In the last episode of Pressure On, Marcus Cornwell from Celerity DRS discussed the main differences between a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and an Automatic Tyre Inflation System (ATIS) and the benefits that an ATIS could provide for a commercial vehicle.
In episode two of the tyre related web series, Cornwell goes into details about examples of how an ATIS can provide a return on investment and the types of business sectors that can benefit from having an ATIS installed on their commercial vehicles.
Now, more than ever, it is important to weigh up the pros and cons of additional spending within a business, especially when decision makers and finance teams scrutinise every dollar, pound or euro that leaves the company vaults.
Thankfully, there are some real-world examples of how an Automatic Tyre Inflation System will save a business money and Celerity DRS even have a handy savings calculator on their website which will break down the return on investment for you based on your businesses specific needs.
So what type of business can benefit from an ATIS and how can it save them money?
As Cornwell explains in the video below, any business which has tyres on the road will see benefits from the installation of an ATIS, and because an ATIS continually monitors the status of the tyre and automatically maintains each tyre to the optimum inflation level/tyre pressure, this allows a vehicle to carry on its journey even with a puncture.
This was particularly important for Greyroads of Oswestry, a recycled metal haulage business that had major issues relating to punctures and the cost of new tyres. As you can imagine, there is no shortage of sharp objects laying around their yards and scrapheaps. The cost of installing new tyres is over £250 per tyre, and they were also losing money due to the downtime associated with replacing a tyre.
Help was at hand however, and once their new trailers arrived (which were installed with the SAF Tyre Pilot) things started to look up and instead of replacing tyres which had blown out, punctures could now be repaired for a fifth of the costs. Tyre repairs were now a viable option as the integrity of the tyre wall had been kept in much better condition due to the constant pressure applied by the ATIS. This saved Greyroads a considerable amount of money and within 12 months, they had recouped their initial investment in the system and saved an additional £1,000 per year on maintenance for each trailer installed with an ATIS!
What about logistics and freight companies?
it has become clear that the transport and logistics sectors are more important than ever. They are responsible for the delivery of medical supplies, food and perishable goods, and daily necessities to millions of people.
During situations like the current pandemic, making sure your vehicle can travel from A to B safely and efficiently are important for any time-critical distribution business. A tyre blowout can damage the trailer and other road users’ vehicles, and this can result in a driver being stranded at the side of the road, which is a costly and can have serious implications.
As mentioned earlier, a key feature of the ATIS is the reduction of tyre blowouts – 74% of which are caused by underinflation or punctured tyres every year on UK roads*. That figure for the UK alone is quite staggering and is something that could be reduced quite significantly.
In addition to reducing the chance of a tyre blow out, an ATIS would also enable a vehicle to continue its journey even if the tyre has sustained a puncture. This means less downtime at the side of the road which results in expensive roadside assistance call outs and missed delivery deadlines due to vehicles becoming stranded.
These are all important factors to consider when finalising the specification for your next fleet of commercial vehicles. It is impossible to say if or when we may see situations like the Covid-19 pandemic in the future but making sure that you mitigate the risk and futureproof your business as much as possible is something that can be undertaken today.
Episode three will focus on the importance of tyre wear, and how drastically it can affect your carbon footprint and the safety of your vehicles.
For further information, visit the Celerity DRS website or connect via LinkedIn.
Who are Celerity DRS?
Celerity DRS are the exclusive European distributors of the Pressure Systems International (P.S.I.) Tyre Inflation System, the leading system with over 1.5 million systems in use worldwide, and are experts in their own right when it comes to Automatic Tyre Inflation Systems.
Having worked closely with Europe’s leading axle manufacturers, the Automatic Tyre Inflation System has been refined and perfected for the European trailer market, with partnerships now in place with all of the major manufacturers who provide their own brands of the system. Examples include the SAF Tyre Pilot, BPW Air Save, Schmitz RFS, JOST’s Plug & Play ATIS, SAE-SMB Airmax and Assali Stefen, with more to come in the near future.
The full list of Celerity DRS partners can be found on their website here.