarks Ran Gordon. “Tire life was also extended, enabling us to save a further €2,800 in tire purchasing costs.” Added to which, ContiConnect Live provided early warning of a loss of pressure in 56 tires, thereby avoiding tire breakdowns and vehicle downtime. “That alone saved us €20,400 in the space of six months,” continues the company’s fleet manager appreciatively. The bottom line is that the investment in the system paid for itself in just 13 months. “We are very proud to be part of Continental’s latest technology partnership,” concludes Gordon. “We have improved our tire management immensely and have seen a clear positive impact on our fleet’s total operating costs.”
Annette Rojas
Communications Manager
Business Area Replacement EMEA
Continental Tires