Transform Connectivity

Transform Connectivity
Perfectly connected: Thomas Duvenbeck in the scheduling office at the company’s central warehouse in Herne.

Transform

Connectivity

THERE IS NO STOPPING THE TREND TOWARDS THE DIGITISATION AND DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY OF THE TRAILER. BPW IS COMBINING ITS DIGITAL FIELDS OF EXPERTISE IN A NEW BUSINESS UNIT AND IS ALREADY RESEARCHING THE AUTONOMOUS TRANSPORT OF TOMORROW – AND BEYOND.

Andreas Scheuer, Germany’s Minister of Transport, expects to see a surge in digitisation activities in the logistics sector after the coronavirus crisis. The Duvenbeck Group, however, had already been investing in digitisation long before the outbreak of the pandemic. With around 1,500 of its own trucks, 3,500 trailers and 34 locations throughout Europe, the family-owned company serves the automotive and automotive supplier industry, the plastics industry and the agricultural vehicle industry, among others. At Duvenbeck, the “Culture of Logistics” encompasses a clear commitment to innovation – the company employs around 50 IT developers who connect drivers, vehicles and freight to the company’s own data warehouse and the systems on the customer side. The result is an intelligent workflow that, thanks to AI systems, autonomously learns and optimises processes. To date, Duvenbeck has focused on analysing and digitally connecting the tractor unit as a data machine. Now the company is turning its attention to the trailer. As fully connected vehicles, they should further increase transparency and the predictability of transport, minimise costs and increase added value – not only within the company but also for the customer. Thomas Duvenbeck: “To us, the trailer isn’t simply an afterthought, but instead an important part of our processes.” Since logistics processes are highly individual, Duvenbeck relies on systems and platforms that are as open as possible – including when it comes to trailer connectivity. Duvenbeck’s philosophy thus coincides with that of idem telematics.

In 2019, idem telematics was able to expand its position as market leader for manufacturer-agnostic truck and trailer telematics, doubling the number of users of its online telematics platform cargofleet3. Through major contracts such as digitally connecting DHL’s trailer fleets and alliances with Daimler Fleetboard, RIO (Traton), Goodyear and leading trailer manufacturers, the BPW subsidiary is setting industry standards.

»The ability to manage data will be the deciding factor in the future. Analysing transport data is an absolute necessity for us.«

Thomas Duvenbeck,
Managing partner of the Duvenbeck Group

As a logistics partner to the automotive industry, Duvenbeck is not only expected to predict the arrival of goods at the factory practically down to the minute. The automotive industry also imposes strict guidelines for synchronising transport with its own materials management systems. Scheduling, fleet management, maintenance and claims management are now almost completely automated at Duvenbeck.

Transform Connectivity

BPW IS CONDUCTING RESEARCH ON THE AUTONOMOUS TRANSPORT OF THE FUTURE

Connected transport is no longer a far-off fantasy, but is instead increasingly becoming the industry standard today. BPW’s research and development departments are already looking ahead to the day after tomorrow, however – under the company’s leadership, a working group consisting of scientists, transport and logistics experts and vehicle manufacturers is conducting research into the autonomous trailer of the future. The three-year research project is entitled IdenT, which stands for “Identification of dynamic and safety- relevant trailer conditions for automated trucks”. The vision of the fully automated and autonomously operating trailer truck makes both economic and environmental sense, as it could be used around the clock. This assumes that the vehicle is capable of performing the driver’s tasks – which include much more than just driving, such as monitoring vehicle functions and cargo safety.

This is why the connected trailer plays a key role in autonomous driving, as it constantly compares data captured by sensors (e.g. concerning the trailer environment, the condition of components relevant to safety and the road surface) with a “digital twin” – an area of innovation that BPW is already successfully using today. BPW is acting as a system integrator, designing the concept and providing a measurement and development platform for the partners involved. And not just theoretically – an experimental vehicle will be used to test the system in actual driving operation. Before the first fully autonomous trailers are actually in operation on the road, development of the technology will pass through intermediate stages that will increasingly reduce the driver’s workload – and the research project is also intended to deliver concrete findings in this area as well.

Transform Connectivity

The era of autonomous transport is coming, as can be seen in BPW’s iGurt, a solution available today that digitally monitors load securing to ensure it is secured properly during the journey, or in the brake pad wear sensor that does not simply alert the driver when the lining is already worn out, but instead gradually measures its condition and thus makes it possible to plan visits to the service centre ahead of time. In the IdenT project, this is being developed into a holistic concept consisting of an intelligent trailer sensor network, a cloud-based data platform and methods for online and offline data processing.

 

The IdenT research project under BPW’s leadership is being funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. On the scientific side, the renowned Institute of Mechatronic Systems at Leibniz University Hannover as well as the Fraunhofer Institute are involved. BPW’s long-standing customers Weka Fahrzeugbau and Ansorge Logistik will be supporting the real-world driving tests on the road.