Freight Hauling Goes Digital.

• Author: KANE, ROGER

Electronic commerce, engines drive industry.

Whether it is over the road, in the air or across the water, the business of hauling freight in Alaska is changing. High-tech trucks rule the roadways and companies big and small are doing business on the Information Superhighway--it is easy and immediate. With the click of a mouse, consumers can get information on freight hauling, they can book a shipment or track their freight--all from the comfort of their home or office computers.

Advanced computer technology also benefits shippers. Shipping clerks are no longer swamped with telephone calls and companies are realizing productivity gains.

Truck mechanics are now able to talk to electronic engines and a lot of guesswork has been taken out of the business of driving big rigs in the most efficient manner.

"It's getting fun," said NC Power Systems Truck Engine Salesman Jay Reardon. "And it's really becoming quite sophisticated."

Electronics Govern New Engines

Reardon said the industry trend is toward incorporating electronic control modules into new engines. These ECMs perform a variety of functions. They diagnose engine trouble, monitor engine functions and even control braking.

Reardon sells Caterpillar engines and said the manufacturer is on the cutting edge of new technology. With a lineup of engines ranging from 175 horsepower to 600 horsepower, Caterpillar builds the widest range of engines on the market, but a single ECM design works in all of them.

He said Caterpillar's ECM will shut down an engine and prevent it from starting if a serious problem develops. The ECM also can determine the severity of a problem and will reduce power output to keep an engine running, as long as it will not be damaged.

"It'll limp along until it gets where it needs to go," Reardon said.

The ECM sends data to dashboard displays that show fuel economy, how far a truck has traveled and how far it must go to reach its destination.

But this information is only a sampling of data the ECM is capable of generating.

Software Keeps Mechanics in Tune With Engines

Fleet information software allows mechanics to interface with the engines through a data port inside the truck. Laptop computers and other diagnostic equipment can be plugged into a truck to find out how it has been driven, how it is performing and what problems exist.

The software is capable of printing a histogram that tells the history of a truck-by the hour.

"Trucks can tattletale," Reardon said.

Electronic engines are built to operate at lower rpms than their mechanical predecessors, with peak performance, horsepower and torque realized at about 1,550 rpms. The older mechanical diesel engines ran best at about 2,000 rpms. Electronic engines operating at 2,000 rpms run poorly and fuel economy suffers.

"It's like pumping fuel right out the exhaust," according to Reardon.

He said the ECM will record the rpm range a truck has been operated at, how the driver used the brakes and the speed at which a truck was driven, among other things.

Complementing the new electronic engines are automatic transmissions.

One such transmission, manufactured by Eaton Fuller...