Samsara Inc., the pioneer of the Connected Operations® Platform, has officially announced the launch of its Electronic Brake Performance Monitoring System (EBPMS), which is designed to help fleet operators meet new guidelines from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), coming into effect from April 2025.
Under these newly-introduced guidelines, fleets across the board are expected to carry out four laden brake performance assessments per year, conducted via roller brake tests (RBTs). This is likely to cost them greater amount of time and money. More on that would reveal how these new DVSA guidelines are part of a wider move toward technology-driven fleet management, with Tyre Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) also becoming mandatory for new trailers in some pockets of the world.
Having said so, by using a compliant EBPMS to demonstrate brake performance throughout the year, fleets could still potentially reduce the need for multiple physical brake tests.
Enter Samsara’s TPMS, another component of its Smart Trailer solution, arrives on the scene bearing an ability to continuously monitor tyre pressure and temperature, sending real-time alerts to fleet managers and drivers. Such a setup makes for proactive maintenance to reduce the risk of costly breakdowns, as well as ensure that vehicles remain safe and efficient when on the road.
“The introduction of EBPMS marks a major step forward for fleet safety and operational efficiency,” said David Gal, Vice President of Product and Engineering at Samsara. “Our new system enables proactive maintenance, minimizing costly failures and vehicle downtime. “By leveraging real-time data from the trailer’s electronic braking systems (EBS) via our Asset Gateway, fleet operators can proactively address braking issues before they become problematic, and could save fleets up to £1,200 per trailer a year.”
Talk about the whole value proposition on a slightly deeper level, we begin from its promise to provide GPS tracking with real-time visibility. This it does for both powered and unpowered trailers, enabling users to see trailer locations, movement history, and usage patterns 24/7.
Next up, we have geofencing capabilities coming into play, capabilities that will make it possible for users to set up virtual boundaries around key locations, such as depots, yards, and customer sites. These boundaries, if breached, can trigger instant alerts.
The stated alerts may off in an event of unauthorized trailer tampering, door openings, unexpected movements out of hours, or breaches in temperature or humidity thresholds.
“We’re keen to implement Samsara’s new EBPMS solution across our trailer fleet to meet compliance requirements,” said Simon Colderley, Transport Manager, at Fox Brothers. “Rather than taking trailers off the road for manual testing, being able to import performance data directly will make testing much easier – especially since our fleet operates nationwide,
Moving on, the solution in question will also be able to leverage Samsara’s Connected Operation Platform for the purpose of empowering managers to track their assets at scale across an entire trailer fleet.
Hold on, we still have a few bits left to unpack, considering we haven’t yet touched upon the new EBPMS’ smart sensors that will be installed on trailers to detect security breaches and changes in ambient conditions. These sensors can also provide key vehicle indicators, such as tyre pressure and the condition of brake pads.
Rounding up highlights would be the fact that, for fleet managers, the solution will provide the necessary facility to track their entire fleet via a single pane of glass, thus identifying underutilized trailers to make better optimization decisions.
“When the Samsara team promises something, they follow through. Samsara’s EBPMS will provide a one-stop solution for our Trailer compliance needs. The ‘plug and play’ nature of Samara provides simple and fast installation but also a single system for our Trailer information needs, as opposed to a confusing mix of individual systems,” said Lee Wills, Director Conway Bailey Transport Ltd / RR Transport Ltd.
