Predictive maintenance for a bulk tanker fleet
Overview
Airodevs built a predictive-maintenance model for a bulk tank truck carrier's trailer fleet, trained on tank pressure, axle temperature and valve-cycle sensor data. The model flags a trailer likely to need attention before its next scheduled inspection, which matters more for tankers carrying chemicals and petroleum than for a standard dry van.
Client
A Western Canada-based bulk tank truck carrier hauling chemicals, petroleum and dry bulk products, roughly 4,000 employees. Tank trailers carry sensors for pressure, temperature and valve cycles required for product safety, and a failure on a loaded tanker is a far more serious event than a breakdown on an empty dry van, which makes catching early warning signs worth more per unit.
Challenge
Tank trailer maintenance followed a fixed inspection calendar regardless of how hard a specific unit had been run, so some trailers were inspected more often than they needed while others developed a slow valve or seal problem between scheduled checks. The sensor data those trailers already carried for safety compliance was logged but not analysed for early warning signs, so a developing fault usually surfaced as a roadside issue rather than a planned shop visit.
Solution
We trained a model on two years of tank pressure, axle temperature and valve-cycle history paired with maintenance records, to flag a developing fault pattern days before it otherwise surfaces. Fleet maintenance planners get a daily risk list ranked by trailer, with the specific sensor reading behind each flag, and can pull a flagged unit in for a targeted inspection instead of waiting for its calendar slot.
Areas of Impact
Shop scheduling for tank trailer inspections, roadside breakdown response for loaded tankers, safety compliance reporting that now includes an early-warning layer on top of required sensor logging, and fleet utilisation, since fewer unplanned pulls off the road mean fewer loads reassigned at short notice.
Results
roadside breakdowns on sensor-equipped trailers down from 38 -> 27 a quarter
early-warning lead time on flagged faults up from 0 -> 6 days ahead of a scheduled inspection
loads reassigned due to unplanned trailer pulls down from 54 -> 46 a month
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Toronto, Ontario
Canada