Volvo Trucks North America says it's strengthening its uptime-boosting services through a new partnership with global analytics provider SAS. Volvo says the new relationship will enhance its Remote Diagnostics vehicle telematics system with an advanced analytics platform developed by SAS. The end result will be precise analysis and decision-making for customers who use Remote Diagnostics, Volvo said.

"Working with SAS has helped us further refine our uptime-enhancing Remote Diagnostics through greater processing power to the data behind diagnostic codes,” said Ash Makki, Volvo Trucks North America product marketing manager, in the announcement. "We’ve been able to expand the parts and trouble codes we monitor and recognize situational patterns that help us improve accuracy and obtain better insight into root causes. These enhancements ultimately mean Volvo Action Service agents receive more precise data that allows them to better analyze trouble codes and provide actionable information to decision-makers and repair facilities, helping maximize vehicle uptime.”

Conal Deedy, director of connected vehicle Services for Volvo Trucks North America, explained that the SAS platform helps Volvo in its current emphasis on machine learning and artificial intelligence. “We’re uncovering hidden insights in our data and merging that with the truck knowledge from our engineering group. Together we are in a much better situation to understand exactly what the data is telling us and integrating it into the Remote Diagnostics service."

With the SAS platform in place, he said, Volvo can process millions of records  in real-time, expanding Volvo’s Remote Diagnostics capabilities, which on average helps reduce diagnostic time by 70% and repair time 25%.

Since 2013, all Volvo trucks with Volvo engines have come standard with factory-installed telematics hardware that provides connectivity for Remote Diagnostics, Volvo’s proactive diagnostics and monitoring of critical engine, transmission and aftertreatment trouble codes. Upon detecting a code, sensors on the truck collect streaming data in real time to provide context. Data points and operating conditions, such as truck location, altitude, ambient air temperature, truck gear, RPM, and torque load, help give the information needed for more precise diagnosis.