ZF has launched the ZF Health Check. The ZF Health Check is specially adapted to the ZF EcoLife automatic transmission, which is used by transport operators worldwide in city buses and regular-service buses. The solution uses numerous types of sensor data registered in the transmission system during vehicle operations, including engine speed, gear step, oil temperature and oil pressure. The data is frequently transferred over-the-air to a dedicated advanced analytics service operating in the ZF Cloud, where individualized service-relevant insights are determined. In turn, those insights result in meaningful recommendations for action for the bus operator or for the service company.
An operator can make the best possible use of the service life of transmission oil because the oil is not changed at a predefined mileage, which could be too early. Therefore, the bus stays on the road longer, and availability increases. Even if the bus must go to the workshop, downtime is minimized because spare parts or materials can be provided in advance thanks to the available vehicle data. The necessary working time can also be better planned, and if the company's own workshop cannot find the fault, the fleet operator can call in external service experts and give them access to the Health Check portal.
Another advantage is bus fleet operators receive early warnings of impending breakdowns. This is because damage does not usually occur suddenly but rather can be anticipated by deviations in oil pressure or temperature. If the operator then takes the vehicle in question to the workshop, not only is the repair often less expensive because no consequential damage has yet occurred, but the problems associated with a breakdown are also eliminated, including further transport of the passengers, use of a replacement bus or taking the broken-down vehicle to the workshop.
“With ZF EcoLife, we already enable hundreds of bus operators around the globe to perform more efficiently. With our ZF Health Check offering, leveraging remote vehicle data access and predictive analytics, we can now accompany our fleet customers even one step further towards zero downtime and paving the way for a sustainable aftermarket,” said Philippe Colpron, head of ZF Aftermarket.
ZF Health Check is available immediately to users of the ZF Bus Connect Premium fleet telematics solution. ZF is currently planning the integration of additional components into Health Check. In addition to Health Check, ZF Bus Connect offers numerous functions for operational optimization of bus fleets, such as a live view of the entire vehicle fleet, insight into optimization potential with regard to fuel/energy consumption, driver behavior, or wear and tear of technical components (brakes). It generates reports on compliance or as a basis for tax-related proofs in public transport.
