Michelin First Firm to Add RFID to Commercial Tires

Michelin Americas Truck Tires, Michelin’s subsidiary in North America is now implanting radio frequency identification (RFID) chips inside its retreads and tires for commercial trucks. This facilitates easier monitoring of fleets throughout their life cycle. This made Michelin the first company to use RFID technology for its full range of commercial truck tires, according to Ralph Dimenna, chief operating officer of Michelin Americas Truck Tires division. The company began installation of the RFID chips in July 2015 and as many as 98% of the commercial truck tires that are made globally now have embedded chips.

Dimenna added that the chips can give users a very accurate picture on the work done by the tire. This technology will be of great benefit to fleet managers as they can keep tabs  on tire life and the service needed over the life of the tire and even into the retreading process.

The chip is incorporated into the tire in a well-protected area during the manufacturing process and can last well beyond the life expectancy of most commercial truck tires.

Tire Care 2.0

Michelin also announced that it would be upgrading its comprehensive tire care service that it had first rolled out in 2015 in the region. Michelin Tire Care targeted mainly fleet customers and helped fleets identify and solve tire issues that would lead to high fuel costs, low mileage, more downtime and safety risks. During 2016, about 20 per cent of the vehicles that were inspected as part of the Tire Care program had a Red Tag event, or critical problems that needed immediate attention to avoid a CSA violation or emergency road call. 63 per cent of the vehicles had issues that led to additional long term costs or Yellow Tag events.

Ron Reid, operations manager, Transervice Logistics, based in New York said that since his company began implementing Michelin Tire Care, there has been a significant reduction in the firm’s emergency road service calls, with calls decreasing to 2.5 tire-related ERS calls per month from 5.5 per month in the previous year. This resulted in monthly savings of USD 2000. The Michelin ONCall program reduced the firm’s average downtime by 35 minutes per ERS event.”